Page 9 of Lust
Tristan’s dry eyes landed on me, unamused.
Whatever.
I was pissed at him for the prank he pulled earlier this week. That jerk spent a large sum of his money (and time) purchasing identical replicas of all my clothes, then swapped them out with a smaller size. It took me days to figure out what he did. Days I spent crying, convinced that I had gotten fat.
Oh, that Tris could be so cruel at times.
But when Tobias reached for his walkie-talkie, ready to call for backup, I conceded. “Okay. Okay. He is my brother.”
Tobias’ hand slackened, though his eyes remained distrustful. Tristan appeared equally apprehensive. He closely watched Tobias’ arm, which lightly grazed the front of my body.
“Tristan Marcolf,” he said tersely in a deep voice.
“Tobias DeSilva,” my warden countered.
“Well, Toby,” Tristan drawled, intentionally reducing the name. “Do tell me why you detained my sister without cause.”
“It wasn’t without cause. Your sister was caught assaulting an officer of the law.”
Tristan looked me up and down, pointing at me with an index finger. “How could that scrawny-looking thing possibly take down a grown man?”
“Hey!” I indignantly objected.
Tristan strode closer, ignoring me. “She obviously didn’t do it, but you still held her without cause. If I find out that you so much as laid one finger on my sister, I’ll make every last person in your precinct pay the price.” He looked me up and down, then added an insult in case his words made the mistake of touching my heart. “She already looks like a little boy. And I highly doubt it will bode well for your budding career if word gets out that you’re in the business of kidnapping little boys.”
“We didn’t kidnap a little boy; we only detained—”
“I’m not a little boy,” I mumbled, looking down at my slightly flat chest.
Tobias caught his next words, uncomfortable at the direction of this conversation. He cleared his throat to regain professionalism.
“Your sister physically harmed an officer,” he repeated. “We were happy to let you pick her up as a courtesy, but if you like, I can take her down to the station instead, and you can post her bail.”
Though Tobias was threatening my arrest, I glanced at him with admiration, impressed with his ability to challenge my brother. For the first time, I pegged Tobias as not only an attractive man but a man I was attracted to. In fact, I was suddenly really attracted to him.
Sadly, our meet-cute had come to an abrupt end.
Tristan’s eyes swept over us. A glint of anger flickered through them, and he yanked at my arm to drag me away, staring down the man who had spoken out so bravely against him.
“Whatever. We are leaving.”
“Don’t get into any more trouble,” my former jailor called after me. He wasn’t sneering; instead, his voice was filled with sincerity.
I only had enough time to put up a three-finger salute, imitating Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. “May the odds be ever in my favor.”
Perhaps it was my imagination, but I could have sworn his lips twitched to something resembling a smile.
Our mansion-like home stood tall over the other houses in Georgetown, the heart of Washington DC. I walked past the front door on heavy legs. A crystal chandelier dropped down from above the foyer, reflection visible on the tiled marble floors. Tris loved the latest fashion, the most expensive brands, and lavish showpieces. Our house was reflective of his taste.
Unlike the grandness of our home, the mood was solemn in the dining room. Dad paced restlessly while Mom poured herself, what I presumed, was a second glass of wine. Tristan’s posture was unruffled, hands stuffed inside his pant pockets.
Might as well get this over with.
“It wasn’t my fault,” I phrased the poorly prepared statement.
I should have mentally prepared during the car ride, but it was hard to concentrate with Tristan’s snippy mood. The disdain in his face had coiled around my spine like a slimy snake.
He had been angrier than usual after we left the shelter and only uttered one sentence to me during the drive. “I don’t want you to be seen with any more cops, Sara; it’s not good for publicity.”
