Her brother had to be out of his mind. Thoughtless. Selfish! She wanted to scream! Didn’t he care how hard she had worked to achieve her goals? He was risking everything!
He’d called her in the middle of a meeting, for God’s sake! Twice!
Restraining her anger, Elizabeth stared at Dane, attempting to convey with her eyes the gravity of the situation. If she yelled at him, he’d just get up and walk out. She had to know everything. To be sure exactly what she was up against. “Do you understand how serious this situation is?”
He peered into his untouched cup of coffee as if it somehow held the answers he needed to escape this uncomfortable position. Since no excuse apparently surfaced, he ignored her.
Why did she even ask? He sat across the expanse of Formica from her, slumped in the booth as if he hadn’t a care in the world. His eyes were sunken and red from lack of sleep and overindulgence in his latest drug of choice. He’d lost more weight, and she doubted he’d had a bath in days. His dark hair was stringy and far too long.
She closed her eyes a moment, trying to see her brother the way he’d been years ago. Tall, athletic, smart. Now—she opened her eyes—he barely existed. A college dropout, a drug addict ... and that was only the beginning.
“Answer me, Dane,” she demanded, unable to keep her anger subdued any longer. She had no time for this. What was she supposed to do with him? He wouldn’t stay out of trouble. If their mother found out ... or, God forbid, their father ...
She didn’t even want to think about that.
Dane’s bleary-eyed gaze finally met hers. “What difference does it make?” He dropped his head back on the seat. “Nothing matters anymore.”
“I don’t understand,” she said with amazing calm. “What’s happened to set you off like this? You’ve done so well for the past few months.” At least for Dane it was relatively positive behavior.
His gaze lifted to hers. “You should know. You’re in on it, too.”
Her patience thinned. “Explain what you mean, Dane.”
“You cut me off, just like they did.” His lips curled into a hateful sneer. “Left me with nothing. What was I supposed to do?”
There it was. He was unhappy because the family had stopped financing his bad habits. Well, tough. They had put up with enough. He needed to pull his life together.
“Dane.”
He refused to look at her now.
Dammit.
He was going to ruin everything.For her.Fury tightened her lips. She couldn’t let him do that. “If Father even suspects—”
Dane’s head shot up. “Screw him. I’m not listening to him anymore.”
Elizabeth took a steadying breath. She had to get her brother back under control. “Everything Father has ever done, he’s done to protect us. You can’t let him down like this.”
Dane leaned forward and put his face close to hers, his breath as foul as his attitude. “I ... don’t ... care.” Then he flopped back once more.
Of course he didn’t care. She shouldn’t be surprised. “And what about me?” He at least looked at her then. “Do you care what happens to me?”
His silence was answer enough.
Elizabeth felt that familiar tranquility envelop her, dissolving the anger and frustration. There was only one way to handle this. “Let’s put this behind us. It’s done. I’ll take care of everything the way I always do.” She reached across the table in invitation. He stared at her hand ... the one he’d held so many times when they’d sneaked through the woods to Carson’s house or hidden together in fear. But not today. Today he refused to touch her.
“Very well.” She drew her hand back, curled her fingers tightly against the emptiness. “If that’s the way you want it to be ...”
His continued silence reverberated in her ears. Elizabeth scooted from the booth and walked out of the coffee shop. There was nothing more she could say.
No one,no one, would stop her from having what she deserved this time. She had waited fifteen long years due to the actions of others.
Not this time. This time she was going to do what she should’ve done all along.
9
7:35 p.m.
