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I rubbed the back of my head. I knew there was going to be fallout over this. “She and Crew are together. They have been for a while.”
The woman I loved tilted her head. “Together? But she’s a part of the Castille family. And she’s pregnant.”
I cleared my throat. “I know. I was as surprised as you are. She doesn’t love her husband. She never has. If he finds out…if any of them find out that the baby is Crew’s and not Brandon’s Crew isn’t going to be there for that kid’s first birthday. We both know that. The Castilles will have him removed.”
Kennedy sat back on her heels, tossing the remainder of her croissant on the plate. “This is crazy.”
I nodded. “It is.”
“What the hell were they thinking?”
I shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t ask for the specifics, because still my little sister.”
“Right. But holy shit, this is a nightmare.”
“I’m going to help them.” I gauged her for compassion or solidarity. Anything to let me know what she was thinking. “I don’t see how I can do that without you being implicated because of Crew’s position in your organization.”
“The Castilles won’t let Crew leave her alive,” she whispered.
“Which is exactly why we need to help them.”
“Do you have any idea how many contracts I have with them? This is going to be an all-out war if I betray their son.” She pinched her lips together. I knew she was already thinking about the long-term play. “Alliances are different since you left,” she explained. “They are more complicated and nuanced. I’ve tried to play by a different set of rules than our father created, but that doesn’t mean the old laws aren’t still around. They are ingrained in this city. Not even I can erase them.”
“We don’t have to change the laws to help Seraphina and Crew.”
Kennedy huffed. “Easy for you to say. You were born into this. I’ve had to work and claw my way into my position. Am I supposed to damage my reputation and my word by humiliating the Castilles? That’s a big ask, Knight.”
“My sister deserves to be happy. My niece or nephew deserves to grow up outside of the organization. Someone should get the chance to escape.” I gritted my teeth. Didn’t she see it? We could give them what we never had.
“It doesn’t work like that.” She shoved off the bed and strolled to the window. Her kimono robe was open. I admired the gentle curves of her silhouette, highlighted in the sun.
There was a landscape crew somewhere on the grounds. I heard the yard equipment working on storm cleanup. A chainsaw buzzed at a high frequency.
“Kennedy.” I walked toward her. My hands landed on her shoulders. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll get them out of the country. You need to know what’s going on. I’ll keep you out of it.” I rotated her body so that we were facing each other. My chest seized when I realized her eyes were misted with tears. “What’s wrong?”
She lowered her gaze. “No one helped us.”
I tipped her chin. “No. They sure as hell didn’t.” I brushed over her lips gently at first and then quickly the kiss turned rough and hungry. My hand moved under her robe. The collar fell to her shoulder. It was easy to get off track. To let her body distract me.
She sighed, breaking away for a breath. “I’m not going to let you do this alone.”
“Let me?” I chuckled. “It was a courtesy to let you in on my plans. Plus, no reason to make Crew’s life more miserable by having you suspect he was a traitor.”
“There’s your ego again.” She pushed against my chest, making move for the bed.
“It’s not ego, babe. It’s the truth.”
She spun. “The truth is you need me to give you my blessing.”
My brow furrowed. “Not so,” I lied. Having her against the plan would make it infinitely more difficult.
“One of us controls the shipping in and out of the city. The loans. The debt.”
“I still have influence in New Orleans,” I argued. “My name carries more weight. Tradition is still respected. Generations of Corbans have held the power in this town.”
She sat casually on the bed, reclining as if she was Cleopatra into a pile of feather pillows. Was it possible she was as conniving?
“Do you want my help, or do you want to one-up me at every turn?” she asked.
