Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Her reply was almost instantaneous. I’ll be in the attic.
The attic? Was she hiding up there? Worry he didn’t have time for and couldn’t afford rose. He hadn’t forgotten the increased pressure their father had put on her to make her decision. It seemed like the lesser of the issues they were facing, but it wasn’t to Carrigan. He had no doubt that was the fear at the forefront of her mind at all times.
And he’d left her to deal with it alone.
He showered quickly and threw on a pair of jeans and a faded T-shirt. Since it was early on a Friday, there was some small hope that he wouldn’t run into his father—or older brother. Teague grabbed his keys, the weight in his chest only heavier with every second that passed. As much as he wanted to rage at Aiden and demand to know when the hell he’d gone and changed, he couldn’t do it. Aiden was as much a victim of their father as any of them were. If he had to become a modern version of the man himself to survive… Teague couldn’t hate him for that. He just wished it wasn’t necessary.
Wishing never changed a damn thing, though.
He made it home in record time, the traffic surprisingly light. But when he shut the car off, he sat there and listened to the engine tick, the heat of the day slowly seeping in from outside. Bringing Carrigan in meant potentially making Callie vulnerable. He didn’t think his sister would betray her, but then he hadn’t thought Aiden would willingly orchestrate a situation guaranteed to bring them to war. His sister might love him, but would she throw his fiancée under the bus if it meant a measure of freedom for her?
Without a doubt.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Damn it, it was like choosing between the frying pan and the fire. It seemed that no matter where he turned, there was potential danger. He didn’t like thinking that his siblings—the only people he trusted in this world—weren’t actually worthy of that trust.
A knock on the window had him damn near startling out of his skin. He opened his eyes to find Devlin standing outside the car, watching him with concern. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not going to roll down the windows and start the engine, are you? Because in a garage this size, I don’t think it’s possible to actually inhale enough carbon monoxide to actually die.”
Against all reason, he laughed. “Thanks for the tip.”
“Anything for my most tormented brother.” Devlin opened the door. “In all seriousness, what’s going on? You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and you just realized that you can’t carry it.”
That was exactly how he felt. Trust his youngest brother to cut to the heart of the matter. He’d always been too perceptive for his own good. Even though his first instinct was to beg off or make a joke to deflect the whole conversation, Teague found himself telling the truth. It was something that had been happening more and more with Devlin as he got older. “I’m worried. There are bigger things at stake, but Callie is keeping something from me that might be dangerous.”
Devlin’s dark eyes studied him. “We all have our secrets.”
Did he know about Finch? As soon as the thought crossed Teague’s mind, he discarded it. There was no way anyone could know—especially Devlin. But the flicker of unease wouldn’t dissipate. “I want to keep her safe. I can’t do that if I don’t know where the threat is coming from.”
“If she’s not telling you, there’s a reason.”
“She doesn’t trust me.” He’d known that, at least in theory, but saying it aloud seemed to make it real. Callie didn’t trust him. He rubbed a hand over his mouth.
Devlin’s smile was a little bittersweet. “And what have you done to earn that trust?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? He cared about her, but did he trust her completely? Teague climbed out of the car and shut the door. He’d feel better if he knew what she was hiding, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to pry the information out of her. Damn it, he was fucking this up. He shook his head. “When did you get so smart?”
“When you have five older brothers and sisters, you learn fast on your feet.”
Teague laughed. “I won’t pry the information out of her. I promise.” It would mean that much more when she finally trusted him enough to tell him the truth. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t still talk to Carrigan. With his mother in full wedding planning mode, it was only a matter of time before she dragged his sister to ambush Callie again.
“She seems nice.” Devlin snorted. “I know that’s kind of stupid to say, but it’s the truth.”