Page 5 of Lethal Beauty

“Something like that,” I said finally, seeing Royce shoot another glance at Gideon. Only instead of looking at each other in that silent language that all my brothers seemed to be fluent in, Royce looked almost irritated with Gideon. Maybe he was the one on the chopping block after all.

“Are we too late?” Boone’s voice boomed across the yard as he and Keene came walking over from the side of the house. “I’m starving.” He swung Gia up in a hug, whirling her off her feet before plopping her back down. Keene was quick to do the same, and I smiled, loving her giggles.

“We were waiting for you,” Gia said as she grabbed both her uncles by the hand and dragged them to the firepit with the rest of us. Gideon was cooking burgers and manning the grill while I and everyone else relaxed in our chairs by the fire. No one cooked like Gideon, and I fully intended on taking advantage of his culinary expertise by eating myself sick.

“Awesome!” Boone didn’t pause before heading into the house. “I’m grabbing a beer. Does anyone need anything?”

Keene frowned at his back but didn’t say anything. “I’ll take a glass of wine,” I called. What was going on with the family tonight? Keene, Royce, and Gideon exchanged glances, silently communicating in the way that drove me crazy. I could never understand their wordless language, which was probably why they created the damn thing in the first place.

When Boone returned, a half-empty beer in one hand and a glass of red wine for me in the other, I saw him shoot his own look at Royce and nod almost imperceptibly. All the hidden currents put a damper on my mood. I’d been gone a lot, especially the last two years—building my reputation as a model was a lot more work than most realized—and once you were successful, you had to stay in the eye of those who mattered to keep your spot at the top. But the main reason I’d been gone was my fear that I would slip. Even now, especially now, I had to think about ensuring that my brothers didn’t know what I did for a living. My ability to continue to do what I did best revolved around them believing I was nothing more than a beauty-product, spa-day-loving fiend who sold her body by way of pictures to make her living. Life just sucked sometimes.

A few hours later, I’d devoured two burgers, two glasses of wine, and zero green vegetables. As much as I wanted a s’more, I didn’t have the room, so I just ate the chocolate bar because—hello … chocolate. God, I loved being home.

Gia, pouting because she had a bedtime that Gideon made her stick to, had said goodnight a while ago. She’d tried to bargain for more time, but my brother had held firm. He made an outstanding dad, even if he was a bit of a hard-ass. Lord knew that little girl wanted for nothing save a mother. Gia and I had had a serious conversation when I started our “girl time adventures” regarding that very subject. She wanted her dad to marry for love, not because he thought she was missing out on the company of someone with breasts. My words, not hers, but I understood her, mainly because it was my opinion about my dad as well. My mother died from cancer when I was thirteen, and there wasn’t a day that went by that her presence wasn’t missed by all of us.

“Y’all going to tell me what’s going on here?” I finally asked, feeling like I’d given them enough time to let their guard down. They had expected the inquisition to start the moment Gia was sent to bed or possibly after Gideon returned from checking on her a few minutes ago. I hoped to get more reaction out of them by stalling.

“What makes you think anything has been going on? Beyond the norm, that is?” Boone asked, bringing his beer bottle to his lips. I’d lost count of how many he’d had throughout the night, but his speech wasn’t slurred, and his eyes were only slightly glassy, so while I wasn’t about to let him drive himself home, I wasn’t worried about him getting wasted.

“There were so many conversations about people without them being a part of the conversation my ears are ringing, although none of y’all said so much as a word. So, spill.” I narrowed my eyes at Royce, who flushed. Gideon was the leader of their little troop, and Keene was his second-in-command. I knew they wouldn’t break, but Royce and Boone were the weak links. Going after Boone when I was completely sober and he wasn’t felt wrong, so Royce was in my crosshairs. I glanced at the two eldest, gauging if they would stop my interrogation, when I noticed Keene also refraining from meeting my eye or anyone else’s.

That tidbit, which cemented my thought that their ranks were fractured, no matter how slight, allowed me to pounce. “Why would the boys be keeping secrets from you?” I stared straight at Gideon.

