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She lowered her lashes and gave me a stiff nod.
“Dress warm for work tonight.”
“I’m not a child, Garret,” she said with an annoyed huff. “I know how to take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for most of my life.”
“I’ll send a car to drive you to the club.” When she opened her mouth to argue, I turned in the direction of the elevators, calling over my shoulder, “Sleep tight, blue eyes.”
“Pain in the ass,” I heard her grumble seconds before the door slammed shut. I paused, listening for the locks to engage. Once they did, I continued on my way. Before I could press the call button, the elevator doors slid open, and a girl I vaguely recognized from the club stumbled off.
Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes in disarray, and her makeup smeared under her eyes and around her mouth. I stepped back when she nearly bumped into me, causing her to grab for the wall instead. I gave her an annoyed glance before walking onto the elevator.
“Rude,” she muttered, and I saw her sway as she continued down the corridor toward Lis’s apartment.
My driver was waiting downstairs, and I got in the back, my phone already out as I started making arrangements for later in the day. I was so focused on what I was doing, it took a few minutes for me to realize I was home and the sun was breaking through the clouds.
After I gave the driver instructions for later, he nodded before I stepped out. I yawned as I walked into the building, mumbling hellos to the men on duty beside the elevators. I got grunts in return, all of them having just come on shift but still only half alert because of the early hour.
The ride up to the apartment I shared with Ryan was over in a blink, and to my surprise, my sister came running toward the elevator as I was stepping off. “When did you get here?” I asked, part of me happy to see her.
I hadn’t seen or spoken to her since her birthday the month before. Maybe I should have called her and apologized, explained that I’d lied about what I’d said. That she’d believed me when I’d said Ryan was hooking up with anyone was funny as hell, but she had, and I regretted hurting her.
“I’m not here,” she said, her voice emotionless as she stepped into the elevator. “You didn’t see me.”
Noticing what she was wearing, I stopped the doors from closing. “You can’t go out in that,” I snapped. Stubborn little girls were going to be the death of me. Grumbling under my breath, I shoved my knit hat, gloves, scarf, and coat into her hands. “It’s freezing out there. Do you want to catch pneumonia?”
Her green eyes flickered with surprise, and I mentally cursed myself that she would be shocked that I actually cared about her well-being. It hadn’t always been like that with us. I’d always loved my baby sister, but after we both realized that New York was where we were meant to be, things had started to change. I hated living in Creswell Springs when I knew that my soul belonged in NYC. Yet, for Nova, she seemed to make the best out of any situation, and she grew content during the times we weren’t on the East Coast.
It annoyed me that while I was miserable as hell, she was able to laugh and have the time of her life. We didn’t belong in that small-ass town. We needed the big-city life and our mother’s Italian side of the family to thrive. I wanted to hate Nova for her ability to carry on with her life as if things didn’t feel like they were put on pause whenever we weren’t in New York. Over the years, it more or less became my mission to make her as miserable as I felt when we were stuck in Northern California.
Grimacing with regret for how I’d treated her over the past few years, I walked toward my bedroom, in need of a shower and a little sleep. Before I reached my door, Ryan’s opened, and he walked out, Nova’s coat in his hand and his phone lifting toward his ear.
“I gave her my coat and things,” I informed him. “She won’t freeze.”
His dark eyes narrowed on me. “You’re home late.”
“I’ll be late getting home tonight as well.” I glanced at Nova’s coat. “I’m going to assume you have plans with my sister.”
He grunted but gave me a nod. “Did you know she was in town?”
“Didn’t have a clue until I saw her just now. Does that mean you didn’t know either?” His clenched jaw confirmed he didn’t. “You two haven’t been talking?”
“We’re good now,” he hedged.
“But you weren’t before?” Guilt tightened my gut. Shit, had I done more damage to my sister’s heart than I realized?
“She was mad at me. Someone told her I was fucking my old secretary.”
That someone was me, but obviously, Nova hadn’t told him. Otherwise, I knew I already would have been in a wooden box back in the family cemetery in Creswell Springs. Either there or fish food for all the aquatic life in the Hudson River. My baby sis was loyal to a fault. She’d been protecting me all her life, and even though I’d lied and said things that had hurt her, she still loved me enough to protect me.
I didn’t deserve her, but I planned on trying to change that.
“I need a few guys later today,” I told my future brother-in-law. “The bigger, the better.”
“You in trouble?” he asked, deadpan.
“No, man,” I assured him. “My girl has a shitty landlord and super. I need to make sure that they know they can’t play games with her or her safety. I also need your best tech. The whole place needs a security upgrade. My brain is on fire, thinking she’s not safe in her own home.”
“Everyone will be waiting downstairs for you by noon,” he promised. “And if you need anything else, just let me know. Pop can make a few calls if you need him to.”
