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Turning to face Lach and his gruff expression, Savannah vibrated on the spot. “What the hell is going on?”
Her brother’s slicked-back blond hair was almost the same shade as hers. Other than that, they barely resembled each other. Lach’s eyes were light brown, and at six foot one, he stood a good seven inches taller than her.
He took a step into the room. “Dad wants you out of town for a bit. That’s all.”
The anger heating her skin turned to downright rage. “I’m twenty-eight years old. He can’t uproot my life whenever he wants.”
Sympathy etched itself in Lach’s face before his mouth hitched up in a smirk. “You know that’s not true.”
She balled her hands into fists at her sides, ready to punch someone. “It is this time.” Firing her gaze at Dominic, she pointed to the door. “Leave.”
Dominic’s usual bland expression shifted to one of bewilderment. He clearly wasn’t used to anyone defying Danny’s orders. He looked at Lach then back at her. “Your dad gave me orders to escort you outside to your guard, miss.”
She forced her own lips into a smirk. The poor guy’s head would probably explode if he couldn’t enforce Danny’s orders. And it wasn’t as if he could lay a hand on her. That’d only garner more of her dad’s wrath. “Well, now you havemyorder to leave my apartment.”
Dominic lifted his hand to his shaved head. His meaty bicep flexed. “I’m gonna have to call the boss.”
She hiked up her shoulders. Any attempt to make her change her mind wouldn’t work. “Do that. Outside.”
Dominic huffed and sidled around her. “Talk to her, will ya?” he muttered to Lach.
Once Savannah’s apartment door slammed shut, Lach met her gaze. “It’s not Dom’s fault.”
Savannah zipped up one empty suitcase, then the other, and swung them off the bed. Her brother wouldn’t help her. No doubt he wanted no part of her defiance.
“I don’t care whose fault it is. I’m not leaving, Lach. I’ve got my own things going on and Dad needs to learn that he can’t allow his business dealings to trickle into our lives.”
When she was a little girl, she and her brother were often picked up randomly from school or yanked out of their beds in the middle of the night to be sent off to some safe house until her father could kill whoever had threatened their lives. But ever since her mom died in a car accident, eight years ago, her dad had been even more protective and overbearing, making her wild with frustration.
It’d been three years since the last time he sent her away, and she’d sworn to herself then that she’d never let it happen again. Another eight months in Wyoming, alone, was out of the question. Hell, she wouldn’t even take an all-expenses-paid vacation.
“You can run your business from anywhere, so that argument won’t work with Dad,” Lach said, with reproach.
Savannah tapped her foot. He wasn’t entirely wrong. As a freelance web designer she often enjoyed working remotely. “That’s beside the point. And you know that if I go with him, my internet access will be restricted. It’s like frickin’ house arrest.”
Lach nodded then hung his head. “Look, I won’t force you to do anything. But I think you should consider leaving this time.” The tone of his voice was more of a warning than his words. “Threats were made. Ones we need to take seriously.”
Threats against her.
“Let me guess. He’s fighting with Red Eyez?” Two gangs in Seattle were one too many. Red Eyez wasn’t as big as Sinners Cartel, but they vied for the spotlight. One wrong move by the rival gang’s leader would have her dad up in arms and ready for war.
It was a damn miracle nothing serious had gone down yet.
Lach lifted his shoulder and wandered to the window across from her bed. He pushed aside the linen curtain and stared at the street below. Her stomach tightened. Lach wasn’t the quiet type, but today he seemed on edge. Unlike himself.
Was he worried about her?
A niggle of unease cinched her stomach muscles. Still, she didn’t want to leave. She was tired of running. “Lach, I won’t go.”
He straightened away from the window. “I’ll drive you to see Dad.”
She nodded and led the way out of the bedroom. After scooping up her purse from the foyer table and slipping her feet into her high heels, she opened the apartment door. Her brother didn’t say a word and dammit, his silence screamed at her that he wasn’t happy.
Why did she always have to pacify the men in her life?
Bullshit.
She needed distance from Sinners Cartel, but her father and brother were all she had. She couldn’t turn her back on them. Not to mention she collected a healthy paycheck from the organization. She kept her father’s schedule and lined up meetings with small local businesses.
