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"I'll wait for you in the lobby." He kissed me briefly on the forehead and surreptitiously stuffed a handful of bills into my hand.
I turned back to find my sister watching us, clearly fascinated. "Let's go," I said in defeat. I hustled her toward the lobby. It didn't matter where I was in life, my sister would always be waiting to drag me back down.
"He seems fond of you," she said. "He must really enjoy having live-in…help."
I winced. "Why would you say something mean like that?"
"Because I'm your sister, and somebody needs to look out for you. I saw the puppy-dog look you just gave him," she said. "You seem like you're doing more than just your job. Someone needs to remind you of who you really
are, and where you're going back to when Prince Charming cuts you loose."
This was classic Lila. She was acting as though she were looking out for me, but really, she was just putting me down. "I don't know why you have to treat me that way. All I've ever tried to do is take care of you."
"Don't be so sensitive," Lila said. "I'm trying to help you." She tossed her hair, giving the party a last, longing once-over. "Wait a minute—is that Pax Unger? And Jessica Layne?"
I turned to find them watching us. I nodded, feeling sick. "Yes."
"Interesting," my sister said. I put the stack of bills into her hand. "Please use some of this for groceries, and not just weed, cigarettes, and Jim Beam."
Lila gave me a tight smile. "I'll see what I can do." With that, she sashayed out the door, coolly nodding at Jessica and Pax before she left.
Chase came up next to me and my stomach sank. "I think she's planning something," I said. "You're going to wish you never met me."
He put his arm around me and pulled me against him. "It's okay, babe. We'll go home and you can tell me about her."
"Great," I said, feeling the happy buzz from the last few days wear off. Just fucking great.
Chapter Seventeen
CHASE
"So…she does drugs?"
Avery nodded miserably.
"Like what?"
She shrugged. "She smokes pot. And drinks a lot. I think that's it. But she's never been able to hold down a job. She's not responsible enough." I watched her throat work as she swallowed.
"And you take care of her?"
"She took it hard when our mom died. It's like she's still angry about it…" Avery's voice trailed off. "I was hoping I could get her into some sort of rehab program with the money from this assignment. She's not a bad person. I think she just needs help."
I nodded, but I had a pit in my stomach. If I hadn't liked the way Lila was looking at Avery, I sure as shit didn't like the way Jess was looking at Lila. "What did she say to you? Why was she there tonight?"
Avery appeared as though she was going to cry. "She wants money. She wants me to give her money so she can go shopping and do…whatever it is she does."
"I only gave her about a thousand," I said, referring to the bills I'd handed to Avery earlier. "Is that enough?"
"I already gave her two thousand earlier this week," Avery said, her voice flat, "so I'm thinking no."
"She's knows you're on an assignment, right?" My voice was tight.
She picked at some invisible lint on the T-shirt she'd changed into. "Yep."
I cracked open a beer. "This isn't good. If she went public—"
"She won't," Avery said, interrupting me. "I'll give her whatever she wants. I won't let her do that to you."
