Page 2 of Protecting Christina

“But?”

She sighed. “I don’t know how to say it, so I’ll just be blunt.”

“Yeah?”

“I think your sister’s in trouble.”

For a second, I hesitated. But only for a second.

“And?”

“Christina,” Gabby admonished. “It’s your sister.”

It was difficult for me to muster familial concern since the feeling was never reciprocated. My older sister had never been concerned about me. Neither had my older brother, for that matter.

Why should I care about what’s happening in their lives now?

But Gabby was the type of person who cared. She was the type who wanted to fix things, people, and relationships.

I didn’t suffer from that tendency. But she was there for me when no one else was, so I would hear her out.

“What sort of trouble is she in?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I know she’s living with the Graff brothers.”

The name conjured up old memories. Not good ones. Simon Graff cornered me behind the bleachers in high school. I knew to stay away from him, but I often walked home alone and he had noticed. I’ll never forget the blank look in his eyes when he told me what he would do to me.

I never gave him the chance. Instead, I struck him hard with the palm of my hand, breaking his tiny nose. He never saw it coming. But I was prepared for assholes like him. Unfortunately, in my neighborhood, it wasn’t the first time I’d been cornered like that.

Or the last.

“Well, if that’s who she wants to hang with, I won’t stop her.”

Gabby ignored me. “I’ve tried reaching out, but she’s not answering her phone. The Graff brothers are more dangerous than they were in high school. They’re men now and mixed up in some drug and other trafficking rings. It’s pretty bad. And your sister could be getting herself into a lot of trouble. Trouble that could blow back on you.”

I sighed and rubbed my temple.

“All right. I’ll go check in on her.”

Having a sister locked up for drug dealing or sex trafficking wouldn’t sit well with the partners in my law firm or our clients. But that wasn’t the reason I decided to visit Simon Graff.

No.

Maybe it was finally time for payback. Payback for the last time he cornered me.

The time I didn’t get away.

“Thanks, Chrissy. Call me later.”

“I will. Bye.”

Nikole waited patiently for me at the lunchroom door. “Is everything all right? Who do you need to check in on?”

“My sister,” I sighed and walked past her toward the front doors.

She caught up to me despite her three-inch heels and my ballerina flats. “I don’t mean to pry,” she said.

“Then don’t.”

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