Covet - Eve Vaughn Page 0,20

it out.”

I don’t know why what she was saying bothered me so much. She was a nurse after all and would know what she was talking about, but my walls rose and I became defensive. “My mother has been taking care of Kenny since he was born. Are you saying she doesn’t know what’s best for him?”

“Of course I’m not, but perhaps she’s too close to the situation and could use a second opinion. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”

“I don’t know what you’re implying about my brother’s care but he’s fine, and my mother has made many sacrifices for him.”

“And I’m just saying that based on what Kenny told me, it wouldn’t do any harm if at the very least he can seek out another doctor who will address some of his concerns. Honestly, I’m not sure why he’s not already advocating for himself. His condition doesn’t prevent him in any way of letting a medical professional know his symptoms. Maybe it’s time for your mother to let him make his own medical decisions.”

Frankie didn’t say anything that hadn’t already been in the back of my mind for a while now, after all he was 25. But hearing the words out loud from someone who’d only known my brother for a few months I said, “my mother is doing the best she can, and if Kenny really had an issue with it he would have said something about it.”

“But he said something to me and—”

“I said Kenny is fine. Now stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” The words came out much harsher than I intended, and the second they were spoken, I wish I could take them back. “Look, I didn’t mean it to come out like that, but you have to understand—”

“No,” she shook her head, “You don’t have to explain a thing. I won’t bring it up again.”

The mood for the night was officially killed. And while I felt like a complete jackass for snapping at her, I was still more than a little annoyed that she thought she could speak on my family at all.

But I got over it, although it wasn’t the last time she’d bring it up. In fact, the last time she’d been so insistent, it led to our break up. And within a month, she was married to my brother.

Thinking about how she’d manipulated me and my brother reignited my fury. I had to get her out of my system. I opened my phone and pulled up my banking app to confirm that the payment I’d sent her to go had gone through.

It had.

And that meant one thing. She was now mine for the next two months, and by the time I finished with her, she was going to wish she were as dead as my brother.

Chapter Six

Frankie

I stared at the large sum of money sitting in my bank account which hadn’t been there the day before. Yesterday, it held the grand total of 27 dollars and 82 cents because the final check from the nursing home job had not come through yet. I had only asked for the 50 grand up front, but Nick had added a little more which would be enough for me to at least maintain first and last month’s rent along with a security deposit for a new place.

I shuddered when I thought about what I’d have to do to earn this money, and I asked myself, not for the first time, if this was worth it. Then I thought about Adam. Though my brother had let me down time and time again over the years, he was still my brother, and I loved him. He was all I had left, and it was difficult to simply let go. Maybe with the extra money I could send him to a different rehab center, one that would give him the incentive to see things through this time.

I could only hope.

But then I wondered once Adam got the money he needed, would he just disappear from my life and I wouldn’t hear from him again for another chunk of time. Or at the very least, until he wanted something from me again.

As I mulled over this dilemma, another popped in my head in the form of a 6 foot 3 sexy ass demon who went by the name of Nick. I hated his guts for what he was making me do, what else I might have to do. I squirm in my seat as I