Page 2 of Deceptive Lies

Yet there must be men like this bursting into her pretty, pink princess bedroom in the middle of the night, scaring her.

Anger ignited inside him, shoving away some of the fear.

No one got to hurt his little sister and get away with it.

Just as the men tried to reach for him and pull him from his bed, Cooper launched to his feet. The window was right between his and his brother’s beds and right outside was a huge oak tree. How many times had they gotten in trouble for jumping out the window and into the tree?

Hundreds of times.

Last winter when little Cassandra decided to follow her big brothers and do what they did, she’d attempted the jump only to fall and break her arm. All four boys had been in huge trouble for not stopping her.

Now nothing was going to stop him.

He was going to get out that window, into the tree, then he was going to scream as loud as he could and get to the closest neighbor’s house and get them to call the cops.

“Don’t do it, kid,” a voice warned as he jumped toward the open window.

For a second, he hesitated at the authority in the man’s tone, but Cassandra’s screams still filled the house, and they spurred him on.

At the window, he went for it.

He jumped.

Only to be caught before he could reach the tree.

A hand snapped around the T-shirt he was wearing and yanked him roughly back into the house.

“Damn kids,” a voice muttered.

“No wonder given who the mother is,” another grumbled.

Helplessness filled him as he was set on his feet, a hard grip on his shoulder preventing him from going anywhere other than where he was marched. Helplessness had been the catch cry of his life these last six months. From learning that the dad he idolized was dead, to his mom marrying someone just a couple of months later, to having to learn to live with a new man and two new kids in the home he had shared with his family.

But this was worse.

Lights began to flicker on throughout the house as Cooper was marched out of his bedroom, his brother behind him. His fifteen-year-old brother Cade was fighting against the two men manhandling him, and eleven-year-old Cole was crying. Stepbrothers Jake, who was fourteen, and Jax, who was twelve, were both trying to break free of the men holding onto them, as all six of them were dragged down the stairs and into the living room.

“Get your hands off my sister,” Cade growled in a deep fury-filled voice Cooper had never heard his big brother use before.

When he saw one of the men in black carrying a shrieking Cassandra down the stairs, the anger inside him surged.

Nobody touched his sister.

With four older brothers and six years between her and the next youngest, Cole, there was no denying that Cassandra was spoiled. No one in the family was any good at saying no to the little girl, but despite being pampered as she was, there wasn't a sweeter child in the whole world than Cassandra.

“No one is hurting the girl,” the man carrying her snapped like they were the problem and not him.

When Cassandra continued to wail, she was thrust toward Cade who immediately took the little girl into his arms. “Shh, boo,” he whispered, calling her by the nickname she’d gotten as a toddler because of her complete love and obsession with hiding and then jumping out when you walked past her hiding spot and screaming boo at you.

“Why won't she shut up?” one of the men grumbled.

“She doesn’t have her bunny, that’s why she’s crying,” Connor informed the men hovering around them, his blue eyes shooting daggers at each and every one of the men who had broken into their home tonight.

“Go get the kid the bunny,” the man holding Cole ordered. After casting a glance at his oldest brother, the eleven-year-old ran back upstairs after Cade nodded his ascent, returning a minute later with Cassandra’s treasured bunny.

Once the little girl had it in her arms, she began to quieten, her sobs becoming sniffles as they all stood around and … waited?

Cooper had no idea what was going on.

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