Taking On The Billionaire (Redhawk Reunion #1) - Robin Covington Page 0,10

would have made their dad proud. Clearly, hours spent in the driveway shooting hoops had paid off. “Tess, I love you and I respect your dedication to the cause but you have got to let this vendetta go. Franklin Thornton is untouchable and always will be. He got away with it. End of story.”

“No, that is not the end of the story,” Tess fumed, sloshing coffee out of her mug when she picked it up with a little too much force.

“No, you’re right. It’s not the end of the story because the actual ending will read, ‘Daughter ruins her life just like her father. Franklin Thornton wins twice.’” Mia emphasized her harsh words with a flourish of her hands in the air like she was highlighting a movie marquee. “Let it go, Tess. Get laid. Read a book. Go to a movie. Get a fucking life.”

She didn’t need the caffeine because her sister’s words woke her up like an injection of epinephrine straight to the heart. Where fatigue and lethargy had weighed her down just moments before, she was now fueled by anger and a betrayal that cut to the quick.

“Fuck you, Mia.” Tess squared off with her sister, her voice bouncing off the hardwood floors and cabinets. “If I don’t have a life it’s because I’m doing this for you and for Dad.”

“Bullshit, Tess. I didn’t ask you to do this and Dad has been dead for years and he doesn’t care anymore. If you want to do something for me, then stop all this avenging angel crap and let me have some peace instead of carrying around all this guilt for everything you’ve done for me. If you can’t let yourself off the hook, then get it off my back. Please.”

Whoa. Tess blinked hard, trying to clear the roaring in her head and the hot tears stinging her eyes and blurring her vision. Mia’s words pierced her deeply and Tess reached for her coffee, taking a too-hot sip to fill the heavy silence that polluted the air between them. It wasn’t easy to hear that her efforts weren’t recognized for what they were, that her sister didn’t see the value in making the past right.

Mia had been so little—she didn’t always remember just how bad it had been after Franklin Thornton had cheated their father and sent him spiraling into depression and self-destruction. But Tess remembered it all because she had been the one who had stepped in and shielded Mia from the worst of it. In a way, Tess had made it possible for Mia to not understand how she couldn’t just let this go.

Tess wouldn’t tell Mia that she’d met the man today, that he was as awful up close and personal as he was on paper and the internet. She wouldn’t tell her because it wouldn’t change anything for her sister. This was a conversation that they’d had in some form or other a million times before and she wasn’t going to change her path so it was best to let it drop.

Tess cleared her throat, testing her voice a little before she changed the subject. “I wasn’t working on the Thornton case, anyway. Adam Redhawk hired me to help him find someone.”

“I thought you wrapped that case up,” Mia said and Tess let out a grateful breath that she was going to let their fight over their dad and Franklin Thornton go.

“I did. This is a new one.”

“That guy sure does lose a lot of people,” Mia mused, her eyebrow raised in self-congratulatory amusement at her very bad joke.

“It’s not that kind of case. Nobody is actually missing.” Tess considered how much she could talk about and not violate her confidentiality agreement. “It’s like a bunch of background checks on steroids.”

“And he doesn’t have anyone at that huge company he owns who could possibly do that for him? Not. At. All?” Mia shook her head on beat with her words, her grin wide and a little bit lascivious.

“Mia,” Tess said, amused warning coating her response. She knew exactly where this was going and if it was possible, she wanted to talk about this topic even less than she wanted to argue over their father.

“Tess.” Mia hopped up on the counter and kicked out to poke Tess with a purple sparkle–painted toe. “I saw you and Adam Redhawk together and let’s just say that they can see the sparks zipping between you two from the space station. I felt like I needed to get you