Page 87 of Scandalous Kingpin

It was Alexei’s condition for arranging a meeting with my sister. Apparently the man decided to become a mediator or some shit like that.

Fury savaged my insides, blazing along the familiar path at the mention of Juliette, obliterating everything else until I was scorched earth, incapable of harboring any other emotion.

My therapist told me I had to learn to let go and stop expecting others to handle their emotions and actions the way I would. It wasn’t so much the control I wanted, but I’d settle for less lies and deception.

“Ivy?” Caelan’s voice pulled me back. “You’re not going to start beating her again, are you?”

I brushed off the idea, no matter how tempting, and smiled.

“Please.” I waved my hand casually. “My yearly quota of beatdowns has been met,” I said breezily.

A smooth smile spread across his face. “I’ll be sure not to get on your list for next year.”

“We’re in Portugal,” Bren announced, getting up off the couch and ending our discussion. Cobra looked up, watchinghim tensely as usual. “God, this dog is looking at me like she wants to eat me.”

I raised a brow. “Scared?”

“No, but I don’t know why we’re keeping a dog trained by Christian DiLustro,” complained Bren. “I’d stake my life on him having this killer trained to attack us.”

“She’s my dog and she stays with me,” I stated calmly. “And if you come for me, she’ll protect me, regardless of who you are.”

“She shouldn’t attack the family,” Bren grumbled, referring to when he chased me around the house after I threw the last pack of his cigarettes into the fireplace.

“Cobra is a born protector,” Aemon said as he stood up, never looking up from the screen of his phone. “She protects Ivy, and that makes her an excellent bodyguard.”

“I hope she attacks those DiLustros,” Bren muttered under his breath. “I’d give her a steak dinner for a week straight, bone and all.”

“Bribes don’t work on her,” I told him.

“There’s a first time for everything,” he retorted dryly, glancing at Cobra. “Right, girly?”

A black Cadillac waited for us as we exited the plane, along with a driver who looked like he was ex-military.

“Murphy family,” he greeted us. “Welcome to Lisbon. I will take you to your destination.”

I nodded my thanks and he opened the door. Cobra jumped into the back seat without waiting for permission.

Aemon grumbled and I stifled a laugh as I slid in right behind my girl.

“That’s right,” Bren mocked. “In case you missed the memo, we work for the dog. Now drive her around Lisbon.”

“There’s still room for you in the back with us,” I told them, then shot Bren a look. “You, on the other hand, have to get in the front.”

Bren glared at me but got into the front seat without further complaint. We were all tense, not sure what to expect of the upcoming meeting.

As we drove through the busy streets, I sat on the edge of my seat to take in the sights. I’d never been to Lisbon before, and it was a good distraction to the nervous energy pumping through my veins.

A million thoughts ran through my head as we passed the popular tourist sights—Torre de Belém, Torre Paroquial, and Mosteiro dos Jerónimos—before the car came to a stop way too soon.

A familiar figure stood on a lawn, her dark hair blowing in the wind as our eyes locked. Juliette was here. Of course I knew she would be, but I thought I had more time.

The car door opened, and for a moment, I sat frozen, the wicked voice in the back of my mind hissing that I wasn’t ready to face her. As I watched her standing there, her husband’s arm protectively around her, it was a painful reminder that my own chose to protect her too.

Not me, but her.

I tried to reason with myself that after everything Juliette had been through when she learned about her birth parents, their murder, and the abuse she’d endured, she deserved all the happiness and affection.

But envy and bitterness were a dangerous company. They seeped into my bloodstream, poisoning me.