2

Julian

I wasn’t the most stoked when Daisy started fucking a Hemmes, and I love the Hemmes—Jonah’s one of my oldest friends; their mum is a saint as far as I’m concerned—but Christian Hemmes strikes me as a bit of a fuckboy and, as an absolute fuckboy myself, I can say that it’s not what you want for your sister.

Learned, though, in my time as her in-lieu parental figure that telling her a flat-out “no” only results in a guarantee of her doing exactly what I don’t want her to do. Backfired with Rome big time, and now neither her nor I have ever completely shaken the arsing prick.

“Oi.” Christian nods at me as he walks shirtless and sweaty into my kitchen—never what you want to see from the blad who’s doing your sister. There’s a towel slung over his shoulder—a small mercy, I s’pose—as he wanders to my fridge and pulls out one of my sister’s juices like he owns the fucking place.

Look up at him. Nod at the towel. “Tell me you look like that from exercising.”

He sniffs a laugh and peers over at me, amused. “Just getting my arse handed to me by your sister.”

“Glad to hear it.” I snort. “You go easy on her?”

“Nah, bro.” He shakes his head, frowning a bit. “At first I did, but—she’s fucking hectic.”

Yep. Had her trained by the best.

“Krav Maga?” I ask him. Fold my paper.

“And a bit of sambo.” He nods. “She kicked me in the head.”

He rubs it mindlessly, I try not to look too pleased at the thought. Weird tension here because I do like him, actually. Always have. Pretty good guy. Like him less now that he’s fucking Dais, but she’s a big girl and she’s going to do what she wants to. Has all her life anyway.

Lad like him is quicksand to someone like my sister, not a great too many people about who have the balls or the backing to say no to me, but this idiot—unfortunately—has both.

If he wasn’t one of my best friends’ brothers, I’d have smacked him in the face the day I found out they were hooking up.

Booker told me the morning after it happened—told me like it was his duty to tell me but I know it was just because he’d been on the pull with Dais for months and Christian cut his grass. Made me angrier than it should have done that they were sleeping together—not his fault. Not like he knows what happened. But her and another Second—I don’t know—I just wanted to keep her safe since I couldn’t last time.

After he told me, I tore into her room, ripped Christian out of her bed, threw him against the wall. Pinned him there, forearm against his throat. Ready to kill my best friend’s brother for my sister’s honour. At least I thought it was for honour at the time. My psychologist has pointed out it was actually more for safety.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I growled.

He glared back at me.

“What the fuck do you think?”

Surprised me, that response. Didn’t think he had it in him. Turned to her instead. “What are you doing with him?”

The question was weighted. With him. We can’t do all that shit again.

I tried to tell her with my eyes but she just arched her brat-eye brows. “Having sex.”

Christian smirked.

“With him?” I stared at her.

“Yes.” She blinked, bored.

“Him?” I repeated louder.

“Him.” She nodded.

“Why?” I asked, louder still

Christian pulled a face I could have punched.

“How about because she’s nineteen and she wants to?” Christian offered. Daisy loved that. Could see it on her. My jaw clenched. I gave him a dark look as I walked out of her room.

“We’re going to have a talk, you and me.”

“Can’t wait,” Christian called after me.

“Not you, you prick.” I spat. “Her.”

Not much of a talk, really. I told her it was dangerous, she said it wasn’t. He has security, she has security, she can fight now, came in with a little Ted Talk about why I was wrong about it and it wasn’t the same. They’re not in a relationship, there are no feelings, no reason for anyone to kill her any more than usual, etcetera, etcetera. I said I didn’t like it, and she told me bugger off. Good for the esteem, my sister. Keeps you humble.

That was a few months back now and these two are still fucking about. Daisy wanders through in her gym clothes. Everlast boxing wraps around her knuckles that she unwinds at the sink. She looks between Christian and me.

“What?” She frowns.

I shrug at her. “I’m just glad one of us is hitting him.”

He chuckles and I smack him in the stomach playfully. Grab my sister’s head, kiss the top of it.

“Alright, I’m off,” I say.

“Where?” she calls after me.

Nod my chin at Christian. “Brunch with the boys.” Jonah Hemmes and Carmelo Bambrilla. Point at my sister. “You’ve got an afternoon class, yeah?”

She nods.

How many men in my position have their little sister’s weekly schedule memorised, do you reckon?

Not enough, probably. Probably why mine’s still alive, though.

Kekoa walks into the kitchen and I clock him.

“Take the morning,” I tell him. “I’ll drive myself.”

He shakes his head, face looks a bit serious for my liking.

“What?” I frown.

He shrugs like it’s nothing but there’s something skimming under the surface. “Just chatter.”

Daisy pauses by the sink, her eyes darting between us. She looks both annoyed and frightened. Hate the latter, but she’s always annoyed, so . . .

“Where?” I ask Koa.

“Just had my ear to the ground, Jules—didn’t like what I heard.”

He’s being evasive. Trying to keep my stress levels down. I wait till Daisy looks away then gesture between me and my sister, asking wordlessly the question: her or me?

He shrugs again, but I know he knows the answer.

Either way, if someone wanted to get to me they’d go after her. Again. Fuck.

“Right.” I nod. “Dais, you take Happy.”

