Radiance by Shayne McClendon

forgave him.  She gave to him. 
    It was who she was. 
    * * *
    Elijah initially insisted on going to the club to check on Brie.  He hadn’t planned on taking her focus from her friends. 
    Then he’d watched from the second floor as two men he knew well approached her and openly flirted. 
    “Fuck.” 
    “Is that Gear and Finn ?  What the fuck are they doing in the States?” Harper asked quietly.  Straightening, his fingers clenched on the balcony railing.  “Elijah…” 
    “Wait.  She’s constant, true.  Brie won’t entertain the thought of others when she’s unsure of us.” 
    Brie was polite but clearly not engaged. 
    When the two men kissed her hand and walked away, her effervescence winked out. 
    Harper straightened his suit jacket.  “We need to go down there.  Now.  There are too many circling her tonight.”
    Smiling slowly, Elijah said, “Moths to flame.” 
    * * *
    After spending a couple of hours reminding Brie how much they wanted her, they prepared to leave the club.  They purposely passed the mercenaries who worked for Delkin Acquisitions regularly. 
    Gear and Finn were highly sought after, effective, and much appreciated by the few women in their circles. 
    “Eklund.  Delkin.  I assume ye’ve appropriately marked the lovely Miss Hernandez.  A pity.”  Gear met Elijah’s eyes with a smile.  “I was hopin’ ye’d treat her like the others.” 
    “No.  She’s nothing like the others.” 
    The smile faded from the big man’s face.  “Ah, Elijah of the granite heart…ye’ve fallen at last?”  He didn’t respond.  “I bid ye well.  She’s a pretty lass with many interestin’ friends.” 
    Winking, he turned back to the bar and held up a hundred-dollar bill.  Tawny skipped up to grab it and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. 
    “Thanks, Gear.  Don’t bet against me.” 
    Played so easily by a woman everyone underestimated.
    “Dump the coffee tycoons and come away with me, lass.” 
    “Nope.  They were gymnasts.” 
    She walked sedately to Elijah and Harper.  “I’m curious…how tempting do you think Brie would be to our mutual friend?” 
    Elijah growled and Harper flinched. 
    “He has a soft spot for the ones who glow and he’s a veritable smoothie of the two of you.  Fuck with her and I place her squarely in Hollow’s path.”  Drawing herself up to her full height, she added softly, “You know she’d be good for him.” 
    There was no doubt in his mind Brie would be good for him but Elijah refused to give her up. 
    “Tawny.” 
    “ Elijah. ” 
    “Don’t.”  It was the closest a man like him ever came to begging and both of them knew it.
    Her green eyes stared into his for a long moment.  “Okay.  Don’t let him hurt her again.” 
    Then she walked away and Elijah took a relieved breath. 
    * * *
    Three days later, Brie was supposed to fly to Washington to visit her parents but all flights were grounded. 
    She didn’t admit her relief to anyone.  She couldn’t confess her fear about returning to a place that held memories of her weaker self. 
    Though her parents were sad she wouldn’t make it, they were thrilled with the remote meetings she held with the winery staff and the growth of the entire division. 
    That she hadn’t touched the principle of her trust fund stunned them and they openly questioned her about it. 
    “I still work.  I earn a salary from the winery and take on projects with clients.  That’s a safety net I’m grateful for but I’d never abuse it.” 
    “You and your sister humble us, Gabriella.” 
    Her mother and father visited her often and she met Isabella for lunch once a month or so but going back to her home, to the place where she’d always felt less was a difficult step.
    Instead, she found herself hanging out with Tawny at the club.
    “Where’re your men tonight, Red?” 
    “Traveling.  They’re closing on that chain Hudson turned them onto out in Utah.  I