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I will him to keep his mouth shut while I think for one second.
Because if he names her, she's dead. Gone.
The board of the California Heritage might not jump directly to murder when money, old-fashioned threats, and coercion would suffice, but my father? He'd kill her on principle. He'd kill her for sport. Fun.
He'd kill her for no reason at all, other than to remind the world that he can and will.
He and Markus are alike in that regard.
I see the corner of Markus's lips twitch, and I know two things.
Firstly: she's safe.
Secondly: I owe the craziest motherfucker I know a great deal for protecting a greedy girl who just signed her own death warrant.
Honestly, I shouldn’t care. After what she’s just done, I should be the first to want her to suffer. But something doesn’t sit right with me about leaving her at my father’s mercy. She’s my problem to take care of, not his. I was the first to see her Sunday. I handled it—badly, evidently. I should be the one to fix it.
“What measures do we have in place to get this bastard?” Magnus asks.
I somehow prevent myself from punching the asshole. He wasn’t wrong to ask, and I should know what will be targeting her if I want to keep her out of harm’s way.
Wait, is that my goal? I don’t see how I could achieve it. There’s no version of this story where Sarah doesn’t get crushed under someone’s boot after the choices she made.
“We have the Astrellas on it remotely,” my father says, frowning. “But their security couldn’t find the source of the video. Markus, you still have contacts in the Web House?”
My little brother nods once. “On it.”
I send him a meaningful look. Whatever his spies unearth, I want it first.
Ineedit first.
Eriks runs his hand over his sleek, dark hair, sighing. “I need the matter closed. Your mother is worried about Dez and Riley. You boys would come out of this smelling like roses if the full recording went out, but you know the women will carry it to the grave, getting harassed at every corner.”
The glint in Markus’s eyes would make anyone shiver.
Shit. I should get to Sarah first. If he does, there won’t be enough of her left to bury after he’s done. Markus takes threats to his Daisy very fucking seriously. Sarah wouldn’t be the first to die for posing a threat to his girl.
Magnus is no less furious, but he doesn’t know where to direct his rage yet.
I have to move fast.
The rest of the evening passes in a blur. We eat, we drink, our mother sings, our father says very little, his presence wordlessly taking up almost all the air. None of us speaks out of turn, which must be a first. Markus and Magnus are no doubt stewing in anger and worry about their girls, while I’m counting the minutes until I can head back to the Shark House and plan.
It’s too late to make a move today, but I have to know how I’m going to deal with Sarah tomorrow.
“We should do this more often,” Marcella chirps cheerfully. “My boys for three hours, without a single argument.” Her sigh is sheer contentment. “If a sextortionist is all it takes to bring about that miracle, I’ll hire one every week.”
The sharp, recognizable sound of a palm slapping against flesh thunders in the silence. My mother giggles, smirking at my father, who barely even moved to slap her ass.
And it’s time to go.
Markus is the first to stand. “I have to head back to Dez.”
Pa nods, and even Ma, well known for her attempts to keep us at home as long as possible, doesn’t protest.
I need to find myself a woman just for that.
Thankfully, his excuse serves me today.
