Page 49 of These White Lies

Sera snorts. “That means you need to whisper in her ear?”

I don’t need my sister to tell me my behavior crossed a major line. Elizabeth is a client, and already my inability to remain detached could have gotten her killed.

“I wasn’t whispering in her ear.”

“Bullshit.” She narrows her eyes at me and crosses her arms across her chest in a disturbingly similar imitation of me.

I can see she’s determined to wait me out, but patience has never been her strong suit, and it’s less than a minute before she explodes. “Finn told me how she slipped her coverage and you had to run out to save her.”

“Sera—”

“I’m not going to lose the only family I have left because some spoiled, rich bitch thinks she’s too good to follow the rules.”

My temper rises, but I see the sheen in her eyes and bite my tongue, so I don’t snap back. “That’s not exactly what happened. It’s not on her. It’s on me.”

She shakes her head. “You’ve always had a soft spot for helpless women, and you’re letting it blind you. You would have fired another client who behaved like that.”

My jaw clenches as I fight to keep my temper in check. Even though we’re only twelve years apart, I’ve spent most of my life taking care of Sera. Doing my best to make up for our father’s absence.

“My objectivity is in perfect working order. I’m not too close if that’s what you are trying to imply. And Elizabeth is far from helpless. Next to you, she’s the toughest woman I’ve ever met.”

“You realize you’re only proving my point, right?”

“You aren’t going to lose me, Ser. They weren’t trying to kidnap me.”

Her jaw works as she struggles to contain her emotions. “But you didn’t hesitate to throw yourself between her and the threat.”

“Like you said,” I reply as gently as I can. “That’s the job.”

“You’ve fired difficult clients before,” she persists.

I frown. “Are you suggesting I turn my back on a client in danger? What’s your problem with her?”

She doesn’t answer, only continues to glare at me, and I heave out a sigh. I don’t have time to deal with Sera’s increasingly frequent, prickly moods. We have a problem to solve.

“I’m going to email you a list of names. See if there is any connection between them and Keith Gowan.”

A knot forms in my stomach. If my gut is correct…

“Sera, wait,” I call after her when she whirls around. She doesn’t acknowledge me, other than to practically take my door off the hinges when she slams it.

Less than a minute later, Vincent is in my office. “Everything okay?”

I scrub a hand over my face. “Yeah. Sera’s just having a bad day.”

I expect him to nod or grunt—his normal responses—so I’m shocked when he meets my gaze with a worried look. “Lots of those lately.”

I know, but I don’t know what to do about it. She won’t talk about what happened.

Giving Vincent a quick summation of Elizabeth’s case, I wait for the lecture that’s sure to come. It’s not that Vincent is a stickler for the rules. I’m fairly certain there are warrants for him all over the world, but he takes what we do seriously, and if he thinks I’m jeopardizing that…

However, instead of the warning I expect, he just raps his knuckles on the doorframe and leaves.

I sink into the desk chair and prop my elbows on the desk, burying my head in my hands.

Why is it so hard to keep my distance from Elizabeth? It’s not like she’s the only beautiful woman I’ve ever had sex with.

She’s a client.