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Brianna

“ R eina!” Bri called, dashing across the Silvas compound’s lounge a week after her mother had been unceremoniously buried in an unmarked grave. She collided with her sister a little harder than intended. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Reina caught her, squeezing until Bri felt her feet almost leave the ground. “I’m so glad I got to come today. Are you recovering okay? Have you gotten to see a doctor?”

Bri nodded, watching Koa and another Wraith being escorted into a room off the lounge. They were here to discuss the breaking up of Syndicate assets. She knew. Arturo, Tomas, and Dante were waiting within, but so was Aldous, acting as a mediator. Her poor husband had spent the days since their arrival combing through accounting records to give an accurate picture of the Syndicate’s assets, but Aldous said he hadn’t minded.

“For once, it’s something I’m actually qualified to do,” Aldous had remarked . “Other than sitting on the outskirts and hoping no one shoots me.”

“You’re my husband,” she’d told him, fully aware that he was in his element among the spreadsheets—even though the Wraiths had asked for a pittance compared to the Silvas cartel . “No one’s allowed to shoot you.”

“I’ve been to the doctor. My ECG came back normal, but they adjusted my medication dose.” Bri was far more interested in what her sister had to say. “You should have got in our car after the chaos at the warehouse. I didn’t realise Koa wasn’t going to bring you back here. You’re staying, right? You’re coming home with us?”

“Bri…” Reina’s hesitation was so sharp it almost drew blood. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I made a deal with the Wraiths, Bri. Not long after I discovered where the Syndicate really made its money.”

Bri heard Dante’s laughter coming from inside the meeting room. Sounds like that’s going well. “What did the deal involve?”

“I gave up the names and addresses of the Syndicate members involved in human trafficking, and the Wraiths executed them how they saw fit.”

“Including Mom?”

Reina nodded, entirely unapologetic. “If you’d seen the things I had, Bri, you would un—”

Bri took her sister’s hand. “I don’t need to see them. I trust you. It’s not like Mom didn’t admit to it. What did the Wraiths get in exchange for this?”

“Me.”

“Excuse me?” Bri blinked.

“Their leader…” A visible swallow ran down Reina’s throat. “He wants me.”

Alarm shot like an arrow down her spine. “Koa… Koa wants you?” she whispered. “Like in his bed?”

Reina looked around to ensure they weren’t overheard. “Not Koa. His older step-brother.”

“We can help you,” Bri said, her voice a rushed murmur. “We can get you out.” Roman was out with Jasmine, but when he returned, she was sure they could come up with a plan.

The affection in Reina’s eyes was palpable, but Bri had a sinking feeling she knew what her sister was about to say. “I made this deal willingly, Bri. I knew their price, and I have no intention of renegading on my end.”

Bri leant back in her seat on a long exhale. Last night, when Aldous was going through the documents he’d prepared for today’s meeting, she’d had a look at what the Wraiths had asked for from the aggregated list of Syndicate property.

Bri’s childhood home. A few commercial properties here and there. A quarter of the stockpiled narcotics.

Curiously little of what Aldous had listed—and now Bri knew why.

Reina was what they really wanted.

“What’s that?”

Bri blinked her way back to their conversation, realising that Reina was pointing to the brightly coloured prospectus she’d been reading. “It’s, um…” Why was she embarrassed admitting this? “It’s a college prospectus.”

A smile lifted Reina’s lips—one of excitement. “You want to go back to college?”

“Maybe?” Bri answered, halfway caught between a shrug and a nod. Tomas had picked up the prospectus for her a couple of days ago, and she couldn’t help but see a future there. “I can’t get the idea out of my head.”

Reina pulled her sleek blonde braid over her shoulder. “What would you study?”

“Law.” That was an easy one to answer. She tapped the brochure. “And this is one of the colleges I’d be interested in.”

“Not too far away from your fancy new digs too.”

“Exactly.” Bri flashed a hopeful grin. “I want to do something I want to do, not something Mom wants me to do. Although I’d have to pass the LSAT first.”

“You will,” Reina assured her, as easily as breathing. “You got like a 4.0 GPA for your undergraduate degree.”

“3.8,” Bri corrected awkwardly.

With a sisterly roll of her eyes, Reina shook her head. “Exactly. A 3.8 GPA doing a degree you hated. You’ll bump that up to 4.0 in no time. You can do anything you put your mind to.”

The bustle of movement from the other side of the room caught their attention, and Bri looked over to see Koa and the other Wraith emerging from their meeting. “That was quick.” She’d expected them to be at it for hours.

Reina wasn’t surprised. “They only came here to finalise things—and so I could see you one more time.”

A thick, uncertain swallow impeded Bri’s throat. She didn’t like how… final that sounded. “We’re having a barbecue in a couple of weeks,” she said quickly. “Aldous’s family are coming over now that everything’s sorted with the Syndicate. I’d love you to come. Please.”

“I can’t, Bri.” Reina’s voice was soft. She looked over to Koa, who gave a jerk of his head. “Maybe… maybe another time.”

Bri stood, pulling her sister into a hug. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

There was a tearful sniff in her ear. “I’d expect no less.”

She caught Koa’s eye as the two of them made their way over to the exit, wondering what awaited Reina when they returned to wherever they were based. “Look after my sister, Koa,” Bri demanded, her brows pulling down into a frown.

His attention slid over to Reina, his dark eyes a bottomless sea of devotion. “Always.”

As Koa and the other Wraith in attendance led Reina out into the dusty yard, Bri watched from the sidelines. A watery shield impeded her vision, threatening to drop at any moment. In her entire life, she and Reina hadn’t gone more than a couple of weeks without seeing each other. That bond had more than made up for any deficiencies in Bri’s bond with her mother. She’d always, always been able to count on her sister.

Her bottom lip trembled as she watched the blacked-out truck leave the yard, kicking up a cloud of sand and devastation in its wake. Fat, salty tears cascaded down her cheeks, dropping one-by-one onto her shirt as she heard footsteps approaching from behind.

“Oh, my love.” The comforting rumble of Aldous’s voice was a relief to hear. His arms came around her, strong and sure and unwavering, and Bri let him take some of her weight. She breathed in his dark, masculine scent, cocooned in the safety of his grasp.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to her,” Bri admitted, feeling tears collecting on her eyelashes.

Aldous kissed the top of her head. “Roman said Koa is a man of his word. If he says he’ll keep her safe, he will.” In her peripheral vision, she saw Tomas walking past them, but Aldous cleared his throat. “Tomas? There is something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Mm?”

“Under Vivian’s lead, the Syndicate had its claws in the company I’m trying to run. I want it out.”

Tomas considered it for a moment. He looked to Bri, his eyes softening. “Fine,” he murmured eventually. “Consider it a belated wedding gift for my favourite twin.”

Despite saying farewell to Reina, Tomas’s words lifted her spirits. “I should hope I’m your only twin.”

Tomas shrugged. “Favourite by default still counts.”

“But…” Bri frowned, a crease forming between her brows. “I thought the Syndicate was being shut down anyway.”

“Small change of plan.” Tomas sent her a brotherly smirk. “Parts of it are being shut down, but I’m taking over the rest. Vivian is probably rolling in her grave at the thought of the weakling she abandoned deposing her, but it does have its appeal.”

Despite the salty emotion drying on her cheeks, Bri grinned. He was right about that. Mom would have hated the idea. “I love it.”