They’re good, but they’re nothing more than babysitters with muscle. Blunt instruments. Brute strength won’t be any advantage in watching Bianca. If she’s half as clever as she seems, they’ll have their hands full.
Especially if she’s working an angle.
They’ll never see it coming.
Koby snorts. “Really? That’s the duo you chose? Apollo’s good, but he’s slow, and Arthur... he’s eager, sure, but from what I’ve seen, Bianca’s not easy to deal with. He’ll have a hard time handling her. I should go. Me and Ryder.”
“They’ll get the job done,” Carter states. “I need you here, focused on more important things.” He looks directly at me. “I want every move Noretto and Grey make tracked. If they’re sniffing around Vaughn or Bianca, I want to know before they do. You’ll go to Cleveland with Apollo and Arthur, set up surveillance, and come back as soon as you’re done.”
I give him a curt nod, his choice of bodyguards for Bianca grating my nerves. The protective streak she awoke not an hour ago flares through my veins again.
Those damn tears she tried blinking away are stuck in my head, the short clip looped. She looked... perfect. Real. Vulnerable in a way that caught me off guard. I hated it. Hated how it clawed at something buried deep inside me.
I shake my head, banishing the thoughts.
She’s not my problem. Not my concern. My job is keeping tabs on the shitstorm brewing between Noretto and Grey. It’s the only way to ensure Carter stays one step ahead.
“Alright.” Broadway slams his glass on the table. “If we’re quite done here, I’m taking Violet home. It’s getting late.”
“You mean, you’re getting laid,” Koby corrects, laughing at his own joke.
“A man’s got priorities.”
Carter waves him off. “Yeah, go. I should take the new sisters home. Ryder, Koby—you’re welcome to join. I have a feeling this will be a long night.”
With a flick of his wrist, he sends Apollo to fetch Hailey and Bianca. They exit Carter’s office two minutes later, my eyes landing on the petite brunette as if compelled by forces beyond my comprehension. Her defenses are cracked, vulnerability peeking through as she follows her half-sister, looking very much out of place. My protective streak flares for the third time.
Yup, it’ll be a long night indeed.
11
Bianca
“No way in hell!” Hailey snaps, arms akimbo, cheeks pink as she stares her boyfriend down, chest heaving. She’s craning her neck so far back I bet it’ll be sore later, but the fire burning her cheeks isn’t subsiding. “Arthur’s new and Apollo...” She trails off, chewing her lip. “Justno.”
I sink further into the plush couch in their grand living room, hoping I’ll become invisible if I try hard enough. Carter’s attention flicks between us, the epitome of control as he lets his shoulders fall an inch.
“What would you have me do, pretty girl? Bianca refused to stay here and—”
“You need to do better! Why would you think it appropriate to send your father’s right-hand man with my sister?!”
The minuscule tick of Carter’s jaw is all that indicates his faltering composure. I don’t know him well enough to read these small gestures, but this one’s so obvious I don’t need to.
Koby snickers behind Carter’s back. It’s soundless, but the mirth on his face and his bouncing chest give him away.
He winks at me, earning a tight-lipped smile in return. It’s hard not to smile at the one person in this circle who thrives on tension. Or rather, tension-breaking.
“Hailey—” Carter tries again but she snaps her hand up.
“No. Don’t use that gravelly tone on me. You’re not getting away with this! Dobetter!”
Their argument, if you can call a one-sided yelling contest an argument, started quite innocently, six minutes ago.
Before that, while we were still in Carter’s office,he called Hailey over for introductions. The first thirty seconds were so uncomfortable I wished the floor would swallow me whole. Worsthey, hiof my life.
“Hey, I’m Hailey, your... half-sister, I guess.”
“Hi, Hailey. I’m Bianca.”
