Four hours later, the twins and I have scrubbed and organized, slapping up more pictures of our cute kids doing clever things on every vertical surface of the shelter. I even take a minute to put on some lipstick and brush my hair, which falls below my shoulder blades. Huh. I need a trim.
Ioann knocks on my office door. "Is there anything else that you need? Miss Rose just finished cleaning the windows in the craft room."
"No, we're good," I say, straightening my skirt. He looks as polished and put together as he did this morning when he drove us here. It must be his superpower, I wish it was mine. "The tour shouldn't take more than an hour or so, then we can head home."
He nods, "Yes ma'am. I will just take another look around."
"Thank you, Ioann. You're the best." He gives me a quick, almost bashful grin and heads down the hall.
The shelter's quiet, nearly everyone is gone and when I hear the door open and Larry greeting our guests, I take a deep breath and step purposefully into the hall. Iris and Rose are already there, staring at our guests.
"Welcome, we're so happy you're-"
There's four enormous men standing there, bookending a smirking blond in an expensive suit.
"Violet, dear," Colin Ashford says, "you've really kept me waiting."
Chapter Twenty-Five
In which betrayal cuts deep.
Violet…
"Violet, be cool. No need to scream."
My head whips around, and I stare at Larry. That strange, flat tone is back in his voice.
"You son of a bitch." Iris breathes. "You sold us out, didn't you?"
Shaking my head, I push her words away. That can't possibly be.
My best friend is standing there with his blue hair and his funny T-shirt,a new one that says,I'm no weatherman, but you can expect a few inches tonight. He's staring at me, expressionless.
"You wouldn't do this. I know you, Larry. I don't give a shit what they told you, don't do this!"
"There was no way I was going to work for a nonprofit for the rest of my life. If we were really best friends, you would have known that," he says, not angry, just looking disappointed in me. "They paid off my student loans, which I needed. Ireallyneeded it, and now they are giving me a way into the corporate world. I didn't want to do this. I had to."
My gaze turns to Colin, smiling benignly, as if this is just a little impromptu planning session between colleagues. When heglances back at me, I see it, though. That wasteland in his eyes where a human being should be.
He's not going to help Larry. Larry is now officially a liability.
"You don't know what you're doing," I say sadly. "I just hope you live long enough to regret it."
There's a rich, practiced chuckle from Colin. "Now that's just sour grapes, darling. Larry is a bright, ambitious young man with a promising future. In fact, he came tometo help offer a solution to our current… complication."
"Complication?" I hiss. "Kidnapping my sisters and forcing them to marry your disgusting trolls is acomplication?"
He sighs, brushing an invisible speck of lint off his jacket sleeve. "Roy and George, take the girls to my car."
I turn to the one who looks like John Cena would if he let himself go and ate pie every day, my hand ready to shoot out and smash into his nose. He has my upper arm in a painful grip in seconds, and pulls open his jacket. There's a gun there.
Before, the sight of a gun would have horrified me. I've seen enough of them being around Roman now, it just means I'm going to have to handle this asshole differently.
"Be strong," Roman told me during our gym sessions. "If your opponent is stronger, be smarter. Look for an opening."
Roman. Will he hear about this in time?
Then a thought crushes me. I'd insisted that the girls and I move out. I haven't seen him since. Maybe he's happy our carnal excursion came to such a tidy end.
