Every time the bell over the door chimes, I can’t help myself. I lock eyes with every single person who enters, and none of them are the brown eyes I’m looking for.
Where is Anders, and why was Law being weird about it? Well, more weird than usual. I know he’s overprotective of his brother—even as an outsider I could see that the very first night we met.
Law and I are similar in that way. We’re protective of those closest to us even when they don’t want us to be.
My sister hates how overbearing I can be, but in my defence, she does stupid shit.
Speak of the devil, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and when I take it out to look, a Guatemalan number pops up.
I go to answer, when Reed’s voice stops me.
“If Law sees you with a phone in his dojo, you’ll be in trouble,” he sings.
“It’s Rachel.”
He smiles. “Worth the punishment, then.”
I hit Answer. “Let me guess, you’re all out of money.”
“Miss you too, big brother.” She sounds all sweet and innocent, but this girl can spit venom and snark with the best of them. “And no, I don’t need money. Under obligation, I’m calling to check in.”
“Where was my call last week?”
“Get off my back. We’ve got no technology where we are, and you’re lucky I found a place with a phone today.”
See, reckless. “You being safe?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Sarcasm isn’t a good look for you.”
“How would you know? I happen to look fucking gorgeous. I’m all tan, and I’m getting muscles from all the heavy lifting—”
“Too much information for your brother. But speaking of dads, have you spoken to ours?”
“Of course not.”
“He worries too, you know.”
“Worries I’m pissing away his money.”
“You’re the one who left uni to go save the world.”
“No, I left uni because I didn’t want to follow the plan Dad set out for me. There’s a difference, and you’d know that if you did the same. You can’t let that man dictate your life.”
I wince. “I don’t want to fight.”
“Oh, honey, if you think this is a fight, you haven’t seen anything. You’re always so blasé. It wouldn’t kill you to have a little fight every once and a while.”
Rachel always says I’ve never lived, always doing the right thing, following the rules, and doing everything everyone else wants of me without complaint.
“You’re mistaking blasé for control. I’m in control of my emotions.”
“You did not just call me an emotional woman.”
“Uh, I don’t recall bringing up gender at all. It’s a prerequisite to not lose your head when you’re in court. That’s all I’m saying.”
My sister sighs. She hates that I became a defence attorney almost as much as Mum does. “Just don’t become an emotional robot, Brody.”
“I’m starting to think you only called to lecture me, but that can’t be right. You’re the one in a third-world country doing God knows what with God knows who.”
“I’m saving the world, bitch.”
The usual pang of jealousy I have towards my sister hits full force. “I know you are. And I’m proud of you. But that doesn’t change the fact I should be worried about you, not the other way around.”
“Don’t become like Dad. Find your passion and just do it.”
Anders and what we got up to this morning pops into my head. I’d love to do him, but I’m not sure where we stand now.
“I’ll check in again in a week. If I can,” Rachel says.
“You know the point of weekly phone calls is so I don’t worry that you’ve been kidnapped and held for ransom.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” She pauses. “I’m more likely to be murdered.”
I grit my teeth. “Not helping. I knew I shouldn’t have let you go.”
I can practically hear her eye roll.
“Like you had a say over my life. Stop being a dick. I’m fine. I don’t stray from my group, I don’t go out alone, and never at night, so you don’t have to worry, okay?”
“Telling me not to worry about you is like telling me to stop wanting Dad’s approval. Not gonna happen.”
“Give Lucky a kiss for me.”
“Umm, nice abrupt subject change. But, uh, about Lucky.”
“What happened? Is she okay? I didn’t save her just for you to forget to feed her because you’re never home—”
“No, no, nothing like that. It’s my roommate. He might’ve, sort of, adopted her as his own and renamed her.”
“Wait, wait, wait … you have a roommate?”
Someone yells in the background. “Rach, we’re rolling out.”
“Have to go. Love you.”
The phone cuts out.
That girl is going to age me, I swear to God.
When I look up, Law is standing in front of me with his arms crossed.
He holds out a hand for my phone.
“I bet the kids love you,” I grumble and hand it over.
“Actually, they weirdly do,” Reed says. “I still haven’t been able to work out why. He’s a hardass, yet they still hang on his every word.”