She sees me too.
Will my own success be enough if I know my stepfather and stepbrothers are out there in the same world, succeeding with what my mother built? When I first joined the Marines, I did it to get some real-world experience with hard things, always planning on going back to take my rightful place in my mom’s company eventually.
I stayed as long as I did because it fit.
And I went back planning to be more mature and intelligent about my issues with Xavier than I’d been when I was eighteen.
But it didn’t work out the way it should’ve because he had no morals or ethics and never truly loved my mom at all.
I swallow hard. “That’s a complicated question.”
“I made a phone call,” she says. “Asked someone to do some digging into Technique Group. On a hunch.”
My ears get hot and my heart gives a loud, painful thump that echoes through my abdomen and makes my stomach drop.
She did that for me.
Someone who barely knows me did something for me.
Without me asking, but because, I suspect, she understands more about me than I want to admit.
“What—” I clear my throat again, suddenly feeling thick and awkward and vulnerable. “What hunch?”
“That you want something more than an endorsement for your own security firm.”
“You’re asking someone else what I want?”
“No, I’m asking someone else to find out if there’s dirt on your stepfamily. But I can also ask them to stop if you’d like me to.”
I blink quickly and shake my head.
Answering out loud is impossible.
I suddenly don’t trust my voice.
I don’t know if I can actively seek vengeance.
But I don’t want to stop her from digging up dirt on Xavier and my stepbrothers either.
“You’re right,” she adds softly. “I do have an extra agenda in being here. But I’ll bail if it’ll hurt anyone. It’s one thing to destroy someone who deserves it. It’s another to cause collateral damage. My sister was collateral damage in the vision my parents have of their reputation and image in their social circles. I won’t cause that harm to anyone else. So if there’s anyone who could become innocent collateral damage as my friend is asking questions about your former employer, please let me know.”
Moral revenge.
She’s talking about moral and ethical revenge.
Being karma.
Being consequences.
Being justice.
Doing it for me, but without hurting people who don’t deserve it.
And fuck me, more than just turning me on, it makes me feel seen.
Recognized.
Cared for.
