Page 126 of Kade

She was almost skipping when I led her to the study. There was a bounce to her stride and she kept looking at me, giving me a fucking coy smile.

I gave her nothing.

It didn’t penetrate with her. If I hadn’t already been operating with the assumption the girl had legit mentalinstability, I would’ve thought she was on something. Her laugh was high and coarse. She was flushed. Some beads of sweat on her forehead. But her eyes were the kicker. They were not here. She was off in some other universe in her head.

I held open the door, and she went in first.

After Axel called her on my phone—and it should be noted that she answered, and agreed to coming without once asking about her brother—the guys had a heated discussion. A heated fight was a better word because all three threw down for their opinions.

Steele wanted them gone. This was family business, literally.

Axel and Beltraine vehemently disagreed.

Beltraine flat-out said, “Fuck no, dude. Your sister is the most cunning and unstable bitch I’ve ever met. I’m not fucking leaving.” He declared that and plopped down on a chair. Folding his arms over his chest, he gave Steele a pointed glare and smirked.

Steele’s mouth hung open. “I—you never said any of this shit to me before.”

Beltaine laughed before using his head to indicate the room. “And we’ve not heard any of this shit. You said you needed a place to stay and to tell people we’re cousins because you had family drama back home.”

“That’s the truth.”

Beltraine’s eyes flicked upward. “You lied to me, but whatever, dude. I love you and I’m not leaving. Next.” He jerked his chin toward Axel.

Steele cursed under his breath, his fingers dug into his temples before round two happened.

He started, “Axe—”

“No.” Axel dropped back on the couch where he’d been sitting before.

I liked both their arguments, but I liked Beltraine’s more. And I really liked it now after having met Sam’s little sister, but as we walked inside, I caught the look those two shared.

Neither were fans of Steele and Sam’s sister.

Sam, though, I studied her and a metal cage fell down around me, locking me in, because I was watching my wife fall in love all over again. This time it was with her sister.

Her eyes softened. Warmed. “Sabrina.” She started for her, her arms lifting for a hug when the girl in question started laughing.

Laughing.

And it was the same high-pitched unhinged laugh.

Sam stopped in her tracks.

Steele cursed. “Stop it, Brinna.”

The laughter died, and a hollowness lingered in an echo after.

I would never describe this girl as beautiful, because she wasn’t. On the outside, she might’ve passed for that description. She had wavy brown hair. It fell just past her shoulders. She was slender. I’m sure she was dressed as a normal college student would dress. Maybe one going to a party. A white crop-top. High-waisted jeans a lot of other girls wore. Sandals. Glowing, sun-kissed tan skin. Her face was what all the pretty girls looked like, but she couldn’t hold a candle against someone like her sister.

Sam was beautiful on the outside and inside. She surpassed this girl. Hands fucking down. Sam was better in every way, always would be better. The girl had no chance, but my wife, with the good heart she had, wasn’t thinking about any of that.

I knew what she was thinking.

She was thinking about the day she first held her sister in her arms.

She was remembering that day and remembering all the love she had for her, and after needing to suppress it for so long, itwas flooding back to her. She wasn’t seeing how her sister wasn’t her sister anymore. She was an enemy. She was someone who wanted to hurt her.

I thought she could tell Sam, tell her what she did, how Steele had told Samantha who he was.

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