Page 4 of Last Man Standing

SEBASTION

SUSPECT EVERYTHING

“You haven’t changed a bit.” The woman, the fucking sprite, all five-feet-nothing of her, braces for her brother’s collision and allows him to crush her ribs in a hug that makes my brows pull tight.

I stop in the doorway and keep my distance from the infuriatingly beautiful Scarlett Castro while she presses a kiss to Lincoln’s cheek with lips I’ve already filed away in my mind for future dissection. When he pulls back and she smiles, I add the two deep dimples popping in her cheeks to my mental file, and when he yanks her in for another hug, her tinkling laughter bounces from wall to wall.

Fuck me.

That filing cabinet is filling up fast.

“Is there a reason you two snuck inside to talk girlie shit?” His brows lift high as he shrewdly studies his sister. His sister! Lincoln Castro’s fucking sister! “I know your ass is here to see me, Little Girl. So why’d I only get twenty seconds before you were gone again?”

“Because you’re loud and obnoxious.” Finally, she steps out of his embrace and pastes on what I know is a fake grin. Wandering across the kitchen and helping herself to the fridge, she snags a soda can and pretends she doesn’t see me here at all.

Bright blue, drop-a-man-to-his-knees eyes flash across my face, inspecting but dismissing. Cataloging, but setting aside as if I barely exist. She closes the fridge and goes to stand beside Nova.

Battle lines have been drawn.

“Why do you assume I’m here to see you, anyway?” She tilts to the side and taps Nova’s shoulder with her own. “I heard you’re in love, big brother. You knew I’d come check her out eventually.”

Despite her efforts not to, her eyes stray back to mine. Wary, though she thinks she’s hiding it. Fearful, though it’s clear she’s practiced otherwise.

“Oh! Does this mean we’re taking Scarlett with us?” Nova’s lips curl into a wide grin. “Since we’re heading out today.”

“Hm?” Scarlett taps the side of her soda can with her nails. “You were going somewhere?”

“Yeah, we were⁠—”

“We’ll postpone,” I cut in, my voice gravelly with… I don’t even know what. Lust. Curiosity. Suspicion. All of the above. As three sets of eyes come around and lock onto mine, I lean against the door frame and do as Scarlett does. Pretend. “We’re staying here for the next little while.”

“Really?” Nova challenges with a saucy smirk. “Weren’t you just saying we had to be in the truck in ten minutes, or else…?”

“Or else what?” Braver than she was on the porch, Scarlett stares down her dainty nose and hits me with sexy defiance. “Would you hurt her, mister… Tank?”

Nova snort-giggles. “Mr. Tank. Sounds so douchey.”

“Why are you even here?” Lincoln steamrolls across the kitchen and grabs his sister’s hand. He looks her up and down, from her long, mahogany locks to a pair of ankle boots that would be her undoing in a dangerous situation.

War and broken ankles complement each other as seamlessly as oil and water.

Instead of answering, Scarlett merely sips her soda.

In response, Lincoln’s brows knit with suspicion. “Scarlett?”

“What?” She tugs her hand from his and rolls her eyes the way younger siblings have been doing since the dawn of time. “I wanted to see you. I didn’t realize I needed a stone-etched invitation to spend time with my big brother.”

“You don’t. But I’m working right now, and you never, ever drop by when I’m working.”

“Really?” Nova snarls. “I’m still work for you, Lincoln?”

“No! That’s not what I—” He rakes his fingers through his hair, frustrated as the women so easily team up against him. “That’s not what I meant.” He shifts his focus to Scarlett. “Don’t act like this is normal.”

“But—”

“Yes, you’re always welcome. No, you never need an invitation. But this… here…” He gestures around the kitchen. “This is different, and you damn well know it. So why don’t you fess up, tell the truth, then we can get on to whatever the hell is going on.”

“There’s nothing to fess up about! Jesus. You’re never normally away this long, which is why I’ve broken protocol. You’ve gone on and on about how wonderful and beautiful and amazing and blah, blah, blah Nova is.”