Page 38 of Dirty Dancer

“I didn’t know I was difficult to talk to.” I shrugged. “You’re still getting to know me so that might be it.”

“But you’re my sister.” He formed the pair of syllables like he was examining them, trying to understand what they meant.

“Milo is our brother,” I pointed out and the lines around his mouth tightened. “It’s okay if you don’t like him right now, I didn’t like him much the first time I met him as an adult either.”

The swift anger melted away. “Wait… the first timeyoumet him? Didn’t you grow up together?”

“Nope. Our mother died and we were put into foster care. Then I was adopted, cause I was a baby, and he stayed in foster care without me. I didn’t even know he existed before a couple of years ago.” I shrugged. “Pissed me off so much that this big brute was trying to tell me what to do and who I could and couldn’t be friends with and was so damn bossy.”

Affection swirled through me.

“He was such an ass, but… he loved me. It took some getting used to and I’d been an only child for so long. Family… family was hard for me. It took Milo and me some time to work things out. But he’s the best and I adore him. There isn’t anything hewon’t do for the people he cares about. Whether you like it or not, you are in that category now.”

He huffed out a hard sigh, then leaned back against the table. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to know yet. You’re more than welcome to be here. You’re family. My baby brother.” His grimace at the description made me laugh. I rather liked it. “The Vandals already think of you as one of them.”

“You think they’d let me join?”

“Join?” I raised my brows.

“Be an actual Vandal, do jobs, and stuff. I know not everything you guys do is legal. Or maybe it is, but it feels like it isn’t. I think I could be good at it.”

Lips pursed, I studied him. “You’re a little young to be going to work. You need to finish school. Take the time to enjoy it. Play games with Levi. Text Andrea. Grow up without having to look over your shoulder.”

He couldn’t quite suppress his flinch. I knew something about that too. “Why is everyone so invested in school?”

“Because education is important. I never got to finish. I did get a GED but that was because I was always on the road, always performing. Who I am is an aerialist and a dancer. I love to dance. I love to fly. I could go to school, and maybe someday I will. There’s lots of stuff I could study.”

Scrubbing his hands over his face, he went silent. I could practically feel the agitation rolling off him in vibrating waves. “I don’t—I don’t want to go to some private school where I have to live with other people.” Those words came out so harsh, with each syllable dragged as if against his will.

That alone decided me. “You don’t have to.”

He blinked. “What?”

“You don’t have to go to a private school or a boarding school. You can go to public school right here or we can look intohomeschooling, though I hated my tutors back when I had to deal with them. We can certainly afford to interview whoever we want for the job.”

The relief on his face and in his eyes was hardly manufactured. Then again, neither was the suspicion sliding into his gaze. “Why?”

“Because you said you don’t want to go somewhere that reminds you of where you were held.” I could ignore his flinch or wait him out. I chose the latter and when he finally met my gaze again, I nodded. “You told me what you need, and what you want. This isn’t a prison, Theo. We may just be getting to know each other, but I will never force you to do something that makes you suffer.”

He cut his gaze away, discomfort radiating over him.

“You have to have an education though. You have to know how to handle contracts, how to deal with people, business, and just getting through the day. You might stay here with us for the rest of your life if you want, but you’re going to be really bored if you can’t figure out whatyouwant to do. Then there’s Levi and Andrea.”

That jerked his attention back to me. “What about them?”

“They are going to go to school. Maybe a boarding school, maybe not. Boarding schools are pretty normal for families like mine was and Lainey’s is. You’re going to miss them, but you also don’t want to feel like you’re left behind either.”

His stare bored into me and I couldn’t really tell if he was angry, sad, frightened or maybe all three. Had I pushed it too far? I wanted to be as honest as possible. It worked for me and Milo. Even when the topics were uncomfortable. I didn’t hold back and neither did he.

Even when he mentioned how he was going to have sex with Lainey. Ugh. I was happy for them, but I didnotneed details. The oven timer went off and I jumped. Fortunately, I wasn’talone in reacting to the sudden noise. The smell of the pizza hit me at the same time and my stomach gurgled.

Once I had the pizzas out, I hunted up the pizza cutter. My second favorite part about cooking my own pizza.

“I don’t want them to go to those schools either,” he admitted after that protracted silence. “I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

“Trust me, those schools will be vetted and if I know Lainey, there will be security on campus for them. Discreet, but present. At least until she’s reassured herself that Andrea will never go missing again.”

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