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“Wow. This is a surprise. I…um, it’s good to meet you. Are you here because you want to know your siblings?”

“At the moment, it’s urgent I speak to you. I…don’t know much about the others. According to our father, they’re ungrateful offspring relishing in his misery and downfall. I’m hoping your opinion is less negative.”

“You know him well?” I frown.

“I grew up with him. I’ve worked for him my entire adult life. Look, I know the others have told you stories about what a terrible human being he is. I admit, he’s driven. And an utter workaholic. He can be a real bastard. But in a super-competitive industry, only the ruthless flourish…and he’s at the top of the heap.” She shrugs. “There’s more to the story I think you should hear. Is there someplace we can talk?”

There is and we could, but I still have questions. “How did you find me?”

“You’re a creature of habit. Except for last week, you leave the gym no later than seven every morning. I waited, hoping to intercept you.”

My mind is blown. “You’ve been following me?”

She hesitates. “I’ve suspected for a few weeks that we might need to have this conversation. Now, circumstances make me realize I was right. Where can we go?”

For the most part, I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t know everything Barclay inflicted on my siblings, but I can’t forget my personal experience with the bastard. He’s dismissive, self-absorbed, and manipulative. I can’t imagine what Bethany can say to change my opinion or why she’s even bothering to try. On the other hand, I’m curious. I don’t know what she wants, but at the very least, Maxon, Griff, and Harlow will want information about the sister they’ve never met.

“Not from Seattle?”

Bethany shakes her head. “I’m based in San Diego.”

She traveled twelve hundred miles to see me? This exchange is getting weirder and weirder.

“Around the corner. There’s a bagel and organic coffee place.” I’ve never been, but it’s close by. And I want answers. This place will work.

I give her directions and she meets me there three minutes later. I’m first to enter, and when she walks in, I’m not surprised that male heads turn. Now that I’m looking at her, she’s got an exotic quality. She’s slender, petite. But her presence seems much bigger than her stature. Her almond-shaped eyes are striking, especially since they’re an unusual shade of green ringed by gray. Most everything about her comes off as severe, yet there’s something under that facade I can’t put my finger on. It’s a vulnerability. She’s not as confident as she wants everyone to believe. Somewhere along the way she’s suffered. I’ve experienced enough of the bad to know the hallmarks. Bethany has secrets—deep, dark ones. I’d bet everything on that.

Now I’m even more intrigued.

I wave her over, and she sits. A college-age waitress in a logo’d T-shirt appears. We both order black coffee and skip the carbs.

“You’ve got my attention,” I say as soon as the girl is gone. “What do we need to discuss?”

“Well…Barclay.”

Not Father or Dad or any other term to express one’s paternal unit. So she’s not close to him, either?

I frown. “I’m listening.”

“The rest of your siblings may have told you he has no redeeming qualities, but I’m here to give you a different side of the story…and to ask for your help.”

Straight to the point, and without much acknowledgement that we’re, in fact, siblings, too. The old me would probably have embraced that approach. Heck, in some ways I’m still okay with it. But something niggles at me. If I’m supposed to be paying attention to my heart or whatever, I can’t let her control the conversation, then leave without even trying to see if there could be any sibling bond between us. I also find myself wanting to know what the heck her hint of sadness is about.

“I have some questions first. You say you grew up with Barclay?”

She nods. “Would it help if I prove that I am who I say I am?”

Actually, her being some sort of imposter hadn’t occurred to me. She’s got too many of the Reed characteristics not to be authentic—Maxon’s stubborn chin, Griff’s dissecting gaze, and Harlow’s sharply feminine features, the green tinge to her unusual eyes we all have.

“No. I want to understand your perspective. You’re right that I’ve heard nothing good about our father, and my one interaction with him didn’t leave a positive impression.”

She bites her lip. “He was afraid you were already poisoned against him.”

“Yet he still tried to persuade me to invest.”

“Because he’s great at what he does. And doesn’t everyone want to make money, regardless of the people you’re making it with?”

A very Barclay answer. On the other hand, I can’t logically disagree. Whether I’ve earned money with people I like or hate, it spends the same. “Point taken. Tell me about growing up with Barclay.”