Page 39 of Tempting Little Thief

“Not yet. From what I’ve gathered, he’s not yet aware she’s gone. If there was a plan being made, I would know,” he says, beyond sure. Then again, he probably is.

He has men everywhere, even where people think he can’t reach.

“It’s been nine days since she came back.” It makes no sense. “How can henotknow?”

“Ask her.”

I glare, and he raises a brow.

Say you’re right and not overconfident,I want to begin with, but instead go with, “How long do you think you can keep this quiet? How long until they come for her?”

“A few weeks, maybe less, maybe longer. I’m told he’s away on business.”

I eye him. The sharp, ever-present glare isn’t as deep as it should be, considering.

“How are you so calm about this? This is a big deal, Dad. This is Caesar and Brutus big.”

“It’s not a betrayal, it’s simply … a shifting point in a larger picture. One that isn’t yet clear to all the players on the board. In time, it will be.”

My head tugs back, shocked by his lack of, well, murderous rage, even if his daughter is the one at fault.

“Rocklin.” My dad merely tips his head. “You’ll do as you must, no matter what?”

There’s that line again. Conform, conform, conform.

My jaw clenches, but I give him what he wants yet again—obedience and a curt nod of agreement, to which he nods back.

Ever the dutiful daughter, I wait until he’s turned his back to me to turn mine on him and head up the stairs, but not before he calls over his shoulder, “Sai has taken a leave, but he’ll be back sometime tomorrow. No joyriding in his absence, Rocklin. We wouldn’t want someone to mistake you for your sister.”

My spine stiffens, and I nod without looking back, taking careful steps as I climb the staircase to my suite.

My sister creates a disaster of epic proportions and gets a free pass.

I drive the countryside and get fuckinggroundedlike a pedestrian?

And what’s this with Sai?

He and I have an agreement. He doesn’t go running to my dad about things so long as I don’t give him a reason, forcing his hand, and an hour with a sports car isn’t one. He knew about my little need for an escape as it’s a repetitive one. He even has the GPS locked in on his phone and probably stares at the little blip on his screen the entire time I’m gone until I return to where I’m supposed to be.

So what the hell is this about?

In all the years Sai’s been my guard, neveroncehas he “taken leave.” Sure, there are certain hours of the day, some days, depending on what’s going on and where I am, that allow him to, at the very least, sit in peace. So does he accept his allotted time for himself? Duh.

What he does not do istake a fucking leave. He’s never even been late, let alone “called in!”

So where is he and how did my dad find out?

Did he punish Sai?

Threaten him?

Does my sister have something to do with this?

Probably, not that my dad would tell me if I asked. I’m next in line as head of the Revenaw name and he still has me on that “need to know” level because “the less I know, the safer I am.”

Grinding my jaw, I throw my door open and stomp inside.

My father says I’m the perfect daughter, that I’ll “change our world” and “lead us into a new era,” whatever the fuck that means.

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