She sounded relieved. She didn’t know it was owned by the Mauricio family. I wondered how she would’ve reacted if she’d known that tidbit. This was dumb. I was pretending my life was normal and that I could get to know my sister the way normal people would—that we could spend time together, laugh together, maybe even tease each other or fight. We’d have months and months of being around each other. But we wouldn’t. Here we were trying to force it in a couple days. Carter had never said a word, but I knew that’s all I was getting. A few days to cover a few decades of history. It wasn’t enough time, and I couldn’t pretend otherwise.
“What’s wrong?”
I refocused on her. “Hmmm?”
“You made a sound. Is something wrong?”
“Oh.” What did I say? Be honest. That was the only way. I clutched my napkin as I prepared to speak. “Andrea—”
“Call me Andy,” she interrupted, her eyes sparkling.
“What?”
“He called you Alley Cat.”
“Andy. It’s what my friends and family call me. Andrea’s the uptight socialite persona.” She grinned to herself, rolling her eyes. “I have to play that part, but this is nice. I can just be Andy with you. No charades or anything.”
Except for mine. I twisted the napkin around my hand. If it had been made of cheap material, I would’ve ripped it in half by now. “Ah, yes. That is nice.”
“So…” She leaned forward to grab her glass of wine. “You were going to tell me what’s wrong.”
“I was. Yes.” I couldn’t play pretend anymore. “You obviously know about Carter.”
She went still in her seat.
“I don’t know what you know or what you think,” I continued. “But I can’t talk about that stuff. If you want to get to know me, it’s just me. There will be times when you’re not going to see me or you can’t get through to me. That’s just how it is.”
Her eyes darted to Thomas, who stood closest to us. She jerked them back to me.
“After meeting you last night, I wanted to cram the whole day with getting to know each other. I think I wanted to pretend this was normal, that we were just two friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. But that’s not the truth. The truth is that I shouldn’t even be here.”
“You shouldn’t?” Her voice dipped low.
“No, but not because of you. Because of other things. And as I’m saying this to you, I’m realizing how wrong I am to have pushed for this. I should go.” I started to stand. Calling Carter, making things right was foremost in my mind now.
“Wait.” She touched my arm. “Wait, please. Sit. Please.”
I did, but slowly.
She swallowed and reached for her glass of wine again. Her hand trembled. “Yes, I’ve heard the rumors. I’d be living under a rock not to know who Carter Reed is, and like I said before, everyone back home is buzzing about you. They all know who he is, too. I’d be a liar if I sat here and told you I didn’t want to know about him. That’s not the truth. I’m curious, yes, but I think anyone would be.”
She paused for a moment and took a breath. “However, I’m more curious because he’s a part of your life. It’s you I really want to know. We don’t have to talk about him or anything that makes you uncomfortable. I promise. I won’t even bring up AJ. Kevin made me realize last night that maybe I’m wrong—jumping to conclusions. I don’t remember our mom that well either, so it’s possible something bad happened with her. Maybe AJ was saving you. I don’t know. I’ve just been looking for you all my life, and he’s the one I blamed for taking you away.”
“AJ was good to me.” No one would take that from me.
“I can see that.” She seemed cautious. “I can, and you’re right about forcing the day together. I want to get to know you too, but I got a sense last night that now isn’t the time for that to happen. Maybe we could finish our lunch and then promise to get in touch when the time is right? How about that?”
I nodded, feeling all the tension leaving me. “That sounds wonderful, actually.”
“Good.” She lifted her wine glass. “To getting to know one another. And if it takes a long time, that’s completely fine, too.”
I laughed, clicking my glass to hers. “That’s perfect.”
“Cheers to us then.”
“Cheers.”
This would work out. I could feel it. Everything would be fine. Once things were safe, I could go to her town, or she could come to mine, and we could spend more time together. I glanced at my phone. I knew I should text Carter, let him know it was okay to leave, but Andy started telling a story about her adoptive parents, and I tucked the phone back into my purse. I’d text him when we were leaving.
Cole was in the warehouse waiting for me when I walked inside. Without being told, the guards had stayed outside. This conversation was just for Cole and me. As he saw me coming, he switched on a high-force fan. If anyone had stuck a recording device anywhere, our conversation would be drowned out.
“What was your phone call about last night?” I didn’t waste time. “Did you decide to move against the Bartels?”
Cole flashed me a grin, scratching his forehead. “You know better than that. I can’t until I know who I can trust and who I can’t. I called the meeting to gauge their reactions on some things, and I need your help.”
“I won’t spy on anyone in the family.”
“No. I didn’t mean that. I need you to start laying traps for the Bartels. I want to know their safe houses. I want to know all of their businesses. We know most of them, but there are always extras that no one outside of the family knows about. We need those.”
I nodded. “That information’s already been compiled.”
“It has?”
