She gasped softly before stepping back. “I think you underestimate me.”
“Never,” I said with a smile. And I meant it.
Laikyn Quinn could hold her own. She was strong and fierce, and she had the power to make a man weak. I’d gone into this believing I knew what was best for her, and for the past two and a half months, she’d proven I didn’t know a goddamn thing. She’d turned the tables, and she didn’t even realize it.
But I was still determined to follow through. My ultimate objective was to ensure she was safe, and by procuring her inheritance, I would ensure no one could ever hurt her again. Even without the money, I knew she didn’t need me, but I would feel better knowing she had the means to take care of herself. And to know she had a family who would back her.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I told Jinx. “Keep her out of trouble.”
His eyes danced with amusement.
Yeah, I knew that wasn’t possible, but still.
I could feel them watching me as I walked away, heading for the offices Creed had instructed me to go to when I arrived.
As I walked to my first meeting with Knox Montgomery, a man who had carried on his father’s legacy and strengthened it in ways even analysts never predicted, I wondered whether he would be open to the idea of meeting his sister. Or if he would take for granted that he’d had a family the way most people lucky enough to have one did.
* * *
Jinx
“Where is he going?”
I pulled out my phone to respond, but Laikyn didn’t give me a chance.
“Never mind. Don’t answer that. I don’t care.”
Yes, she did, but I didn’t need to tell her that. At the very least, she was curious. She knew this trip had something to do with her father. It was only natural to want to know how he figured into it. What would she think if she knew her half-brother owned this impressive resort casino? Would she want to stick around and talk to him? Or would she want to bolt?
The interesting thing was I got the feeling Laikyn would want to do both. It would depend on her mood.
Because I sensed she was getting antsy, I stepped up to her and cupped her face. I leaned in and kissed her. Not a soul-searing swapping of tongues or anything. Just a simple peck to let her know I was here and that I wasn’t going anywhere.
It made my heart swell when she sighed and leaned into me.
“I needed that. Thank you.”
I stepped back and raised an eyebrow, then pointed toward the ceiling and then to the gaming floor.
“Do I want to go to our room? Or to play?”
I nodded.
“Hmm.” She stared out at the rows of slot machines that were mostly empty on a Thursday afternoon. “You know what?” She turned to me. “How about we find a quiet place to sit and have a drink?”
I nodded.
“Do you have your phone?”
I nodded again.
“Good. Because we need to talk about something. I’d like to get your opinion.”
Her tone was breathy and light, but I got the feeling the topic wasn’t. For the past couple of days, I’d been waiting for Laikyn to break down and finally ask the difficult questions. Like how and why I’d purchased the paintings in my room. Or what else I knew about her, or how long we’d been digging into her life. I wasn’t sure how to answer any of those, but I knew I had to go with the truth.
Rule had set about this course a long time ago. The only thing I could do was follow the path he had paved. I trusted he knew what he was doing even if his motivations weren’t exactly … I wasn’t sure what the right word was. The fact that Rule had never had a family caused him to see things through a hazy lens. He’d told me before that people were stupid for not making the most of the family they’d been given. I was the exception, of course. That was what he’d said. Not me. I was the exception because I had a bad home life. My parents had been violent, neglectful addicts, so he understood my reasons. As though I was the only person in the world who’d endured neglect and mistreatment at the hands of family.
I didn’t think Rule truly believed we were one of a kind. Logically, he knew that there were many families who had fractures and breaks in the branches of their family trees. We certainly weren’t the only ones.
