Page 12 of Sinner's End

But I wanted my sister. Not the woman in the back of my car, the woman who tries to use her body to get ahead in life. No, I wanted my twin, the girl who survived with me when our parents died, who laughed and cried with me for years. I want the comfort of someone that no longer exists. I realize how stupid that sounds but after nearly being sexually assaulted and watching a man die, that’s exactly what I wanted.

Parking in front of the faded green door of our garage, I shut off the engine and rest my head on the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, I gather myself from the verge of tears before stepping out. Glaring through the back window, I take in the woman that is no longer my sister.

“You can either get yourself in the house or sleep in the fucking car,” I say loudly. “I am so fucking done with you.”

And I am. Tomorrow, one of us will be vacating the house and I am guessing it will be her. I have saved up enough money in the last three years doing website designs and working hours at the diner that I can afford to buy her out of her half of the house.

Emma, on the other hand, hasn’t held a job for more than two weeks at a time. She will be more than happy to take my money.

I don’t enter through the front door but walk around the side to make my way in from the back. The moment I have the side gate open, Daisy assaults me with her hyper pit bull brand of affection, laving me with kisses.

“I’m happy to see you too, girl.” I laugh, scratching behind her ears. “Let’s go to bed. We’ll deal with all this other shit in the morning.”

Daisy barks before bolting for the back door. Standing on the wooden porch, her entire body wiggles with excitement and I can’t hold back my smile. Daisy really is the highlight of my life.

“Do you only smile like that at dogs?”

The question comes from the darkened edge of the house. A loud shriek falls from my lips and Daisy starts barking. She is in front of me, the hair on her neck standing straight up as she protects me.

“Whoa,” the voice says again before Kaleb steps into the circle of light falling from the naked bulb above my back porch. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He stares at me intently as I try to calm Daisy. “Shh, girl. It’s okay.” I stroke her fur and give her extra attention until she settles and stops barking. She doesn’t take her eyes off Kaleb, and I know one wrong move will have her ripping a chuck out of him. She has always been overprotective of me.

The feeling of being watched settles over me and after everything that has happened tonight, I finally feel peace. This is what I wanted from my sister. Strange how someone I’ve never met can offer me the comfort she no longer does.

“What are you doing here, Kaleb?” I ask, stepping closer to the back door. I don’t know this man, and suddenly I don’t feel as comfortable around him.

“I wanted to check up on you,” he says with a shrug that seems out of place on a man his size. “I know tonight has been a lot. First the bathroom, and then Mana and Emma.”

A dark, emotionless laugh falls from my lips. “A lot?” He has the decency to look sheepish. “Yes, Kaleb. I’m fine. Thank you for stopping by to check on me.” I wonder how he looked up our address, then stop wondering. Emma was all over him earlier.

He nods, making his way closer to me. Daisy growls lowly, but doesn’t do anything yet. His hand caresses my cheek, his gaze taking in every feature of my face.

“And I wanted to do this.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to pull away before his lipsland on mine. His kiss is forceful but allows me the space to pull away if I want. But I don’t want to. I also want to be reckless and throw caution to the wind. What could one kiss hurt?

So, I give in, twining my arms behind his neck and pulling him closer. Kaleb palms my ass, pulling my body flush with his. Fuck, this man can kiss.

Kaleb pulls away, breathing just as harshly as I am. “Damn, girl.”

I shake my head, words lost to me. What the hell just happened?

“I want to take you on a date,” he says with a devilish grin. “Say yes, please.”

“What?”

“One date.” He massages the globe of my ass he has yet to let go of, staring into my eyes. “If you don’t like me, we can go our separate ways. But there is something about you I can’t put my finger on, something that calls to me, and I hope you’ll give me a chance to figure out what it is.”

“I don’t know,” I say, stepping from his grip.

“You won’t know until you give me a chance.”

“I do my best to stay away from Harken, Mana, and anyone associated with him,” I reply honestly. “I have enough problems dealing with Emma. I don’t need to add drug dealers and assholes into the mix.”

“Then I’ll quit,” Kaleb replies.

“Being a drug dealer or an asshole?”

---