My siblings ask about me often, apparently. My sisters, Jen and Ell miss their big sister, and my brothers… well, they are probably overbearing oafs like our father by now. I can’t help but think their requests to see me are nothing more than an attempt to suck me back into the fucked up family business.
I shiver at that thought, my uncle Ewan coming to mind.
He’s such a cold, ruthless prick. It was his demand that I abort my pregnancy, which turned my parents against the idea of me keeping it. That man tries to control everything. Even the personal lives of his children, brothers, and their families.
I hate that man, and nothing will make me return to Aussie soil.
Nothing.
“Fine, but if things get worse, I’m bringing Devon over here. I don’t care if you hate me for the rest of our lives.”
“Whatever!” I snap, acting like a damn teenager and not a thirty-seven-year-old woman.
What did my therapist say all those years ago?
Oh, yeah… Trigger regression. Apparently when I get triggered, I revert back to the age I was when my trauma happened, and my brain bypasses logical adult reasoning.
That’s just great.
“You pissy at me now, Lil?” Barrett’s deep, gravelly tone eases me back to the here and now.
“No. I’m sorry. You know how I get when we discuss family.”
“I know,” he sighs. “I’ll be by later this week to take a look at the new picture.”
“You’re in the country?”
Barrett, like me, is from Australia, but he spends most of his time travelling internationally, networking and arranging business for the family. He and my brother, Devon, taught me everything I know. The Marx family makes sure their own can protect themselves at all costs, although there’s a bigger focus on the men doing that than the women.
“I’m nearby. I have some people I need to catch up with in the area, anyway,” Barrett states, and I momentarily worry about him coming by the house and finding Asher there. I don’t know why. It’s not like he hasn’t seen Asher at my house before. It’s just different now because the twins aren’t there.
And also, maybe I’m worried he’ll be able to tell that I secretly drool over my sons’ best mate.
“Have you checked out the new job I sent you?” Barrett asks when I don’t respond, so I shake myself out of my head.
“Not yet. I will after work. Is it what I hope it is?”
“It is.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
He’s sent information on Omar Bertini, the man who plays a very big part in a sex trafficking ring in the area.
“That was quick,” I state. “Is it going to be easy or hard?”
“Depends on how you want to approach it.”
“Oh, you know me,” I say flippantly. “I’ll probably go for hard.”
Barrett chuckles. “Probably.”
For a while, my mind stays away from thinking about the dark-haired, toned, and tatted man who invaded my dreams last night, my thoughts shifting to my newest job. But then I remember that Asher is living with me, and slipping out to domy extracurricular activities is going to be harder now that he’s there. Especially because he seems so infatuated by me.
Last night, I told him to find someone to go on a date with. It’s the right thing for him to do, but shit, jealousy courses through my veins at the thought of his hands on someone else.
I shouldn’t want his hands on me. I shouldn’t want my hands on him, but in a matter of hours they will be… when he comes in for his haircut.
CHAPTER 6
ASHER
