Page 60 of Beautiful Revenge

The sound of a phone ringing pulls me out of my sleep.

“No. Shut it off,” Briar demands, curling into Devon. We kept her up most of the night, loving her into a puddle of pleasure so her brain would shut off. She’s most definitely not in the mood to wake up at the moment. Too bad my phone won’t stop ringing.

We’ve spent the last three days working out the best plan of action for her next kill and have barely slept. We’ve been running surveillance and background checks, and she’s more than ready to kill the guy after reviewing all the information I handed her.

Can’t say I blame her. He’s a disgusting piece of work, and prison is too light a sentence for him.

I check the time, groaning before picking up the phone that won’t shut up, wincing when I see Mom and Dad’s names on the screen. “Shit,” I grumble.

Sitting up, I run my hand over my face before answering the call. “Hey, Mom.”

“Dylan. It’s about time. Are you three still sleeping?” she chastises me like I’m still a kid.

“You know we have self-defence lessons on Friday nights, Mom,” I remind her.

“Yes, baby, I know. Now, your father and I are downstairs to take you all to breakfast. Wake up and come down. Promise my baby girl pancakes with extra syrup,” she says cheerfully, knowing full well Briar will never complain about pancakes.

“Yeah, okay. Give us ten minutes. Love you, Mom.” I hang up the phone before poking Briar in the side, tickling her until she’s giggling and wiggling around.

“Why are you squirming?” Devon grumbles, grabbing onto her hips.

“Because Dylan is tickling me. And your mom called.” That gets his attention.

“Mom called?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow at me as I get off the bed.

“Yeah. They drove into the city to take us to breakfast, apparently,” I explain, pulling on a fresh pair of boxers and jeans. “Mom told me to tell you,” I look at Briar, “we’re going somewhere with pancakes.”

“Yes!” She laughs, getting out of bed. “Come on, Dev. Don’t get between me and my pancakes. Or seeing your parents. Up, up, up!” she demands in a cheerful tone, making me smile. It’s been days since she’s seemed this relaxed, and it’s all because of pancakes. We really should make them for her more often.

I swear my mother knows what she needs even when they haven’t spoken in days. It’s like a sixth sense that I’ve learned to not question. She’s like that with me and Dev, too.

“Yeah, yeah. Wouldn’t dream of it, princess,” he teases, rolling his eyes as he gets out of bed.

At least they didn’t try coming for dinner when we’d be heading out to kill. That would have meant pushing our plans back, and with the threat of Brie’s mother hanging over us, we don’t have time to veer off schedule. Not until we know exactly what’s going on with Sophie.

I just wished Candice hadn’t had the past three days off. But tonight, we’ll figure out who watches Sophie and then make a plan.

* * *

“How are my babies?”Mom asks as we settle into the booth at a diner downtown.

She’s watching us closely, a show of concern on her face while she waits for one of us to answer.

“We’re good, Mom,” Brie says, giving her a warm smile that she easily returns.

“Oh, sweetheart. I missed you,” Mom coos, and Dad rolls his eyes.

“Ouch, Ma. That cuts deep.” Devon clutches his chest, pretending to be offended.

“Quit being a smartass,” Dad says, giving us both a pointed look.

We get it. Briar didn’t have a happy upbringing, and after Brie moved in with us at sixteen, our parents have gone out of their way to make her feel like family. To remind her she’s loved and cared for by someone other than the two of us.

They never said anything when they got home from vacation back then, but the three of us are positive they know we had something to do with the death of Briar’s father. Not that we’d ever admit it to them, but they’re more than aware of what that bastard did to her as a child.

“Sorry, Ma,” Devon says quietly, making her and Briar burst into laughter.

“Every time,” Briar says, shaking her head. “You’re so cute when you pout, baby.” She shakes her head while still laughing.

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