Page 69 of Sweet Lies

“What happens if it doesn’t?”

His smile is sinister. “I’ll take them all to hell with me. Every. Last. One.”

“Your dad would have been impressed with what you did in Chicago. Not everyone could have fooled Connor the way you did. Hell, you were practically family. And even now, after you betrayed him, he still has your back.”

Guilt flashes over his face for a second, but it disappears so quickly I think I might have imagined it.“It’s just business for him. He knows a good deal when it’s screaming in his face.”

“You care for him,” I say. It’s clear from his tone of voice when he speaks about McCarthy.

“I owe him. That’s all.”

His phone goes off before he can say anything else. “It’s Lily. I need to take this.”

Passing me with his phone pressed to his ear and his drink in his hand, he leaves me in the cozy kitchen.

I get some bottled water from the fridge, then make a loop around the property, making sure everything that’s meant to be locked or unlocked is as it should be before heading to my room. The house has a shitload of bedrooms upstairs and down, but I’d decided to take the one I’d stayed in as a kid because it gave me the best access to what I would need if anything happened.

I’m opening the door to my bedroom when a blood-curdling scream sounds from Rebecca’s room. Sprinting over, I burst through the door and sweep my gaze around the pitch-black room, trying to find an intruder—but there’s no one there.

Elijah appears behind me, followed by Claire. Rebecca is flailing in the bed.

Claire steps forward, but I grab her arm, stopping her. Her livid gaze would make most men weep. Still, I don’t release her. I feel Elijah’s questioning gaze on my back.

“Don’t. She’ll freak more if either of you go.”

“What would you have us do? Let her scream and stay in her nightmare?” Claire demands, ripping her arm free.

Good question.

Making my decision, I step forward and sit on the edge of the bed as Rebecca continues to thrash. I feel both sets of eyes on me as I place my hand on her shoulder, gripping it gently but firmly.

“Rebecca, wake up. You need to wake up,” I order, pushing a command into my voice—as I used to do in the hotel rooms when her nightmares would come.

She jerks up, her mouth and eyes wide open as if she’s risen from the dead. Her eyes search the room, not truly seeing what’s in front of her, till they clear from her nightmare and she stares at her siblings before looking at me.

Her eyes shut as her hands ball the blankets in her hands. For a second, I think she’ll bury her head against my chest to escape the world, but that only lasts a second before her eyes open in a blaze.

“Get out,” she orders coldly. “Now!”

I don’t need to look up to know that Elijah and Claire have left. There will be questions in the morning.

She growls, “You too.”

But instead I move to the other side of the bed and lie down.

“Have you gone deaf? Get out, Andre. Now!”

“Oh no. You’re confused if you think I’m leaving you alone after that.”

“I don’t want you here. I’m fine. Just go. You’re good at that. LEAVE.” She points to the door.

Both of us are on our knees, facing the other. Her body is rigid, her hand hanging in the air, continuing to point. My face is an emotionless mask. Anger will just fuel her rage and get us nowhere—right now, she needs calm.

Her hands ball at her sides as her breathing turns heavy and her body starts to rock. “I. Want. You. To. Leave.”

Grabbing hold of her wrists, I yell, “I’m not going anywhere.”

She appears ready to keep fighting, but then, as if she were a candle, the fight is blown out of her instantly. Lying back down, she slides to lay her clasped hands on my chest.

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