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“We’ll fix that together,” I said. “You and I can work together to get the money out of his accounts.”
Much of it would go to Remington’s family. I wanted to make sure his little siblings had everything they needed.
The rest?
Well, Remington owed me.
In every way.
Chapter16
Remington
My mother was flying high as always. Once my father was out of the house–off to his vacation house, he wasn’t exactly flirting with homelessness–I called my aunt. It was up to my mom if she was going to rehab; it wasn’t as if I could force her to leave the stupor my father had encouraged/forced for the past few years. But the twins could stay with my aunt until I could take over as their guardian if my mom wasn’t able.
I couldn’t exactly bring them into the Sphinx.
They clung to me when we said goodbye. I hated having Aurora see such a sensitive family moment. I would’ve hated anyone seeing my weaknesses like that though.
I’d wanted to save my little brother and sister for years. When I still lived in that house, I’d wanted to save them even more than I wanted to save myself. They’d been born way smaller than they should have been, thanks to my mother continuing to abuse substances throughout her pregnancy. My dad hadn’t wanted her to get pregnant in the first place after me, so he’d hated them the moment they’d come into existence.
But me? I’d seen their two squirming, tiny bodies.
And I’d fallen in love with them instantly, promising myself that I’d do whatever it took to keep them safe.
A promise I’d broken over and over again despite my best intentions.
So how come Aurora had been able to come in and do what I couldn’t accomplish in all that time? I knew it wasn’t going to be that simple, and I needed to prepare for my father’s counter-attack. But for now, they were safe.
I shifted in my seat and winced.
“We need to get you to a doctor.” Aurora glanced toward me sideways, her brow furrowed.
“I’ll be fine,” I promised, and when she looked unconvinced, I added, “It’s not the first time.”
Her lips pursed. It was the first time anyone had been protective of me at all. Paxton and Stellan cared, but we weren’t exactly warm and cuddly with each other, either. We had each other’s backs, and if I’d asked them to help me kill my dad, I was sure they’d be there. Cain too, with a sledgehammer and a smile. But Aurora radiated protective warmth that wasn’t like anything I’d ever had before, and it made something unknot in my chest.
Just a little.
It bothered me.
When we walked into the house, the pledges looked up from their chores. Cain, Pax, and Stellan were in our den on the first floor. Cain leaned back in his chair, gripping a sweating glass of whiskey in one hand and his Chem book in the other, not that I had the feeling the booze was going to help him master Organic Chem. Stellan was on his laptop, and Pax frowned down at his phone.
When Cain saw Aurora, his eyes sparked with interest. “Where the hell have you been all day?”
“Saving Remington’s ass,” Aurora said brightly.
Apparently we weren’t keepingthatbetween the two of us. I could see that; if I were her, I’d be doing everything I could to show us that she was one of the good guys. Not that we were exactly white knights ourselves.
Unfortunately, that sent doubt wiggling through my gut. Maybe she’d set me up.
“Do tell,” Cain drawled. He patted his knee. “Come here, little devil.”
“I’m not in the mood for your bullshit today,” she told him. “I’m going to my room.”
“Not an option.” Cain’s lips tilted just faintly at her defiance, as if he were thrilled to have an excuse to punish her.
And as amusing as I found it, I was exhausted from the pain and the adrenaline let-down of everything we’d just been through. I wasn’t interested in dealing with Cain, and I didn’t think she should have to deal with him either.
