Without looking back, he strides out of the gym, leaving me breathless and confused on the mat.
“Liam,” I purr, sauntering into his office with a box of pastries tucked under my arm.
“Yes, My Dearest Sister?” Liam arches an eyebrow over an eye as blue as my own.
I place the pastry box in the center of his desk, lifting the lid. The heady aroma of cinnamon floods the room.
Liam’s eyes narrow, flicking from the box to my face.
“Must be serious,” he says, leaning forward to pluck out a gooey cinnamon roll. He brings it to his nose, inhaling deeply. “You in some kind of trouble? That mountain of a bodyguard not living up to expectations?” He nods toward the hallway where I left Ryder, no doubt looming like a gargoyle.
“Nothing like that,” I assure him, perching on the edge of his desk. “Just a friendly chat between siblings. Can’t a girl bring her favorite brother a treat?”
“Sure, and pigs might fly, too.” Liam points out, taking a bite. His eyes roll back in pleasure. “Damn, this is good. Almost worth the extra hour I’ll have to spend at the gym.”
“Yeah, better keep those muscles in shape.” I step closer, punching his rock-hard abs. “Nobody likes a sloppy dude with a beer belly.”
He feigns injury, clutching his gut and grimacing. “Ouch. Sloppy? Me? Low blow, Sis. I work out daily. If you’re here to ask for something, start sucking up.”
I laugh. Liam’s far from sloppy—his muscular frame shows through his button-down shirt. Even as his sister, I can objectively appreciate that Liam cuts an impressive figure. “I thought the pastries were enough sucking up.”
He polishes off the roll, licking a stray bit of frosting from his thumb. “Alright, out with it. What burning question has you playing me with sugary bribes?”
I take a deep breath. “Do you... Do you know if Mom and Dad were ever robbed?”
The playful glint vanishes from Liam’s eyes. He sits back, his chair creaking. “Okay,” he says slowly. “That’s not what I was expecting.”
“So do you know anything?”
He studies me for a long moment. “Why are you asking about this, Cora?”
“Just humor me, okay?”
Liam sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know of anything like that happening. But Mom...” He trails off, pain flashing in his eyes. Even after all these years, the loss still stings. “Mom’s been gone a long time. And in those last years?—”
“She didn’t leave the house,” I finish. The unspoken tragedy of our mother’s decline hangs heavy between us.
“Right,” Liam nods. “So, if something like that happened, we would’ve been too young to hear about it. And honestly, I doubt they would’ve told us even if we were older. Who wants to scare their kids with stories like that?”
I chew my lip, considering. “That’s what I thought at first. But Liam, after my incident… All that time Dad spent at the hospital with me. Don’t you think he would’ve mentioned it, even in passing?”
Liam’s quiet for a moment, his fingers drumming on the desk. “You have a point,” he admits. “It does seem like the kind of thing he might’ve brought up, given the circumstances.” His eyes narrow. “Cora, where is this coming from? Did someone say something to you?”
I hesitate, not ready to reveal Ryder’s suspicions. “Just...a hunch. I don’t want to worry Dad if it’s nothing.”
“A hunch,” Liam repeats, clearly unconvinced. “Try asking Logan or Lucas. They might remember something we don’t.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I slide off his desk, my mind already racing with possibilities. In our family, I’m the one with the connections, the one who always knows what’s going on.
As I turn to leave, Liam’s voice stops me. “Cora?”
I glance back. His expression is unreadable.
“Be careful, okay? Sometimes digging up the past only leads to more trouble.”
I force a smile, but his words echo in my head as I walk away. If there’s a secret buried in our family history, I’m going to uncover it.
Nine
