Claimed By her Daddies by Laylah Roberts
22
“Kassim, we need to do something about Pippa,” Tavi demanded.
Kassim forced himself to keep his gaze on his work as Tavi and Aric walked into his office at the country estate.
They’d arrived two days ago. He and Matek had come by helicopter and met with the woman he’d hired to help Matek with his physical therapy. She also had some nursing experience. Aric, Tavi, and Pippa had come later by car.
Kassim still wasn’t certain that being here was the best move. He felt more in control in Escana, and he knew that Matek could make the flight back with the right team in place. But he, Caleb, and Judd had all had a meeting and decided the country estate was the safest place for the moment. The fact that Pippa had been attacked here as well as in Escana didn’t sit well with him. Why would someone attack her? To separate her from them?
Perhaps the best idea would be to send her somewhere safe until this was all over.
“Kassim, damn it, are you listening to us?” Aric demanded, whacking his fist down on the desk.
Kassim scowled up at him. “I am trying to work.”
“When aren’t you working? You can’t hide from your problems behind work,” Tavi told him.
“I am not hiding.” But he was. Because it had been up to him to protect them and he hadn’t. Because he regretted not telling her that she’d actually been attacked instead of letting her think it was an accident.
He’d thought he’d known what was best and he hadn’t.
“Then why aren’t you saying anything? Haven’t you heard what we said?” Tavi asked urgently. He paced back and forth. “Pippa is in a bad place in her head and we can’t get her out.”
“What do you mean? I thought you said she’s mostly been watching cartoons and coloring.”
“She has,” Aric said tiredly. He looked as exhausted as the rest of them.
Kassim wasn’t sleeping. Most of his time was dedicated to trying to figure out who had tried to harm his woman as well as attempting to keep Matek calm. The other man knew something was wrong and he was demanding to know what was going on. If they didn’t tell him something soon, he was going to lose his mind. It didn’t help that Pippa wouldn’t visit with him. They’d managed to give him excuses in the hospital, but it wasn’t going to fly now.
Thankfully, the painkillers had ensured he slept a lot.
But it wouldn’t last.
And then, in the middle of the night when the urge to see her became too much, Kassim would find himself sneaking into her room to watch her sleep.
“It’s not healthy,” Tavi said. “She’s using Little space to hide from everything.”
“It’s not like she’s even really enjoying herself,” Aric said. “She sits in bed and watches TV while attacking her coloring book with pens. I can’t get her to eat. All she’s having are those protein drinks.”
Concern stirred. He needed to do something about that. She couldn’t hide. She would make herself sick.
“You need to take charge,” Kassim told them.
“What about you?” Tavi retorted.
Kassim looked at Aric. “Weren’t you worried that she wouldn’t see you as anything other than a playmate?” He turned to Tavi. “Or that you wouldn’t be noticed because you didn’t know where you fit in? Because you weren’t her boss, her playmate, or her stalker?”
Both of them gaped at them. Hadn’t they realized he noticed everything? It was his job to take care of them all.
He was a failure.
“You cannot blame her for wanting to hide. Someone tried to hurt her. She’s probably scared. Make her feel safe. The new guards are due to arrive today, that should help,” he told them.
“I don’t think that’s why she’s hiding, Kassim,” Tavi told him.
“Then why?”
“You should know why better than most. It’s why you’re hiding too,” Aric pointed out.
He clenched his jaw.
“You’re not the only one who notices things, brother,” Tavi said, moving towards the door. “And you don’t need to take responsibility for this family fully on your shoulders. You can lean on us.”
If only he knew how.
* * *
“So that was pointless,”Aric said, feeling worried. What the fuck were they going to do? He’d hoped that Kassim would pull his head out of his ass when he realized that Pippa needed him.
Tavi shook his head. “We’re not going to get through to Kassim. But I know who will.”
Right. Pippa. She was the one tying them all together. The one they all wanted to protect and coddle. But right now, she needed something more than that.
“Yes, but how do we get through to her?” Aric asked. “We need to get her to open up about what’s going on.”
“She’s terrible at talking about her feelings and emotions,” Tavi said as they moved into the kitchen, nodding to Matek’s therapist, who was walking out.
She stopped and stared at them for longer than was polite. But Aric just walked past her. She wouldn’t be here long. Matek couldn’t stand having other people touch him and he was certain to fire her. Probably by tomorrow.
“Well, I might have an idea, but it involves Matek.”
Aric raised his eyebrows as he sat at the kitchen counter while Tavi made them tea. When they stayed here, someone came in to clean a few times a week but otherwise they preferred to do everything themselves. And Judd didn’t like people coming and going. Actually, he didn’t like people in general, but he was even more grouchy about it right now. He hadn’t even wanted to hire Fiona, the physical therapist.
“Does that mean we have to tell Matek that we suspect the car that hit him was aimed at Pippa? Because he’s going to go insane.”
“I know. Which is why we need to tell him how much Pippa needs him first.”
“Okay, anything to get her to come back to us,” Aric told him. “This morning, I made her pancakes in the shape of bats. All she said was ‘no thanks’, I’m getting really sick of hearing ‘no thanks’. Even when I threaten to spank her or make her write lines, that’s all I get.”
“I get it, man. I’m worried too. About her and Kassim. But if we get through to Pippa, I know she can work on Kassim.”
Aric sure hoped so. “She has to. We’re meant to be a team. A family. The four of us and her. Our princess. We can’t let everything fall apart. We can’t lose her.”
Tavi whacked his back. “We won’t, brother. It’s just our turn to take charge and guard our family.”
