Chapter 9
“It is the eighth sign of the Apocalypse. Save yourselves.”
-Cam
I hadn’t been to my brother’s new house since his family moved in at Christmastime last year. He took over an entire neighborhood in Flamingo Cove, then built a McMansion behind a security wall. I felt like that was a little extreme, but knowing what Luke and his wife Wysdom had been through, it was a small price to pay for peace of mind.
The gate silently slides open. Celia slowly drives into the compound that has three smaller houses.
“That’s Wysdom’s office, right there,” Celia points as she drives. “W-Squared Investigations.”
“What are those two homes for?” I ask.
Carolina smiles. “Luke and Wysdom upgraded those houses for their parents if they ever decide to live closer.”
“Your Papa and I aren’t moving. We love living in Legacy Lakes,” Mama sniffs. “So much to do, like belly dancing classes.”
Celia and Carolina groan. I’m sure they’ve already heard the story since they both live in Flamingo Cove now.
There’s a slight hitch in my chest at the thought of being so far away from them in Washington, but this is for the best.
It’s not my family I needed the distance from.
My phone dings with a text message. I look at the screen.R.M. I quickly flip the phone face-down, but not quick enough for my oldest sister.
“Who is R.M.?” Carolina quirks a brow.
I ignore her in favor of gawping out the window. Luke and Wysdom’s house is huge. Not in aDownton Abbeysort of way. No, the best word would besprawling. The modern-looking home spreads in two directions out from the front door, curving around the cul-de-sac at the end of the street. Cars and SUVs fill a parking lot next to the house.
“Luke has a parking lot for his house?” I frown.
“They throw a lot of parties,” Mama answers from her front seat. “And our family keeps getting bigger by the day.”
Carolina says something under her breath that I miss because we’re pulling right up to the front door, like fucking royalty.
Mama hops out of the car, jingling like she’s Santa Claus, and slams the door shut.
Celia and Carolina both look at me.
I narrow my eyes in suspicion. “What?”
Carolina’s eyes dart to Celia’s. Celia shrugs.
Something was up.
“Listen bitches,” I begin.
I’m cut off by a tall redhead flinging the door open and yanking me out of the car. “Cam!”
I laugh as I hug Wysdom Ward.
I haven’t spent that much time in the same room as my sister-in-law, simply because I’ve been undercover most of the time since she met my brother last year. We did have a short visit when Luke and Wysdom came to D.C., but they had to hurry back to their twin babies and two adopted children.
“It’s about freaking time you got here!” Wysdom drags me toward the house. “The gang’s all here. Well, most of the gang. Still waiting for a straggler to arrive.”
“Straggler?”
“Cam!” Luke is out the door and picking me up in a hug before I can ask more questions. He drags me into what can best be described as a three-ring circus.
