Page 48 of Control

When I approached her office, I was stopped by a burly man standing watch next to the door. Shyam had most likely hired this guy to protect Amelia…from me.

Not in the mood to deal with the oaf eyeing me down as if daring me to try something, I put my hand on the doorknob to let myself inside, refusing to feed his power trip by asking permission for entry.

Shifting to block the door, said oaf glared at me. “What business do you have here?”

“Thisis my business,” I snapped. “My last name is on the fucking building. Or didn’t your boss tell you that?” I didn’t have time to deal with this shit.

The guard eyed me with suspicion, as if I were trying to pull one over on him.

“Move now…before I break your stumpy legs, asshole,” I bellowed.

“What the hell are you doing, Jai?” Amelia demanded as she appeared, probably to investigate the commotion happening outside her door. From the look on her face, she was less than amused at what she saw.

I straightened up, smoothing out the wrinkles in my shirt from hunching over, ready to attack the wall of a human still glaring at me.

“What else would I be doing? Visiting my sister.” I flashed her a mega-watt smile, the one I had been using on women my whole life to make them putty in my hands.

Amelia, though, was immune to my charms. Unimpressed, she crossed her arms over her chest as if considering the best way to tell me to get lost.

Her watchdog took note of her body language and stepped to me as if he were daring to kick me out.

Shaking her head, Amelia sighed in resignation. “It’s fine. He can come in.”

Following her into her office, I couldn’t help strolling behind smugly so the bastard would know who’d won.

As I shut the door behind me, she moved behind her desk, putting extra distance between us and letting me know that just because had she invited me inside, I wasn’t off the hook just yet. “Why are you here?”

I dropped into the seat across from her desk, crossing my ankle over my knee as I leaned back. “I told you. Just paying my favorite sister a visit. I haven’t seen you in a while, so I thought I’d check in.”

Her eyes flashed to me sitting so comfortably in front of her in the safety of her office. Her unease kept her from relaxing anyway, but I could see that she wanted to have the upper hand, so she sat on the edge of her seat with her spine straight so she could give the illusion that she was bigger and scarier than me.

“I’m still pissed at you.” She scowled.

My face fell in disappointment. “I know.” I missed my family and being away from them was as difficult as giving Claire her space. I had never felt so alone.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked off to the side to avoid the risk of feeling any pity for me.

“Did you kill him yet?” The topic made her uncomfortable, and I could see her fidgeting with her fingers in her lap as she waited for my reply—hoping it would be the one she wanted to hear.

I couldn’t answer her. How could I tell her no and then offer her comfort as if everything would be okay? That promise was too big to make. The truth was, I didn’t know what would happen next. God forbid, Leonid got to us before I could try to kill him again. Or what if he got to the children? My stomach went sour at the thought of Meena and Dylan in the hands of such a monster.

Her eyes bored into me, willing me to give her the response she wanted to hear. Shaking my head slowly, I diverted my eyes away from hers, ashamed to have put her in this position.

Before she could respond, the door flew open, and my brother came flying at me. “I’ll kill you, motherfucker. I told you to stay away from my wife.” His hands gripped my shirt and pulled me up to stand. His fist met my face, sending me stumbling backward as I grabbed my jaw in pain.

“What the fuck?!” I shouted, pulling my hand away to check for blood. Thankfully, he hadn’t broken skin, but judging from by proximity, I was in for another round.

“Your ribs are healed, so now you’ll take what you deserve!” Shyam threatened, the venom in his voice lethal.

“Stop it!” Amelia jumped in front of him, acting like a wall to keep him from getting to me. From my periphery, I could see the worthless bodyguard standing in the doorway, too petrified to get involved. Bastard had probably tipped off his boss about my presence.

Pushing Shyam back, Amelia placed her palm in the center of his chest to reel in his anger. “Behave yourself,” she warned, eyeing her husband.

Her gaze bounced to the doorway and spotted the guard. “Get out of here!” she shouted. He didn’t waste a moment before running out of the room and slamming the door. Just as I had thought.Pussy.

“Do both of you promise to be civil?” Amelia stood between us, chastising us just like our mother would have if she were alive to see our behavior. “My company isn’t some fucking fight club. Keep your testosterone in check, you heathens.”

Shyam stayed silent on his side of the ring, like he used to when we were kids and our mother would reprimand us. I couldn’t resist my signature move from childhood: I stuck my tongue out at him, too satisfied at seeing my older brother pussy-whipped by his wife.

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