“I’ve got Miguel,” she whines, because nothing’s ever easy with her.

“And now you have Happy too.” I give her a look and she stares at my face for a few seconds, thinks about talking back and putting up a fight about it, but I think I see that night she won’t talk about rattle around her mind, and then she sighs and says, “Okay.”

I point at Christian. “You coming to this lunch?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m gonna work your sister out upstairs.”

Says that unflinching, that cocky fuck. Jut my jaw, shake my head at him. “I know where you live, bro . . .”

He grins. “I’m shaking in my boots.”

“Face,” I call to her. “Kick him in the head again.”

She gives me a thumbs-up.

Roll into the Greenhouse forty minutes later. Kekoa hangs back by the door, tries to give me space—which I appreciate. Spot the boys up towards the back and I walk over to them. BJ Ballentine stands up to leave as he sees me.

Reaches out a hand and I shake his with two.

“Jules.” He grins. “Good to see you, man.”

I nod at the door. “Skipping off already?”

“Just dropped Jo in on my way to something.” He nods at his best friend.

“He’s off to bang a Miu Miu model,” Jonah Hemmes announces.

Carmelo Bambrilla starts laughing, but Ballentine rolls his eyes.

“I’m not.” He shakes his head as I sit down next to Jonah. “I’m just giving her some career advice,” he tells us and we all start laughing. He walks away, flipping us off as he leaves.

I stare after him for a couple of seconds, wait till he’s out of ear shot. “He fucking about again?”

Jo shakes his head. Ever the loyalist.

Carmelo looks confused. “Isn’t he with that hot one The Daily Mail can’t get enough of?”

Jonah shrugs. “They’re not together.”

“Fuck off,” I tell my oldest friend.

“They aren’t.” Jo shakes his head. “She just called it off with her boyfriend-of-the-week a couple of days ago.”

“Is it?” Carmelo chimes in, brows up. “Oi, should I go for her?”

Jonah rolls his eyes and Carms is happy to get a rise out of him. Jibes him more. “I’ll treat her good . . .”

Jonah folds his arms over his chest. “I’m sure you would, man, but it’s still a firm no from me.”

Carmelo frowns. “What are you, her chastity belt?”

He could be something like that, actually. Funny mix he’s in, that little group of London socialites—the Full Box Set is what the papers call them. All Old Valarians who live in each other’s pockets because they all became codependent in their youth. Boarding school attachment issues . . . Don’t know how to process shit apart from each other.

Besides, Magnolia Parks, she’s just one of those girls—got everyone in her pocket, and you can live in it pretty happily. I do, anyway. She’s got all those boys wrapped around her finger, and Jo’s easy to rile up when it comes to her. It’s low-hanging fruit but I’m here for it.

“I’m going to take a crack,” I tell him, sitting up straighter.

And at that, Jonah cracks up. Good old belly laugh, that smarmy shit.

Pinch my eyes at him, annoyed.

“Sorry, man.” Jo laughs, genuinely amused. “But she would never.”

I sniff a laugh. Weigh it up in my mind whether I’ll tell him something that’d blow his fucking mind. Decide to keep it in my back pocket for another day . . .

It was a few years back now, statute of limitations and shit. Besides, I reckon it says more about me than it does about her, anyway. That we were on the path for a fucking spectacular night and she started crying over her ex-boyfriend, so we had pancakes in my bed and watched Nick at Nite. Fucking bad for business. Can’t have it. I’d rather not have the clout of it than risk anyone hearing that I might actually have a heart.

“Yeah.” I nod instead. “You’re probably right. Girls like her hate older, powerful men.”

“You’re twenty-nine, man.” Carmelo gives me a look. “Wouldn’t start writing your obituary just yet.”

Carmelo Bambrilla. Son of Santino. They’re the big boys out in Liverpool. A sucker for romance . . . call it the Italian in him. He’s one of my oldest friends. Best one, even. Maybe? Friends is a weird word for us all, but it’s the closest thing for what we are. It’s a weird life. None of us asked for it . . . All born into it. Like royalty. Probably fewer perks. More fun, though.

Dated his sister for a second when I was a kid. Gia. Big mistake—huge, actually—but Carmelo’s little brother and Daisy were childhood sweethearts—a lot of history there. Too much, actually. More than I’d want there to be and definitely more than there should be.

I toss the waitress a smile as she hands me another drink. Very pretty. I’ll take her home later.

Carmelo smacks me on the back. “Anything notable on the horizon?”

I shake my head. “Meeting next week. Don’t know what about. Potential job.”

“Art or arms?” Carms scratches his chin.

“Art, I reckon.” I tell him with a shrug.

“Oi.” Jo nods his head back towards Kekoa.

“What’s your shadow doing here? Everything all good?”

I swipe my hand through the air. “Everything’s grand.”

22:39

Daisy

Babbyyyy

Where are you?

On my way

Hurry up.

What do you want to drink

The usual

Greyhound?

Yes please x

Are you impressed I remembered that?

Not really.

A few days ago I memorised The Pathologic Basis of Disease.

Yeah, but you’re a genius

Yes.

And you are not.

Hah

I’m here. Where are you?

In my office

Without me?

Waiting for you.

Coming.

You’re about to be.

!