Page 11 of Arranged Scars
I give him a flat look. “Let’s leave off the girl for a while. I want you to keep tabs on her brothers instead.”
Liam’s eyebrows raise. “All four of them? You do realize they’re serious business?”
“Get Bryan involved.” Another one of my favorite soldiers. Controlled, almost to the point of coldness, but insanely aggressive when the situation calls for it. “Pull in more guys if you need them.”
“Tailing four top-level members of the family won’t be easy.” Liam shoves the phone away with a happy smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“I want high-level movements only. Nothing too close.”
“Understood.” He taps a knuckle on my car hood and starts walking off.
“And Liam.” He glances back. “Take down the observation equipment from the dummy apartment.”
“You sure? That was a huge project getting it all wired up.”
“I’m positive.” Caroline doesn’t need me staring at her while she saunas anymore. If I want, I can join her. But I don’t fucking want. “I’m moving to the next phase soon.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
“Marriage.”
Unfortunately.
4
CAROLINE
Red stands on the threshold of my apartment with a hard stare. “You know I can’t go back there without you.”
“Then it sounds like you’re screwed.”
His jaw ticks. I know what that look means. I’ve seen it on Red a million times growing up. He’s the easiest of my four brothers to piss off. Nothing drives him crazier than disrespecting the family.
“Dad says he needs to speak with you. It’s not an option.”
I look around my meager little apartment. There’s not much to see: secondhand couch, TV I stole from my childhood bedroom when I moved out, pots and pans from a nearby thrift store. “I don’t see Dad here. Guess he doesn’t have a say in my life anymore.”
“Caroline.” Red’s tone is firm, like he’s talking to a little kid. Which, to be fair, has been his experience of me for a long time. Red’s ten years older than me, my brother closest in age. To himand the others, I’m just an annoying baby. “Please don’t make this difficult.”
I know I’m going with him eventually. In the end, Dad gets what Dad wants, whether I like it or not. I’ve been lucky he let me live on my own outside of his supervision for the past year. But that doesn’t mean I actually escaped him. I’m not that stupid.
But screw Red. And screw Dad. They’ve tortured me enough over the years. Now I get some pleasure in making their lives just slightly more difficult.
Sometimes petty revenge is all you can get.
“Tell Dad to FaceTime me. Better yet, he can drive over here himself if he wants to speak.”
Red’s nose wrinkles. “He’s got better things to do.”
“And you don’t?” I act all innocent, like I really am offended for my brother. “I thought you were an important member of the organization. But here you are, fetching your little sister.”
His cheeks turn red. I know I’m pushing it now. “Time to go. Either you come down with me now, or I’ll crack your fucking skull open and drag you down. You think Dad will care if I throw you on his office floor bleeding?”
Wouldn’t be the first time.
I smile sweetly. “Say please.”
“Don’t be a bitch, Caroline. Get in the goddamn car.”
