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She had an ulterior motive, and I would probably be the worst FBI agent in the world if I couldn’t figure out the intentions of an eight-year-old.
Tessie’s eyes were wide and innocent before a small grin slipped past her lips.
“I wanted to make Dana mad.” She paused, her brow furrowing in concentration. “I don’t like her.”
“Why not?”
She eyed where Bastian was still standing, arms crossed like an impenetrable fortress, and leaned forward to whisper in my ear.
“She’s mean. I never get to see Bastian, and when she dated him, she always tried to send me away from him.”
Dana was jealous of the time that rumors made her think I spent with Bastian, and Tessie was jealous of the time Dana had once spent with Bastian at her expense.
The irony wasn’t lost on me, except Tessie was an eight-year-old child, and Dana had no excuse for her petty behavior.
That, and the fact that everything seemed to revolve around Bastian, even though he clearly didn’t give a damn about anyone but his family.
I leaned back and studied Tessie’s face.
I didn’t like her brother.
Hell, I could hardly tolerate him on the best of days.
But I liked Tessie. She was exactly the type of innocence I had wanted and vowed to protect when I’d first joined the FBI.
I kept my voice low, so only she could hear.
“People like Dana—or any other girl your brother is with—don’t matter to him like you do. Whether he tells you it or not, you’re his favorite person in the world.”
I disliked her brother, her family, and everything they stood for, but that didn’t extend to Tessie.
She was pure.
At least, for now.
Maybe in a decade or two, things would change, she’d follow in her family’s footsteps, and I’d be the one called upon to arrest her, but until then, she was just a kid.
Innocent. Pure. Protected.
She bit her lip. “Really?”
I nodded my head, my smile eclipsing her hesitant one. I’d been honest. I could say a lot of negative things about him, but I would give Bastian this—he loved his family, and he loved his sister most.
I could see it in the way he paid attention to her, doted on her, and talked to her in a manner I’d never seen him use with anyone else.
It was a pity she didn’t realize this, but she’d figure it out, and when she did, she’d realize how lucky she was to have a family who loved her—even if it was composed of criminals and the biggest jackass I had ever met.
After all, that was more than I could ever say for myself.
Bastian’s lips formed a small grin. He looked human in the same way celebrities often did—alive and on the same planet as me, yet so far out of reach.
“Tessie, you done talking about me?”
“No.”
He rolled his eyes. “Too bad. Ma’s here to pick you up.”
She reluctantly got off my lap, waving a slight goodbye to me before she wrapped her arms around her brother’s legs in a short hug and walked out the door.
