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Whatever.
“Hey, Char. Give the guys a break.”
I turn to see Evie, scarfing down her breakfast bagel and juice, pointing a finger at me like a scolding school teacher.
Seriously?
“Char,” she continues, “it’s partly my fault for insisting on going to the play. I should have just listened to you and sucked it up and stayed home. Look, you need to find a balance between happiness and revenge.”
Well, that just about shuts everybody up. The brothers look amused and excuse themselves to get to work, and I stand there in the kitchen having been admonished by about the most immature, impractical teenager in the world.
“Wait here,” I say to Evie, and run after the guys, who are getting in their cars.
“Hey,” I call after them. “Don’t think what my sister just said gets you off the hook. I’m not leaving you alone until this matter is resolved one way or the other. If not just for my sake and my sister’s, but what about Stacey? What about Clara?” I ask, looking directly at Kir.
A dark cloud passes over his face, and I realize I probably went too far. But I have to let the guys know I’m fucking serious, and this business of waiting is getting very old.
“I want to know what’s going on!” I scream.
Vadik approaches me with his hands up like he’s surrendering. “Charleigh, Charleigh, please calm down.”
Oh my God. Did he really just say that? Does he not know that the worst thing to tell a not-calm person is to calm down? That’s like throwing gasoline on a freaking fire.
I know he’s smarter than that.
“Why, Vadik? Why should I calm down? Personally, I can’t think of a single reason why I shouldn’t be upset and yelling at the top of my lungs.”
He’s not pleased and his reconciliation posture changes as he approaches me, finger pointing at my face. “Look. Youwillfollow our lead. Youwillfollow our instructions. And youwillnot speak to any of us that way unless you want to be indefinitely locked in your room.”
Holy hell. Would they really do that?
Best not to test them.
“I… I can’t let this go,” I say, forcing calm into my voice. “I know my sister has a point, but I can’t be happy without revenge. It’s choking me. It’s taken over every aspect of my life. I think about it all day and dream about it all night. You probably think I’m obsessed. Well, you would be right. I am.”
I look from one of them to the next, and the care in their eyes moves me to tears. That’s when I realize, finally realize, that theyarelistening to me, that they have been listening to me all along, and that maybe the person who hasn’t been paying attention is me.
Maybe it’s time for me to shut my mouth and really hear what they are saying, that they love me, would do anything for me, and that they have my back.
* * *
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
Charleigh
Low and behold, when I finally do start listening, what I find out is exactly what I was hoping to hear all along.
“When was the last time he was seen?” Niko asks.
There is a pause. I want to peek around the corner from where I’m eavesdropping just outside the library, but I figure if the guys wanted me in on this conversation, they would have included me.
I was headed to the kitchen for some tea, having tossed and turned all night in bed—again. It’s so early the sun’s not up yet, but I’m hoping something minty might help me relax and get a couple hours’ sleep before I start the day.
It’s strange the guys are up so early.
“According to our men, he hasn’t been here in a long time. Like weeks, maybe even months. He’s hiding out somewhere,” Kir says, “which is smart because he knows he’d be a dead man, otherwise.”
“Yeah, he has people helping him for sure. He couldn’t do this on his own. He’d need support,” Niko adds.
