I'd just barely walked through the doors to Dad's office, Heather at my side, ready to hand her over to him and the troopers, when I realized my father wasn't alone. The startled and then hungry look on Robert's face, the sudden tense silence in the room, told me I'd just miscalculated in the kind of massive way that might get the woman beside me incarcerated for something she didn't do. Why I felt so protective of her I had no idea but I found myself stepping in front of her while Robert lurched toward me, hand reaching for his cuffs at his belt, my father following at a slower pace. The tight, unhappy expression Dad wore told me there was nothing I could do, though it didn't stop me from standing my ground as my cousin came to a huffing halt in front of me.
I glared up at him, positive my disgust showed clearly on my face, while Robert's teeth squeaked from grinding so hard.