“For back home.” Just thinking about the change in plans, I wanted to curse. “That’s what I was doing when I left before. I thought I’d take Emma home, and I was going to protect her there. I didn’t think our fight would be in New York.”
“You got all that information in that amount of time?”
It was my turn to flash him a grin. “I’m still in business with the Bartels. I got a lot of information about them, and the rest I found myself.”
“What’s wrong?”
I refocused on her. “Hmmm?”
“You made a sound. Is something wrong?”
“Oh.” What did I say? Be honest. That was the only way. I clutched my napkin as I prepared to speak. “Andrea—”
“Call me Andy,” she interrupted, her eyes sparkling.
“What?”
“He called you Alley Cat.”
“Andy. It’s what my friends and family call me. Andrea’s the uptight socialite persona.” She grinned to herself, rolling her eyes. “I have to play that part, but this is nice. I can just be Andy with you. No charades or anything.”
Except for mine. I twisted the napkin around my hand. If it had been made of cheap material, I would’ve ripped it in half by now. “Ah, yes. That is nice.”
“So…” She leaned forward to grab her glass of wine. “You were going to tell me what’s wrong.”
“I was. Yes.” I couldn’t play pretend anymore. “You obviously know about Carter.”
She went still in her seat.
“I don’t know what you know or what you think,” I continued. “But I can’t talk about that stuff. If you want to get to know me, it’s just me. There will be times when you’re not going to see me or you can’t get through to me. That’s just how it is.”
Her eyes darted to Thomas, who stood closest to us. She jerked them back to me.
“After meeting you last night, I wanted to cram the whole day with getting to know each other. I think I wanted to pretend this was normal, that we were just two friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. But that’s not the truth. The truth is that I shouldn’t even be here.”
“You shouldn’t?” Her voice dipped low.
“No, but not because of you. Because of other things. And as I’m saying this to you, I’m realizing how wrong I am to have pushed for this. I should go.” I started to stand. Calling Carter, making things right was foremost in my mind now.
“Wait.” She touched my arm. “Wait, please. Sit. Please.”
I did, but slowly.
She swallowed and reached for her glass of wine again. Her hand trembled. “Yes, I’ve heard the rumors. I’d be living under a rock not to know who Carter Reed is, and like I said before, everyone back home is buzzing about you. They all know who he is, too. I’d be a liar if I sat here and told you I didn’t want to know about him. That’s not the truth. I’m curious, yes, but I think anyone would be.”
She paused for a moment and took a breath. “However, I’m more curious because he’s a part of your life. It’s you I really want to know. We don’t have to talk about him or anything that makes you uncomfortable. I promise. I won’t even bring up AJ. Kevin made me realize last night that maybe I’m wrong—jumping to conclusions. I don’t remember our mom that well either, so it’s possible something bad happened with her. Maybe AJ was saving you. I don’t know. I’ve just been looking for you all my life, and he’s the one I blamed for taking you away.”
“AJ was good to me.” No one would take that from me.
“I can see that.” She seemed cautious. “I can, and you’re right about forcing the day together. I want to get to know you too, but I got a sense last night that now isn’t the time for that to happen. Maybe we could finish our lunch and then promise to get in touch when the time is right? How about that?”
I nodded, feeling all the tension leaving me. “That sounds wonderful, actually.”
“Good.” She lifted her wine glass. “To getting to know one another. And if it takes a long time, that’s completely fine, too.”
I laughed, clicking my glass to hers. “That’s perfect.”
“Cheers to us then.”
“Cheers.”
This would work out. I could feel it. Everything would be fine. Once things were safe, I could go to her town, or she could come to mine, and we could spend more time together. I glanced at my phone. I knew I should text Carter, let him know it was okay to leave, but Andy started telling a story about her adoptive parents, and I tucked the phone back into my purse. I’d text him when we were leaving.
Cole was in the warehouse waiting for me when I walked inside. Without being told, the guards had stayed outside. This conversation was just for Cole and me. As he saw me coming, he switched on a high-force fan. If anyone had stuck a recording device anywhere, our conversation would be drowned out.
“What was your phone call about last night?” I didn’t waste time. “Did you decide to move against the Bartels?”
Cole flashed me a grin, scratching his forehead. “You know better than that. I can’t until I know who I can trust and who I can’t. I called the meeting to gauge their reactions on some things, and I need your help.”
“I won’t spy on anyone in the family.”
“No. I didn’t mean that. I need you to start laying traps for the Bartels. I want to know their safe houses. I want to know all of their businesses. We know most of them, but there are always extras that no one outside of the family knows about. We need those.”
I nodded. “That information’s already been compiled.”
“It has?”
“For back home.” Just thinking about the change in plans, I wanted to curse. “That’s what I was doing when I left before. I thought I’d take Emma home, and I was going to protect her there. I didn’t think our fight would be in New York.”
“You got all that information in that amount of time?”
It was my turn to flash him a grin. “I’m still in business with the Bartels. I got a lot of information about them, and the rest I found myself.”
