address, he would send the dayâs blog to that e-mail address. Holly hadnât signed up. Obviously her brothers had signed her up. Her soon-to-be-bleeding brothers.
On the blog, she read the latest entry: The ball-buster. You know the type. The kind of anti-princess type of woman who carries a gun, maybe even a badge, and thinks she can take down a man. Maybe, deep down, she wants to be a man.
Penis Envy, some doc had said.
But Iâm The OâMan, and I can make these ball-buster women heel. And beg. And cry out, âOâMan!â
Holly lifted her gaze, first looking at Joe, then Seth. Growing up, her brothers had teased her about being a tomboy. These days, they harped on her recent lack of boyfriends while building her PI business. But this didnât seem like their style. She leaned back in her chair and studied them. âWhy did you send this to me?â
Joe slapped his coffee cup on her desk. Even with her desk between them, she could feel his anger. His blue eyes were cold as steel. âDo you know who this guy is, Hol?â
She realized that she had misjudged the situation. Her brothers werenât there to harass her or pick up some extra work. They were pissed. âNo. Why, whatâs up?â
Seth glanced at Joe, then at Holly. âDonât act dense. Thatâs you heâs talking about, Holly. I recognized you when I read his blog last night, which is why I sent it to you. Do you think itâs Brad?â
It finally slammed into her. Oh God, they thought her ex-boyfriend was behind this blog. Holly had dated Bradley Knoll a few years ago; in fact, sheâd been engaged to him. It had ended badly. Brad did his best to badmouth Holly and her family whenever he could. âBrad the Cad didnât do this Web site. Heâs too intent on being a defender of women and children to risk it.â Brad used his law degree to sue everyone he could for any perceived offense against women and children. Truth and justice were flexible ideals in Bradâs world. What mattered to him were money, prestige, and face time on TV.
Seth stood up from where heâd parked his butt on the side of her desk, his handsome face hardening to pure cop. âAnti-Princess. Whereâd this guy on the Web site get that? Only Joe and I ever call you that and Brad knew it.â
Joe leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and zeroed his stern gaze in on her. âIs it someone else? Some guy you dated?â
Holly rolled her eyes. Every now and again, Seth and Joe had a rush of testosterone which sparked the asinine idea that they needed to protect her. âItâs not me that guyâs talking about. I donât have the slightest idea who this yahoo is. Butââshe glared at both of themââif I did know him, and he was talking about me, I wouldnât need your help setting him straight.â
Seth opened his mouth, but Joe cut him off. âThatâs the truth?â
Tamping down on her exasperation, she put herself in their places for a moment. What if a woman had used one of her brothers then made fun of him on a Web site? Would Holly go after her?
Damn right she would.
She kept her answer simple. âYes.â
Seth moved around the desk, put his hand on the back of Hollyâs chair, and leaned down. âI know you can take care of yourself, AP. But Joe and me, weâre family. You would come to us if some guy screwed you over, right?â
Only if she wanted to bail her brothers out of jail. Cops didnât do well in jail, so that wasnât an option. Besides, she didnât need her brothers to do that whole knight-in-shining-armor crap. Holly liked to do her own ass-kicking when the situation called for it. She met Sethâs gaze. âAbsolutely.â
Joe laughed. âSheâs lying. Weâd have to lock her in a room with no coffee or chocolate and sweat it out of her.â He moved from the other side of her