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Sophie wobbles over on silver heels, huge sunglasses covering her eyes, her hair a much more bleached shade of blonde than the last time she was here.
Now when I look past her I can see a black Lincoln Navigator idling at the curb. My wariness increases. Jared owns a fleet of those for his men to use.
I cut a quick glance in Andrei’s direction and see that he’s already on high alert, prowling over to the door to keep a grim eye on the vehicle in case anyone else exits. He gestures to Alex, who has mercifully forgotten about me and now dates Layla. Alex sets down his pizza slice and obediently trundles over to stand at Andrei’s side.
Sophie pushes her sunglasses up and gazes around with obvious distaste. “You’re having a party.”
It’s a huge effort to curb my annoyance. “Hey, Soph. Why don’t you take a seat and have some pizza?”
Her nose quivers like a rabbit’s. “I’m allergic to gluten. And I wasn’t invited.”
“We have hot wings too. And I just invited you.”
She huffs and crosses her arms, her expression darkening to a glare as she takes in the sight of my sister laughing with a bunch of the girls.
She might be glaring at Fiona, who still wears a bandage on her forearm to cover the ten stitches needed after Sophie swung a broken vodka bottle like a samurai sword.
“No,” Sophie says, then sniffs. “I’ve got someone waiting for me.”
The more I watch, the more I think Sophie isn’t really pouting in Fiona’s direction after all. No, I could swear she’s scowling at Lita.
Which makes no sense.
Sophie has shown absolutely no interest in Lita. They’ve only met once for a couple of minutes and then Sophie flounced away.
“What a bummer you can’t stay.” I’m not bummed in the slightest.
A shard of my sarcasm might have penetrated Sophie’s dim brain because she turns her wrath in my direction. “I know you don’t care. Always thinking about yourself instead of thinking about what’s best for the family.”
Yeah, I don’t have the patience for this shit. What’s best for the family right now is for her to get out of my sight before I physically toss her into the street.
I’m about to tell her that I hope the door hits her ass on the way out when a glint of green catches my eye. Sophie doesn’t have time to pull back before I dive across the counter and snatch her hand for a closer look.
My mouth goes dry as I stare at my dead uncle’s ring loosely hanging onto her right thumb. “Where the hell did you get this?”
She yanks her hand away, scratching my wrist with the point of a candy-colored acrylic nail. “It was a present. It’s mine.” She twists the ring around her thumb. “It’s for family loyalty. You should know that. Why don’tyouhave one?”
I’m forced to remind myself that she’s not very bright. Otherwise, I might lose my temper. Jared must have given her the ring, a cheap ploy to keep her in line so he can go off and do whatever the fuck he wants.
Or maybe she stole it. Who the hell cares? I just want her out of my way.
“Feel free to grab a pizza slice on your way out,” I say. Even Sophie should be able to interpret the meaning.
Her nostrils flare. “Fine. I guess you don’t care about being friends anymore. You don’t know who your friends are anyway. And you don’t need me now that you have your precious sister back.”
That’s about all I can take. The girl is a spoiled brat with a lot of growing up to do and if she sticks around any longer I’ll say something both cruel and true.
I grab a napkin and start walking away. “Bye, Sophie.”
When I’m back at Lita’s table I glance over my shoulder in time to see Sophie kick the door with her right foot. Not really a smart thing to do while wearing stilettos. She doubles over with a cry of pain and then limps out in her ridiculous heels.
“Good riddance,” mutters Fiona and rubs at the bandage on her arm.
Lita is mystified. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.” I set the beer down in front of her. “Just the trash taking itself out.”
Fiona snorts. Lita takes a gulp of her beer. And then another.
