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“Hey,” he whispered.
“Hi,” she said. “Come in.” He walked into the room and shut the door behind himself.
“It’s good to see you, sis,” he said.
“It’s good to see you too, Bowie. I’m sorry about Dad,” she said.
“His death happened to you too, Darcy,” he reminded.
“Right, but Dad and I hadn’t talked for so long, I felt that I lost him years ago, not just days. You were the one who was still in his life. Your loss is fresh.” He didn’t feel that way about it all. He had never been close to his father.
“I appreciate you saying that, but you know that Dad and I were never really close. He was a bully who demanded his way, and that cost me my relationship with you. I’m so sorry that I let that happen, Darcy. I was just not strong enough to stand up to him. I wasn’t like you.”
“I wasn’t strong and standing up to Dad only happened because I found Rock. He gave me the strength to stand up to our father and demand a better life for me and my daughter. You know she can’t wait to meet her Uncle Bowie,” Darcy said.
“She’s one, so I hardly believe that’s true. But I can’t wait to meet her. Where is she?” Bowie asked.
“Napping,” she said. “Will you stay for a bit so that you can meet her? How about if you stay for dinner?”
“I brought along a friend, but if she’s up for all of that, we’ll stay,” Bowie said.
“A friend?” Darcy asked. “Or, a girlfriend?”
“I’m not really sure what to call Eden. We’ve only been together for a short time and I’m worried that I’ll call her the wrong thing or do something stupid to mess everything up. I’m going crazy trying to figure out what to do about her.” Darcy giggled and he rolled his eyes, knowing that he was going to get a lecture. “Go ahead, make fun of me,” he said.
“I wasn’t going to make fun of you,” she insisted. “I was just going to say that this Eden really has you all twisted around, and I have to admit, I like it. I mean, you usually had yourself altogether. You were like an old man in a twelve-year-old boy’s body, but seeing you like this—it’s refreshing.”
“It’s torture,” Bowie insisted, sinking to the sofa.
“How did you two meet?” Darcy asked, sitting down next to him on the couch.
“We met on the syndicate’s yacht. She’s the captain’s daughter and works on the boat,” he said.
“And you charmed her into your cabin?” Darcy asked.
“Eww- I am not talking to my sister about my charms,” he grumbled. “I asked her to dinner, and she told me, no.”
“So, how did she end up here with you if she turned you down? Tell me that you haven’t kidnapped her and brought her here, Bowie,” she teased.
“Ha, ha,” he mumbled, “I’ve forgotten how hilarious you are. No, I didn’t kidnap her. I spoke with her father and asked his permission to have dinner with his daughter. He told me that was up to her, but he wouldn’t stand in her way if she chose to go on a date with me. I wore her down and she agreed to have dinner with me, which was against work policy, but everyone seemed pretty cool about her and me seeing each other. Things were going great until we docked in the south of France, and someone spotted us together.”
“What do you mean by that?” Darcy asked. “Were you being followed?”
“I didn’t think so at first,” he admitted. “I kind of blew off the pictures that someone texted me of the two of us together in town. But then, I got the call that Dad had been shot and I think that the person following Eden and me around worked for the Gluttony family and I’m afraid that Dad isn’t their only target. They’ll be coming for both of us too. They won’t rest until the Wrath family syndicate is dismantled. You know how this thing works.”
“I do,” she said. “Rock has increased security around here. He thinks that they’ll come for me, but I’m not running away from this. Rock wants to take us up to the cabin in the Catskills, but that would make us look like cowards, and we don’t back down from a fight. How can we help bring down the Gluttony family?” she asked. He loved that his sister wanted to stay and fight, but Rock was right. Taking his family to the Catskills might be a good idea.
“You need to think about your daughter, Darcy. I know that you want to stay and fight, but maybe Rock is right,” he said.
She barked out her laugh and got up from the couch. “I won’t let them get to my daughter, but I need to stop looking over my shoulder for danger to catch up to me. We won’t run. Tell me how I can help.”
“I’m meeting with Bruno Gluttony and Victor Sloth in a few days. Carter Lust is setting up the meeting for me,” he said.
“That’s actually not a bad idea. The new generation of syndicate members might see things the way that we do. Are you going to meet them alone?” she asked.
“No,” he admitted. Carter is going with me. He’s going to fly over for the meeting.
“Take Rock with you too,” she insisted.
