hospitality. I’m questioning whether I can trust Rocco’s sixteen-year-old son and that sits restlessly within me.
The guy I have sitting on Rocco’s apartment tells me the kid leaves the loft alone twice a week. For a teenager that refuses to stand more than two feet away from his twin sister at any given time, this lights a bulb of uncertainty in my brain. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. I told my guy to leave it.
Now I’m not so sure.
“Thanks for the dinner invite, Dad.” Codi smiles at me, picking at the tomatoes in the salad I had our kitchen staff prepare earlier.
“Always, sweetheart. I’m just glad we could all be here,” I offer her distractedly, not that she notices, her focus on the food laid out in front of her.
My eyes remain on Jesse Shay. If he clocks me and my overly zealous observance, he doesn’t act differently. Staring broodily off to the side, avoiding everyone and everything. So much like his father, it’s almost uncomfortable to be around.
Blake shoots daggers at him from across the room. Staring at him so intently, I’d be certain she’d skin him alive if she had the mind control to manage it.
The twins, usually as close as any two people can be, are distinctly separated. A purposeful distance pushed into existence through hostility and opposition.
Annoyed by her constant bristling, Jesse walks from the dining room, Blake quick on his heels.
“Camryn,” I call. “Can you get everyone a drink? I’m just going to make a call and then we’ll eat.”
Their voices are easily recognizable from the other side of my front door. Their hushed tones heightening as they argue.
Positioning myself by the door, I place an ear against it, listening intently.
“What did you do?” The panic in her voice rises, her whispered tone more of a spit than anything else.
“I took care of us,” her brother replies just as hotly.
“You did no such thing. You’ve put us in danger. What were you thinking?”
“The only thing I’m only ever concerned with doing, Blake,” he accuses. “Keeping you safe.”
She growls, the sound more feral than feminine. “When are you going to get it? I’m not your fucking responsibility.”
“Everything okay?” Rocco walks up beside me, as stealth as a tiger.
“Jesus,” I speak loud enough for the kids to hear. “You scared me, I was just about to grab the kids.”
Opening the door, they stare at us with frenzied eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Rocco steps in front of me, moving closer to them.
“Nothing,” Blake lies like she’s breathing, completely at ease in the action. “Jesse is just being a little bitch about Dominic putting feta in the salad. He’s not a fan of cheese.”
Her phone rings, dragging our attention away from her oddly believable lie.
“You gonna get that?” Rocco asks her.
“No,” she answers easily. “Probably just one of my many admirers.” She winks, pushing past us into the house. “Let’s eat.”
Eyes set on Jesse, he takes the opportunity while his dad’s focus is on his retreating sister, to stare back.
Rocco, following his daughter, leaves us alone.
“Deceit can hurt a lot of people, Jesse.”
His eyes flash in worry.
“Mostly those you love. You’d do well to remember that.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Sarah
Deal’s off.
I stare at the text, anger bubbling through my veins. I’m going to rain hell on fucking earth.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Blake
I fucked up.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Tivoli
Kid is a sneaky fucker.
“Dominic,” I speak into the line. “I lost him.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Camryn
“Where’s Jesse?” Blake walks from her room, arms reaching upward in a long stretch.
They’ve made themselves a comfortable space from Parker’s old room. Jesse’s living on a swag fit for a king at the end of the queen-sized bed Blake claimed as her throne. The room is covered in books and clothes; messy in the way teenagers are. Much to Rocco’s discomfort. He’d offered to renovate and add an extra bedroom, but they shut it down. They’re most comfortable in close proximity, even when they’re on the outs.
Look that up under the definition of siblings.
“I haven’t seen him all day.”
“Where’s Rocco?”
“At the club,” I tell her. “He and Parker had some work to do.”
“He realizes I don’t need a babysitter, right?”
I shrug, placing my coffee mug down. “He wants to make sure there’s always someone here if you need it.”
Appreciation pulls a smile from her blank face before worry turns her eyes in, her frown line coming on heavier than I’ve seen it. “Jesse should’ve been back by now. He only ever goes for an hour, maybe two.”