His jaw tightened, and I knew I hit a bull’s-eye on my first volley. He knew he was out of the loop, and he didn’t like it any more than I did. I might not like them ganging up on me, but at least when they all agreed, I knew whatever they were doing had been both discussed and well-planned. Anyone going rogue did not bode well for anyone because it meant they were acting rashly and without much forethought.

“And you three,” I pointed to him, Keene, and Royce, “are mad at him for some reason.” My finger had moved to Boone, who was finishing off the beer bottle.

“And,” I moved back the original three I’d singled out, “you three have been giving me weird looks all day. I want to know what’s going on. Is it Daddy?”

I knew it didn’t make sense. They wouldn’t have kept Gideon out of the loop if it was, but my thoughts always went to the worst-case scenario. My relationship with our father was strained, but it didn’t mean I didn’t love him wholeheartedly and worry about him as he got older.

“Just worried about you, is all.” Boone was staring at me, studying me. It took everything in me to act normal, not to freeze or flinch. His eyes were a lighter blue than the rest of my brothers’, more like the summer sky on a sunny day. Gideon’s eyes were so dark they almost looked black when he was irritated or angry, which was most of the time. Keene and Royce both had shades in between those two. Not sure which brother was which in the birth order, just look at their eyes, I thought, not for the first time.

Raising an eyebrow, I tossed a smirk his way. “I’m a big girl. I’m one of the most in-demand models in the world. I go where I want, when I want, how I want. Feeling the urge to go clubbing, I can hop on a plane and check out the hottest clubs in Germany. Want to do some gambling? Monte Carlo by morning. If I need some R and R? I can get into the best spa Europe offers. I have enough money to retire in the lap of luxury if I play my cards right and more than enough to keep me out of trouble when I put my fist in someone’s face for being a dick because my brothers taught me how to defend myself and not to take shit from anyone. What is there to worry about?”

Keene spoke up, and I knew trouble was brewing when he suddenly stared down Gideon even as he spoke to me. “We know you have threats against you. You’ve been pulling away the last few years. From the company, from us.”

I flinched, unable to help myself.

“You have problems, princess—you come to your family, not run from them.” The anger in his voice wasn’t directed at me exactly, but I felt it all the same.

“My not being here has nothing to do with my family and everything to do with my modeling schedule.” I defended myself. I wasn’t about to tell them it had everything to do with me—I was splitting hairs with that one, and I wasn’t going to discuss it. “And threats are nothing new. I’ve been dealing with them since I pushed Bitsy Merkle down into a mud puddle when I was in kindergarten.”

“Preschool,” Gideon corrected.

“Regardless,” I plowed on—my brothers remembered the highlight reel of my early years better than I did. Mainly because they had to pull my ass out of the fire every time I jumped in it with both feet until I was old enough to do it myself. “At Gideon’s insistence, I agreed to a bodyguard on my last shoot. I also promised him I would allow Valencia to keep one with me from the time I got off the plane until I was wheels up for home. Not that it’s needed,” I defended, “but the guy they hired has my back.”

Boone snorted, his lips loose from the alcohol. “And is as qualified to protect your ass as a rent-a-cop working at a strip mall.”

I wasn’t about to tell him how right he was. “The individual was a complete professional. He cleared every room prior to me entering and slept with a clear line of sight to the only entry and exit point to my suite.” Falling asleep on the couch in the middle of channel surfing, even though he snored loud enough to wake the dead, still counted. I wasn’t about to admit that I’d walked right past him to hit the gym that morning, coming back, showering, and packing before Hammer had even stirred.

“And if you want to know, I’ve been pulling away from the company because I don’t feel like I have much to contribute. I don’t have anything to do with A.T., so I guess I don’t feel comfortable at board meetings. I mean, how can I vote on pertinent items when I have no idea how they would affect the company? I’ve pretty much voted with the four of you anyway the last few years, so I don’t see much point in clearing my schedule to attend the quarterly meetings.” All of it was true, just not the whole truth.

“Would you like to? Contribute more, or at least catch up on what’s going on with the business?” Gideon asked shrewdly.

More than anything. I shrugged. “I have time this week. Maybe I’ll stop by and pester y’all at work.”

“Can you come by Monday morning?” Keene asked, and Boone went still. I sensed a trap but didn’t have enough information to figure out whom it was for—me, Gideon, or Boone.

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