AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s not a child, Aidan, and treating her like one is the best way to make her run. She needs you to be honest with her.”
“No, she needs to be protected.”
“Do you know what her biggest fear is?” She cocked her hip in that same irritating way she did when she was a kid. “That she’s going to end up like her parents. like our mother and sister.”
“All the more reason to keep out of things,” I snapped.
Bree and her damn prying!
“How is she supposed to protect herself, if she doesn’t know what she’s protecting herself against?”
“I’ll protect her.”
“You’re not always around, Aidan. You’re so bus-”
“Drop it, Bree,” I growled, finally losing my patience. I stalked around the kitchen island to get away from her, but she kept following.
“It’s bad, isn’t it.”
“Bree. Enough.”
She reached out to grab my elbow, pulling me to a halt. “Aidan, tell me what the hell is going on.”
She wasn’t going to drop it.
“Our agreement with the Russians is off.”
“What? Why?”
“We’re not sure yet, but we think they’ve teamed up with the Cazadores.”
She paled, her hand dropping from my elbow. “But-”
“You need to keep this to yourself, little sister. At least until after the wedding.”
“She deserves to know what she’s getting into.” She shook her head, pacing away from me.
“After. The. Wedding. Do you hear me?” Even I could hear the desperation in my tone. She paced for a few moments, then turned back to me, chewing thoughtfully on her lip for a while. Where were her loyalties supposed to lie? With her best friend who’d always been there for her, or her asshole brother?
“Okay,” she eventually said, “But you have to promise that you’re going to tell her everything afterward and you’re not going to keep things from her.”
“I promise.” I didn’t, but Brianna didn’t need to know that. Cait needed peace…she didn’t need to know every sordid detail of our business. She didn’t have the stomach for the things I had to do. For the things I would do to keep us and our family safe.
I’d never told her what I’d done to the men who’d killed her parents, and I never would… Was I worried she wouldn’t look at me the same way?
Perhaps.
“Okay,” Bree finally agreed, stepping back from me, signaling it was safe to leave.
“Stay with your security. Don’t go off on your own.”
“We can ta-”
“Bree. Enough. I’ve got enough to deal with, without worrying that you two are deliberately trying to shake your security. Just do as you’re told, okay? If not for me, then for Dad.” My heart was hammering in my ears, my body tense with the need to run or fight or do something to protect the people I loved rather than just standing here.
God, maybe my father had been right. I was unravelling.
I felt like I was galloping towards the end of that aisle, yet it kept getting further and further away.
