Page 38 of Vengeful Guard

“Oh, it is.” I roll my eyes. “He never stops teasing me.”

She chuckles. “Well, you should’ve expected that. Kael’s always picked on you. If it helps, he used to pick on me too. Called me stork because of my long, skinny legs.”

“Jerk.”

“He’s not so bad.” Lara smiles. “He’s always been a good friend of the family.”

“He’s an ass.” I shake my head. “How is teasing us all the time ‘not so bad’?” I’m being dramatic again, because if I’m honest, it hasn’t been that bad.

Kael teases me, and he’s generally a thorn in my side, but he hasn’t been cruel. I guess he never was, even when I was younger.

Not that it makes his teasing any better or less annoying. He’s still a pain in the ass.

And I’m sure he thinks the same of me.

Lara shrugs. “Hopefully, things will calm down soon.”

I’m not very optimistic.

My father and Niall Murphy have been at each other’s throats for as long as I can remember. It has been deadly from the get-go, and the fact that even I know that is proof enough that things are not about to ‘calm down’ any time soon, regardless of what my sister thinks.

Granted, what started as a forced marriage between Declan and Bree, Niall’s daughter, has shaken things up, so whatever misguided hopes that things might get better between both families I might’ve had before shattered right there and then.

I look at her. “Are you coming to dinner on Sunday?”

“Of course.”

“I haven’t talked to Da in a few days. I wonder what he’s been up to.”

“Working.” Lara shrugs, munching on her food. “He’s been in and out of town for a couple of weeks now. I’m not sure exactly what he’s doing, but I figure it has something to do with Murphy. Maybe he’s recruiting.”

My eyes widen. “It’s been a decade since we’ve hired someone new. Da’s always so wary.”

Lara shrugs. “All I know is that he’s been in Boston, visiting some cousins. He’s probably going to bring them over.”

It’s like he’s gathering an army. This is a real war, isn’t it?

My throat’s tight when I think about it. Not just for me—for all of us.

Da’s putting himself in the front lines and pushing us toward the back, and I don’t want anything to happen to him.

This is a dangerous game to play.

I should know it, for a few minutes there, I was a pawn in it.

I can only hope and pray that nothing happens to any of my family, and that our men are all as safe as possible.

Lara and I make a day out of our outing. It’s rare that we do this anymore, especially after what happened.

Lara grabs my hand and pulls me to the movie theater. “I told you, you need to get out more, so I’m making it a point to be the one to show you a great time.”

“You don’t have to do that, really. I’m fine.”

“Of course, you are. That’s why we’re making today count. Let’s go watch that romantic comedy where some girl’s dating her brother’s best friend on the downlow. I heard it was fun.”

Gross. I mean who would want to date someone who tells everything to your brother?

No, thank you!

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