Page 39 of Shattered

No, because Taya had blocked her number back when he’d been in the coma, and Dara didn’t have his contact info.

Nate clenched his jaw and stood his ground as he faced his sister, glad he couldn’t see her. “How did you find me?”

“Really? That’s how you react to me coming here?”

“Answer the question,” he snapped. He caught the scent of Taya’s perfume a second before her hand curled around his. Nate squeezed in reassurance, drew her into his side. He wasn’t going to make this ugly. But hewasgoing to make his stance absolutely clear.

“If you must know, I had to go through Taya’s agent to get your address. I explained that I’m your sister and wanted to see you.”

“Oh, shit,” Taya whispered. Nate squeezed her hand again. It wasn’t her fault. They would talk to the agent about it later.

“Well I don’t want to see you,” he shot back at Dara. “Pretty sure I made that plain the last time I did.”

Dara huffed out an irritated breath. “We’re family, Nate, like it or not.”

No. The only family he had was standing right beside him, and the men who stood beside him on his team. “What do you want?”

“I told you, I came to see how you—”

“Cut the bullshit, Dara. You’ve got five seconds to answer me, and then I’m calling the cops because you’re not welcome here and you know it.”

Even though he couldn’t see her, he could picture her glaring at him, a belligerent expression on a face almost identical to their dead mother’s. “I think you know why.”

Oh, IknowI know.“You want my half of the inheritance.”

Dara didn’t respond, but she didn’t have to.

“You tracked me down and came all the way here for less than two grand? Really?”

A tense pause answered him. “My finances are none of your business. But not all of us have it as easy as you.”

Easy.

Nate huffed out an ironic laugh. She thought he had it easy? “You’re not getting the money. Not a single cent.” It was already in an educational savings account for his son that he’d set up yesterday. To him it wouldn’t have mattered if it was two thousand bucks or two cents.

The principle of it was the lesson here. This was about refusing to enable that sickening sense of entitlement Dara carried with her everywhere along with that giant chip on her shoulder. Like the world and everyone in it owed her something.

Nate didn’t owe her shit.

“Look, I need that money a hell of a lot more than you do,” she said, bitterness lacing every word.

Ah, she was in trouble again. Probably from racked up gambling debts or something like that. Not his problem. And even if he softened his stance and bailed her out this time, she’d just keep coming back for more. It would never end.

Oh, it’s ending. It’s ending here and now.

“The answer is no,” he said flatly. “Now get out of here and don’t come back. Ever. You show up again, you so much as try to contact either one of us again, and I’ll slap a restraining order on your manipulative ass. You and I are done. Period. Am I clear?”

An ugly laugh answered him. “Fuck you, Nate.”

No, fuck you.He didn’t bother saying it. Thinking it was enough. He’d said all he had to say to her.

As her stomping footsteps on the concrete faded away in the distance, Nate stood where he was, his arm curled protectively around Taya’s waist.

“Okay, she’s gone,” Taya said softly, then rubbed a hand over his lower back. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Surprisingly fine. In the past any interaction with her had left him stewing and upset for hours, even days. Now he just felt a sense of finality. Maybe he’d file a restraining order anyway, just to ensure she wouldn’t think about disrupting their life again at some point in the future.

“I’ll phone my agent as soon as we get upstairs. I’m sorry, I can’t believe she would give our address to anyone.”

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