Page 46 of Sweet Little Spies

She was obnoxious. “Daisy, what were you going to blackmailme with? You could at least tell me.”

She’d stopped at the door. “Oh, I was going to offer you achoice. Fix things with my brother in the next couple of weeks or I’ll tellyour mother that you went to all the Doms at The Hideout and threatened to killthem if they played with your sister. I wouldn’t tell Bri because it could hurther feelings. I know they hurt mine when I found out you and Aidan had done itto me. I was starting to think maybe I wasn’t pretty or something. But I willtotally tell your mom.”

Holy shit. Sometimes when he was in real danger it felt likethe world slowed down. This was one of those times. “Aidan told you?”

It wasn’t easy being the big brother. Especially in akink-friendly world. If he’d been born to a normal family, no one would be likehey, take your sister to the sex club you founded with your friends.He didn’t live in that world. He lived in the one where if he didn’t give hissister a membership, she would go and find her own and then probably get in ashit ton of trouble. What was he supposed to do? Let those assholes use hissister?

They were mostly his friends and had been super vetted byhim and Lou, but damn it, there was also Lucas and Seth to deal with. They werewalking, talking red flags when it came to women.

Maybe he could have talked to Bri instead, but then he wouldhave had to talk about sex with his sister, and it was far easier to threatenthe fuck out of every Dom at the club.

“He didn’t have to,” Daisy said with a shrug. “I figured itout. You know I could have been a detective. When I confronted him he admittedyou helped him and you did the same with Bri. Also, he said TJ told you hissister was a grown-ass woman who got to make her own decisions, so good on TJ.I don’t have to go to Aunt Erin. But I think Aunt Serena will be interested inthis…intel.”

His mom would be pissed. His dads would likely understand,but they would be way more afraid of his mom than they would be of standing upfor Tris’s right to protect his sister from a bunch of men he regularly hungout with.

When he thought about it, he was kind of an asshole. Wouldshe see it as interfering or the act of a loving brother?

Yeah, she was going to kick his ass, though nothing likewhat his mom would do. His mom would write him into a book and kill him off andnever, ever let him forget he was part of the patriarchy. It would be awful.

“I could also tell the twins,” Daisy mused.

The twins… He didn’t want to think about what Kala and Kenzwould do if they decided a fellow woman was being infantilized. He’d faced downsome of the world’s most dangerous spies, and nothing had quite scared him likeDaisy O’Donnell. “I’ll get them back. I’ll do it. I’ll make sure they’re safe,and in a few weeks I’ll ensure they let me back in. I’ll take care of them,Dais.”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked him over. “I don’t know if Ibelieve you.”

“If I don’t, then you can always tell her later,” heoffered. All he knew was he didn’t want his mom to find out. She would killhim. He suddenly felt like a kid again.

And all he wanted was his family.

He couldn’t have them right now. He had to get through this,had to fix it so he didn’t stand in front of his parents like a naughty boy.When he was the hero, he could have them again. He would be worthy again.

He’d thought he could give all of this up in order toprotect the people he loved, but he was facing the actual truth of it now andhe couldn’t…he couldn’t.

He couldn’t lose them.

“I could wait,” Daisy allowed.

“If it helps, I think I see how it might have been wrong todo it,” he replied. “Now I’m worried I might have interfered in a bad way.”

Daisy’s eyes widened. “You think?”

“Well, I thought I was protecting her.”

Daisy pointed his way. “Yeah, that’s the problem.”

“Protecting her is a problem?”

A bright smile crossed Daisy’s face. “I’m glad we understandeach other now. So any way I could convince you to join your sister? She’sgoing over to your parents’ place for brunch.”

His mom’s Sunday brunches were legendary. She often invitedall her friends over, but even when it was just the five of them, she made itspecial. He missed those Sunday mornings. He missed being home.

Everyone else got to go home for long stretches of time. Itwas part of their cover.

He’d had his head down for so long he’d forgotten how muchhe missed home.

But not the reason he hadn’t been able to go there. “No. Ican’t go back yet. I have to handle this situation and then maybe I can gohome.”

Daisy’s nose wrinkled. “Oh, well, I guess it’s going to bethe hard way then. Uncle Jake, he said no. You should do that stuff you saidyou would do.”

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