“So, we have another sister to look out for?” Caden leans back. “At least that might take the heat off you, little nympho. More targets.”
“Yeah, but it also means you two can’t just stay over.” I dip my fry in some ketchup. Already missing their warmth in my bed.
“I’m sleeping at your house, princess.” Luke gives me a stubborn look and I love him for it, but that’s not our new reality.
“You can’t leave Penny in that house alone. We both know it.” I lean in and kiss his jaw. “You can’t leave her with your father.”
“He won’t do anything to her,” Luke protests.
“Like he wouldn’t do anything to you?” I blow out a breath. I’m not naive. Penny is a pawn in whatever game William is playing. “We’re sitting on a powder keg and blowing at the flames heading toward it. We can’t let our guard down. Your dad did this on purpose. We just need to figure out why.”
Jack clears his throat. “I’ve got files to sort through, but there may be a specific reason he wants Penny under his thumb. And that reason is you, Luke.”
Luke crosses his arms. “You think I haven’t thought of that? He knows he can’t force me to do anything. Harper would be useful, but she’s not under his thumb. Penny is his daughter.That means he has rights to her. But what if he’s been using her all along?”
“Then why not tell you about her?” I touch his thigh. That part has bothered me. “If he really wanted you two to be close, he would have had her in your life from the beginning. You would have stood up for her and maybe the two of you would have been friends or at least siblings. It would have made it easier to control you. Now, she’s starting from ground zero. There’s perceived loyalty because you guys are family. But your family has been crap to you.”
He sighs and glances toward Penny’s table. “Why bring her in if he wants me to look for your dad’s stuff?”
“Maybe he realizes we don’t have anything.” Eli glances toward the girls. “If he did orchestrate the whole break-in last night then he has your laptop. Sure, Jack tried to kill it, but they could have disconnected it from the internet before that happened.”
“There’s nothing on my laptop.” Luke shakes his head.
“Exactly,” Eli says. “Nothing. Maybe he doesn’t think it’s helpful for you to be close to Harper anymore and instead of just telling you, he’s done this. Hoping you’ll be suspicious or protective or both. Either way, you’ll pay more attention to Penny, leaving Harper alone again.”
Eli’s dark gaze flicks to mine. “Except he doesn’t know she’s not alone.”
A shiver runs through me. Someone could get to me if I’m alone again. “If Mom gets called into work?—”
“We’ve got you covered.” Nico presses a kiss to my temple. “Between Eli, Jack, and I, we can make sure you’re protected at night. It’s our turn to step up. Caden has to worry about Ava, and Luke has to worry about Penny.”
I push my remaining fries around. “I don’t know how Mom will feel about you guys staying over.”
“Then we don’t tell her, kitten.” Eli smirks. “We can get in and out without anyone noticing.”
“My parents are staying in town for a while.” Caden nods. “That means Ava will be safe. If the others can’t make it work, I’ll try.”
I shake my head. “My mom will know your parents are here. She might feel bad with you all alone in that house by yourself, but she’s not going to feel bad if you are just trying to fuck her daughter.”
Caden’s grin is wicked and heat gathers in my belly. I chew on a fry to distract myself.
“When are you talking to Ashley?” I need a change of subject and glance at Eli.
Eli blows out a breath. “Tomorrow at lunch. I need to have time to set up the meet.”
“Do you think she’ll go for it?” Some strange guy in a mask doing what she wants Eli to do to her? I don’t know if I’d go for that, but I’m not in Ashley’s situation. I don’t understand her needs.
“We need her information. Zach’s guys keep giving us the slip or they just aren’t meeting this week.” Nico squeezes my shoulder. “Jack needs time to go through the files. We’ll all be on high alert until we figure out what the plans are.”
CHAPTER 34
The Drought
Harper
I leave the guys to discuss following Zach for the week and head over to Penny’s table, waving at Ava along the way. She smiles and waves back.
Penny scoots over so I can sit next to her.
