Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Once she’s gone, my father begins.
“I heard you lost a girl this week.”
“Did you hear we added one as well?”
“You should add more males,” he dismisses my comment. “More strength.”
I don’t respond, simply giving him a single curt nod.
Sure, Dad, I’ll get right on that, as it’s just so easy to trust males who already think they’re special simply because they were born with some prestigious pedigree.
He holds my gaze a long moment and then clears his lungs, his features and shoulders softening. “Darling, it’s not safe for your sister to be in our home.”
“That’s her problem. She needs to be held accountable.”
“It will be her head or her hand. That is the kind of accountability we’re talking about.”
My heart beats a little harder, but I don’t show it. “She knows this. She knew this, and still, she chose to come home. She’s playing you, Dad, looking for an out she can’t find. She expects to be saved by someone when she was taught to save herself.”
“She’s fragile.”
“She’s a disgrace,” I fire back, the words stinging more than I want them to. “To our family name and to the union.”
The union was created to tie power families together, to close the gaps and make us stronger so we’re less susceptible to treachery. A cross-one, cross-all situation because each of our families has seen and experienced how fleeting trust can be.
Boston’s little half-cocked plan, the one she apparently couldn’t even go along with when she’s the one who came up with it in the first place? It’s the complete fucking opposite.
My father’s eyes narrow with disappointment, but as quickly as the expression settles, it’s gone, and a smile spreads across his lips. He climbs the last few steps I refuse to come down and wraps his arms around me.
I lean into his chest, my eyes closing a moment.
We used to be a normal family.
Well, as normal as life can be when your dad became who he is by unaliving people for a living before switching things up.
Now he pays people to do it for him.
“That, daughter,” he whispers into my hair. “Is why you are the prize of this family. I know I can count on you to do what you must, no matter what that calls for. The strides you’ll make will set this world ablaze.”
My brows pull into a slight frown, but I erase it as he releases me, looking up at him.
I fight the urge to sigh and instead ask the important question. “Have they come looking for her yet?”
“Not yet. From what I’ve gathered, he’s not yet aware she’s gone. If there was a plan being made, I would know,” he says, beyond sure. Then again, he probably is.
He has men everywhere, even where people think he can’t reach.
“It’s been nine days since she came back.” It makes no sense. “How can he not know?”
“Ask her.”
I glare, and he raises a brow.
Say you’re right and not overconfident, I want to begin with, but instead go with, “How long do you think you can keep this quiet? How long until they come for her?”
“A few weeks, maybe less, maybe longer. I’m told he’s away on business.”
I eye him. The sharp, ever-present glare isn’t as deep as it should be, considering.
“How are you so calm about this? This is a big deal, Dad. This is Caesar and Brutus big.”
“It’s not a betrayal, it’s simply … a shifting point in a larger picture. One that isn’t yet clear to all the players on the board. In time, it will be.”
My head tugs back, shocked by his lack of, well, murderous rage, even if his daughter is the one at fault.
“Rocklin.” My dad merely tips his head. “You’ll do as you must, no matter what?”
There’s that line again. Conform, conform, conform.
My jaw clenches, but I give him what he wants yet again—obedience and a curt nod of agreement, to which he nods back.
Ever the dutiful daughter, I wait until he’s turned his back to me to turn mine on him and head up the stairs, but not before he calls over his shoulder, “Sai has taken a leave, but he’ll be back sometime tomorrow. No joyriding in his absence, Rocklin. We wouldn’t want someone to mistake you for your sister.”
My spine stiffens, and I nod without looking back, taking careful steps as I climb the staircase to my suite.
My sister creates a disaster of epic proportions and gets a free pass.
I drive the countryside and get fucking grounded like a pedestrian?
And what’s this with Sai?
He and I have an agreement. He doesn’t go running to my dad about things so long as I don’t give him a reason, forcing his hand, and an hour with a sports car isn’t one. He knew about my little need for an escape as it’s a repetitive one. He even has the GPS locked in on his phone and probably stares at the little blip on his screen the entire time I’m gone until I return to where I’m supposed to be.