Page 12 of Broken Saint

"Yeah. I found them." Found sounded much better than stole and wouldn’t alert her to the fact I’d almost been caught. Either way, they were mine for now.

"Oh my God, really?” Her excited whispers made me smile. Every time I thought about that night, my pulse raced out of control. The adrenalin surge of stealing them right from underneath my father’s nose still burned through my veins.

“What are you going to do now? He’s flipping his shit over them going missing again.”

That fear twisting up my insides tightened like a vise. I wanted him to suffer, but the more unhinged he became, the harder it would be to negotiate with him. "I’m still figuring it out." I didn’t want to lie to her so I stuck to the barest truth to keep it straight.

"You need to hurry before he does something stupid.”

“It won’t be long, trust me. He’s going to make a move soon, and I’ll respond. Everything’s going to be fine.” I hated that word, but I was about to cross all my fingers and toes and raise about twelve hail Mary's to make it true. I had to make this work.

"I trust you. I’m just worried. Things are just—just—bad." I heard the stark fear in her voice and hated it. Living in that house wasn’t easy.

“Tell me what’s going on.” My siblings and I had kept in touch over the years, albeit on an irregular basis, but lately I'd heard from my sister more, and I had a feeling something was going on that she didn't want to tell me.

Months ago, when she'd offered to help me find something on our father, I'd known she feared him as much if not more than I did. She hadn't mentioned anything about an upcoming wedding, which made me wonder if she'd somehow avoided my father's quest to marry us off to the highest bidders as soon as humanly possible, but I wasn't going to question her loyalty. Not now. This was my last hope at retaining my freedom. Without her help, and those diamonds, I would not stand a chance against my father.

"Please, tell me," I repeated. If there was anything I could do, I would.

"What if this doesn't work?" she whispered again, making me nervous that someone could be listening to her side of the conversation. I needed to get her off the phone.

"It will. How about I call you tomorrow, and we schedule a time to get together? I haven't seen you in forever. You're still using that burner phone I gave you, right?"

She didn't answer right away, and that pit in my stomach tightened. There was definitely something going on with Car, and I'd have to get to the bottom of it the first chance I got.

"Of course, and I guess we can get together," she finally answered. I didn't like the bad feeling in my stomach, but I could only handle one thing at a time.

"Perfect. And hey, Car. Thanks again for helping me with this. It really means a lot to me."

"You're going to call me asap and let me know what happens when you talk to him, right?"

My muscles stiffened and I considered lying to her. "Probably not," I said, changing my mind immediately. She was working as hard as I was on this, and for that, she deserved my honesty.

But she was already in too deep. Getting her any further involved in my crimes wasn't going to happen. She was still living with our parents, I couldn't risk her anymore.

"Stop doing that," Cara said.

"Doing what?”

My sister wasn't a mind reader. There was no way she knew exactly what went on in my head.

"Laying that guilt trip on yourself. You've gotten so good at it, you don't even realize it's happening. Meanwhile, those of us who want to help get shut out. Maybe you don't realize how much we are in this together. I have to help you."

Something about the way Car said that made Nova's blood chill. "You have to? What does that mean exactly?" I was almost too scared to hear the answer. Was she doing this at some warped direction of our father?

When she didn't answer me right away, the panic inside me spiked. If that bastard had my own sister playing me...

So help me God I was going to—

"Have you forgotten when my birthday is?"

My heart tripped, and I couldn't focus for a second.

This wasn't about being played.

"Of course not. Five years and three months after mine," I whispered. "Are you saying—"

"I don't know anything for sure, since they barely speak to me, but I'm not stupid, either. After you left, I was pulled out of school and forced into home schooling. I haven't been allowed to leave this house without at least two guards since, and I don't think he's just guarding my life, if you know what I mean."

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