Page 69 of Cruel Vows

“That’s never going to happen. This is her life. It’s always been her life and it’s always going to be her life.”

“And you don’t think there’s something wrong with that?” Rebecca says it like the answer should be obvious.

And it is.

I know that things are bad for Ellie right now, and I want to make them better, but I don’t know how. We’re two very different people and I don’t know what she needs.

Hell, I don’t know what I need most days.

My shoulders slump as I look at my sister. “I’m trying. I am.”

“The pair of you are more alike than you think you are. She’s like you in a way. All she wants is to be her own person.”

I press my lips together, jaw clenching. “Look, I’ll talk to her. I’ll try to figure this out and make her happy, but right now, I need to talk to you about Dad before I take you home.”

The color drains from her face, her weight shifting from her left to her right. “What about Dad?”

“Is he acting weird? Taking meetings with people you don’t know?”

“I haven’t seen him taking any meetings.” She holds her arms tighter to her chest. “Is there something I should be watching for?”

“Maybe.” I glance out the window, watching Ellie hold a book higher as she reclines in the sun. “I was taking care of some business with a man out at the cottage yesterday?—”

“Oh, the cottage where you spend most of your time avoiding your wife?” Rebecca gives me an impish smile before gesturing at me to continue.

“Yeah, that cottage.” I roll my eyes, but the guilt is already starting to eat at me. After hearing the way Ellie screams in thenight, I have to get away in the mornings. There’s too much anger at myself to stay close to her once she’s awake.

That anger gets taken out on the bastards my men catch working for Noah.

“Dad hasn’t had any meetings that I’ve noticed, but I’ve been busy with work. He has plenty of time in the day when I’m out to get up to things.”

“And that’s what I’m worried about. When I was at the cottage, I had a man who was found lurking around one of the warehouses. He doesn’t work for Noah. Wouldn’t tell me who he worked for, though.”

“What does that have to do with Dad?” Rebecca asks, her voice wavering slightly as she glances at Ellie before looking back at me. “Do you think he’s going to be a threat to her?”

“I don’t think so.” I push off the desk and head for the door. “The man said that his boss had meetings with Dad, but he also said that he hadn’t heard Ellie’s name mentioned at all.”

Rebecca nods and turns for the door. “Dad is going to be gone most of the day. I can look through his office when I get home and see if I can find out anything for you.”

“I’ll come in.” I follow her through the house and out to the car. “If he’s planning something, then I need to know what. He hasn’t had a meeting with me in nearly a week.”

She tosses her bag into the back seat of my car. “He’s not going to be happy if he finds out that you’ve been going through his things.”

“He’s not going to be happy with me no matter what I do. That’s been the story of my life.” I slide into the driver’s seat and start the engine as she gets into the car. “I don’t care if he doesn’t like it. We’ve got bigger problems on our hands right now.”

Rebecca sighs and leans back against the seat, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. “You know, if the two of youwould just learn to get along with each other, things might not be so bad between the two of you.”

“We haven’t gotten along for over thirty years. Why start now?”

She laughs and pulls her hands from her face. “Alright, well, let’s get back to the house and you can look through his things. Maybe talk to him if he comes home while you’re there.”

“It’s going to be more than a conversation, and you know it.”

“Just promise me that the two of you won’t kill each other.”

Grinning, I hit the highway, wind flowing through the car, the trees nothing but a blur of different shades of green as we drive by. “I won’t make that promise.”

“Dad is getting older. Maybe these meetings he’s been taking have something to do with his age.”

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