Page 30 of Prettiest Little Thief
“Hey.” I kneeled down to her level and brushed back her sandy locks.
She peered up at me with icy blue eyes just like mine, mascara bleeding down her cheeks, bottom lip quivering with sorrow.
“Dad… Dad said…” she stuttered.
“Dad said what?” My jaw clenched with fury. Our father had been known to do all sorts of fucked up things. And if Sarah was crying, she was the latest victim.
“Dad’s marrying me off like cattle at a fucking auction to the highest bidder.” Her sobs grew heavier, and the rage within me rose like the tidal wave of a tsunami.
“Come on.” I helped her to her feet and gave her a quick hug. “Why don’t you go clean up, and we can watch a movie after l go talk to him.”
Her eyes widened. “No, Lucas. You know how he gets if we are defiant. He wouldn’t think twice—”
“I can take care of shit with him. He can’t be in control of us all the time. We’re old enough now that we don’t have to put up with it.” My hands clenched at my sides, veins pulsing with impending wrath.
Our father wanted to marry my little sister off to some fucking stranger. Probably some asshole with money. That wouldn’t fly with me. We were well off enough that this was some kind of power move. It likely had something to do with the guy Sarah had been seeing recently. He didn’t have money and came from a lower-class family. Who gave a shit? If Sarah was happy, that was all that should matter.
Nothing was ever good enough for good ol’ Dad.
When I turned to stalk down the hall, Sarah’s hand shot out and gripped my arm to stop me. “Please. Don’t make it worse than it already is.”
“We can’t keep letting him do this to us, Sarah. This needs to be done. His manipulation over our lives has to stop now.”
“But—”
“No. This ends, and our life needs to begin.” My face softened, and I gave her a grin that I didn’t feel.
Sarah took a deep breath and nodded, releasing my arm.
“Give me fifteen minutes, and then we can watch that movie, okay?”
“Okay,” Sarah replied softly.
I continued my intended path to see my dad and talk him out of this bullshit he was spinning. Without a knock, I entered hisroom. He sat on the edge of his bed with his phone to his ear. His gaze landed on my tense form, every part of me ignited with ire, ready to fight for my sister’s freedom.
“Christian, I’ll have to call you back.” My dad hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed behind him.
“What are you doing forcing an arranged marriage on Sarah?” I seethed.
“What the fuck do you care?”
“Why do you? Are you so embarrassed that she’ll marry the wrong man that you’re going to force her to take a rich husband?” I shifted closer, but my father stayed seated.
“She isn’t going to ruin our family name by becoming some loser’s wife.” Finally, he pushed to his feet.
I scoffed. “Our family name? That’s a weak excuse and you know it. You’re punishing her for going against you.”
“The Knights will not marry below our class.” He was getting angry. But fuck it, so was I.
“We are not fucking royalty, and we are not in the fucking Middle Ages. Sarah is her own person; she can decide who she wants to be with, with or without your blessing.” I crowded my father, and he puffed out his chest. His face began to morph into the furious scowl I was so familiar with.
“Careful, Lucas or I’ll find a bride for you with one phone call.”
“Fuck you.”
He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and tried to shove me. I chuckled. That may have worked when I was a skinny teenager, but I was a man now. A man who wouldn’t budge.
It only pissed him off more, and he stormed over to his nightstand and tore open the drawer, pulling out a revolver. No time was wasted as he cocked the gun and pointed it at me.
