Lucky 13 (Deadlines & Diamonds) Read Free

if she were to stand across the room and witness the scene, it was eerily simil ar to the way he used to succor her all those years ago.
    How could she have possibly forgotten?
    She leaned back and looked up into the face of her brother. Of course he’d changed from the twelve-year-old boy he’d been when her mother ran from their father. The irony of Matt being twelve now wasn’t lost on her.
    X smiled. “You okay?”
    She nodded the lie she couldn’t voice.
    He chuckled, deep and low , recognizing her inability to talk . “The w ay I see it, first things first; we need to get you a place to live.” He waved a hand. “Problem solved.”
    “No.” Her head shook so hard her brain hurt from the jarring. “No way . I’ve been on my own for way to o long to move in on your turf. No. I’ll find another way.”
    His non-argument surprised her. He stood and began to pace, then went over to the window, cracked the blinds and stared out into the darkness. His big shoulders lifted, dropped. His chest expanded, contracted. He turned.
    “Okay.” He crossed his arms again. “I understand your need for independence. But you need a place to stay. I will not allow you to struggle financially when I have enough to support you and Matt for the rest of your lives.”
    She opened her mouth to tell him where he could stick his money.
    He held up a hand. “Hear me out.” He waited for her to nod. “I have a place downtown. It’s fully furnished, so we could put your stuff in storage, or we can move every stick currently in the place into a storage unit, your choice.”
    “I appreciate your offer, but—”
    “But nothing, Shayne. No sister of mine will be homeless and that’s where you’re gonna end up since I’m guessing you’re not independently wealthy. The IRS wouldn’t be taking everything if you were.”
    Anger boiled in her blood. She shot to her feet and stomped over to stand in front of him, glaring up into his non-negotiable stare.
    “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Matthias Xavier.” She jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. “I’m a grown-ass woman, capable of making my own damn decisions. So you can take your masculine arrogance and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”
    He bit his lip, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes gave away his amusement. Instead of slapping him, she whirled and stomped away. His enormous hand clamped onto her forearm. She p aused, more because she was exhausted than heeding to his will, but didn’t face him.
    “I’m sorry.” Deep breath. “I’m sorry.” Deeper breath. “You’re right.”
    As her angry haze cleared, images coursed through her head of Matt living in deplorable place s , doing disgusting thing s , becoming just like—
    Unacceptable.
    Looked like she didn’t have any other options. “So, y ou have a place?”
    “Yeah . It’s downtown and it’s all yours. It’s been for sale, but I can’t sell the damn thing. I guess somebody higher up knew I’d need it. You’d need it. ”
    “I won’t take your charity.”
    “No charity.” He gently encouraged her to turn around with soft pressure on her elbow. She conceded. The concern in his eyes caused a lump to form in her throat. “You can live there for as long as you want. As soon as you find a job, we’ll discuss rent, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    Relief, thick and living, rained over his features. “What kind of job do you think you want?”
    She tried not to smile as she said, “I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to be a stripper.”
    He groaned and walked out of the room without another word.
     
    ***
     
    To say Ricky wasn’t a morning person would be the greatest understateme nt one could make. He hated every part of saying hello to the sunrise; the light spearing his eyeballs, the intense need to pee, leaving the warm cocoon of his down comforter. Yep, every damned part of it. Yet when the annoying sound of his brother’s ringtone took on the part of alarm clock