Page 38 of Tempting Little Thief

My sister won’t die before dinner.

I mean, it’s not likely, anyway …

No, Father will just have to do what he hates.

He’ll have to wait.

I smile sweetly, and he knows he’ll be walking out of here today with my sister in tow.

His chest rises with a full inhale, and while he speaks to my sister, his eyes stay on me. “Boston, wait in the common room.”

“But—” she dares to argue.

Both our heads snap her way, and she smacks her mouth shut, shooting me a sharp look before waltzing away, nose in the air like rotten royalty. She hates to be dismissed, even if her attitude is nothing more than hurt she’s trying and failing to hide. Why she would expect anything less, I don’t know. She did this, not me.

Once she’s gone, my father begins.

“I heard you lost a girl this week.”

“Did you hear we added one as well?”

“You should add more males,” he dismisses my comment. “More strength.”

I don’t respond, simply giving him a single curt nod.

Sure, Dad, I’ll get right on that, as it’s justsoeasy to trust males who already think they’re special simply because they were born with some prestigious pedigree.

He holds my gaze a long moment and then clears his lungs, his features and shoulders softening. “Darling, it’s not safe for your sister to be in our home.”

“That’s her problem. She needs to be held accountable.”

“It will be her head or her hand. That is the kind of accountability we’re talking about.”

My heart beats a little harder, but I don’t show it. “She knows this. Sheknewthis, and still, she chose to come home. She’s playing you, Dad, looking for an out she can’t find. She expects to be saved by someone when she was taught to save herself.”

“She’s fragile.”

“She’s a disgrace,” I fire back, the words stinging more than I want them to. “To our family name and to the union.”

The union was created to tie power families together, to close the gaps and make us stronger so we’re less susceptible to treachery. Across-one, cross-allsituation because each of our families has seen and experienced how fleeting trust can be.

Boston’s little half-cocked plan, the one she apparently couldn’t even go along with when she’s the one who came up with it in the first place? It’s the complete fucking opposite.

My father’s eyes narrow with disappointment, but as quickly as the expression settles, it’s gone, and a smile spreads across his lips. He climbs the last few steps I refuse to come down and wraps his arms around me.

I lean into his chest, my eyes closing a moment.

We used to be a normal family.

Well, as normal as life can be when your dad became who he is by unaliving people for a living before switching things up.

Now he pays people to do it for him.

“That, daughter,” he whispers into my hair. “Is why you are the prize of this family. I know I can count on you to do what you must, no matter what that calls for. The strides you’ll make will set this world ablaze.”

My brows pull into a slight frown, but I erase it as he releases me, looking up at him.

I fight the urge to sigh and instead ask the important question. “Have they come looking for her yet?”

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