Page 14 of As the World Falls

“That fucking girl,” he gripes, going straight to the mini bar cart in my living room. I assumed he was talking about his sister, whom I was already very tired of seeing and discussing, but Isupposed he was my friend, and I was obligated to listen to his frustrations.

“Did you see her home safely?”

He nods vigorously as he swallows down a shot of whiskey. He clears his throat heavily and pours himself one more, downing it and then dropping onto the armchair across from where I sit on the sofa. “She is a fucking terror when she sets out to be. I almost forgot what it was like to deal with her incessant behavior.”

I nodded understandably, although I didn’t understand any of it. I didn’t have a sibling. I had Stef, who was like one, but even he had an actual sibling, so it’s not the same. But we’re both very like-minded, and fights have been minimal.

“Speaking of,” I finally mention because it’s been weighing on me since I found out about Cecilia. He still didn’t acknowledge the shocking reveal of her to me when I informed him of her hysterics at the headquarters. He just grumbled something about her not trusting him and stormed out of the building; I’m assuming to confront her. We've been busy with work since I’ve seen him after that. But now we weren’t.

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?” I ask, the disappointment shockingly evident in my tone. “I’ve known you for five years now. How could you not tell me about her?”

He sighs, his fingers tapping nervously on his knee. “Many reasons,” he admits. “I was never a good brother. I was the oldest, and I should have acted like it. I should have protected her more. I should have been more of a shoulder to lean on. I should have been someone she could always rely on and depend on, but I wasn’t. After our mom died as kids, I should have been all those things the most, and I faltered. I let her down, and our father let her down, too. She had to find her way herself at a very young age. Learn to rely on herself too young. The older she kept getting and the more I let her down, the more I could see thatlittle girl, my little sister, disappearing more and more, but I was always too far gone to care enough. When I met you and finally decided to get my shit together, I decided I was going to try and protect her this time. I would keep her out of my life while I got it together so she didn’t have to see me that way.” His eyes meet mine, and the look in them puzzles me. He looked hesitant and guilt-ridden. “I wanted to protect her from both of us.”

It feels as though the muscles in my body freeze at his surprising statement. Protect her from us. Me. I didn’t understand how I had anything to do with her.

“What do you mean? I have no business with the girl.”

“I know that, but I do, and I’m directly linked to you now, and we both know you’re not Mr. Innocent around these streets, and there’s also your past. We do dangerous shit every day. Our clients are all capable and guilty of cold-blooded murder. I’m fine with that being my life. In fact, in a sick way, I thrive in it. But it’s not something I ever want for her. I want zero ties between her and my life in New York. I wanted everything about my sister to remain in Boston.”

I tap my fingers to my lips as I take in all of the information. This I understood. Everything he said made sense, and none of it hurt me. I didn’t blame him for wanting to protect her, but I just hoped he knew I’d never endanger her, even if I did want to throttle her little neck on the short occasions I’ve spoken with her.

“You do realize Stef and I both have residences in Boston?” I ask quizzically. It was where Stef was raised as a child by his mother while his father ran the city in New York. It was where I was raised after the age of eleven until I turned eighteen. We both had sentimental ties to Boston, and our homes are there despite us having to stay at apartments in the city for most of our time. Stef even had a private bar there that only he and a few trusted others frequented to blow off steam.

“I know that. She’s not the kind of girl to cross your path, though, so I was never worried about it.”

“Maybe you should be. She’s…tenacious.”

He chuckles at that, and I observe with interest the warmth lighting his features as he still manages to admire her despite being frustrated with her. “She’s always been that way. It was why I tried to hide her away so adamantly. I should have known she'd try to devour it completely the minute I welcomed her back into my life. Despite being my baby sister, she’s a bit of a mama bear. She’s a lot like our mother was.”

“You can’t fault her for that after all she’s been through.” I could, however. I didn’t have emotional ties to her like he did. She was downright annoying.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her,” Tobias mentions. “I guess a warning would have been good where she’s concerned.”

I shrugged it off, this conversation getting too heartfelt for my liking. “I don’t think a warning would have sufficed. Maybe a tranquilizer or a?—”

He playfully kicks a foot out in my direction, his toes scraping against my shin. “Shut up. There’s a chance you’ll see her from time to time now, so no tranquilizers if you can manage it.”

I fake a frowning face. “You’re no fun.”

Chapter Six

Cecilia

I woke up the following day, my head pounding from the copious amounts of alcohol I drank last night.

I may have had too many drinks at Underground to work my nerves up to spy on my brother. I also may have drunk a little too much wine upon returning home after my brother forcefully dragged me from the club and ordered me a driver, because he apparently has one of those now, to drive me over three hours home. I didn’t get home until after two in the morning, and I was so peeved with my brother and unable to fall asleep that I cracked open a bottle of red wine and went to town.

It was now noon, and I regretted every decision I made last night.

Especially since it involved conversing with James Kingston again. The man was an asshole and had never felt a human emotion in his life besides hatefulness because it seemed he didn’t even want to understand where my concern for my brother was coming from.

He was cold and vague in everything he regarded me with, and it made me want to claw at his perfect, smug face. Also, therewas a considerable lack of information on what they all do within Labyrinth Crystal, except for the clear warning of danger, which didn’t make me feel better. It made me want to dig even deeper and unmask their company's faults to keep my brother out of harm’s way.

I carefully stand from the bed, and the minute I do, I race to my bathroom and empty the contents of my stomach. Today’s lesson: Don’t drink red wine and eat an entire box of expired Valentine’s Day chocolate. You will pay for it.

I drag myself off the floor and muster enough strength to brush my teeth before heading into my living room and dropping down onto the sofa with a groan. A knock sounds at my door, and I groan again, the noise too loud to bear.

I make a noise akin to a dying cat as I hear the jingle of keys, and then my front door opens, Lance walking through from the other side. “Hey,” he says awkwardly. He looked concerned as he gazed at me on my sofa, probably looking like I resembled a Wookie. “Is everything all right?”

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