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She was to be kept safe.
“I’m sick of this patriarchal bullshit,” she hissed. “I can fight too. I’m just as good as you guys.”
But unlike us, your heart is whole, I thought quietly.
“You’re such dicks!” she bellowed, picking up the stuff on my table and throwing them around. “Why won’t you tell me anything? I have a right to protect my brothers too.”
She was throwing a tantrum, intent on riling me up but all I felt was warmth swelling inside me. Lilja was the only woman in the world who didn’t cringe at the sight of me. She was just as precious to me as my brothers. I knew she’d give up her life to protect me.
And that’s something I can’t allow, I decided.
Callum Baldwin would be looking for my weaknesses. Strong and capable as she was, Lilja was our weakness.
“I was looking at the catalog for those Harleys you wanted,” I said, hoping to distract her.
“What now?”
“That Harley you wanted for your last birthday,” I said calmly. “It’s yours for the way you fought against the puppies this morning.”
“I know what you’re doing,” she said with a sudden grin. “You’re trying to change the subject. I’ll take the bike but I’ll keep coming back to this, Yakim.”
Moving around the desk, she came to stand directly before me. “Since you’re beingsosweet, I guess I’ll let you in on a secret.”
My brows arched. “Secret?”
“I may or may not have forgotten to lock the door to Lucia’s room.” A mischievous, almost demonic grin came over her.
Shit, I cursed internally. My sister just knew how to be a pest.
I shot to my feet and walked past her. Her chuckles followed me as I stepped out of the room.
I ran toward the southern section of the house where Lucia was being kept. I took the stairs three at a time to reach the fourth-floor landing.
The door to Lucia’s room was wide open. There was no point in checking if she was still inside but I still took a quick look.
Lucia was gone.
Rage coursed through me. Howdareshe try to escape from me?
I took on greater risk and brought danger to my family by refusing to let her brother take her away. Didn’t she guess it already? Her life belonged to me now.
Howdareshe run after taking so much from me?
I strode down the hallway and made my way toward the area dedicated to surveillance feeds. Every inch of the grounds as well as non-personal space in the manor was heavily monitored.
Even if Lucia could make her way out of the manor, she’d never escape my territory. She could run but she wouldn’t be able to hide.
Perhaps, it’s a good chance to teach her a lesson, I thought, entering the surveillance room. More than a dozen wide-screen LCDs were lit up with CCTV footage. Five guys sat on chairs, keeping their gazes on the entrance points of the manor’s grounds.
Moving forward, I checked the feeds that gave me the view of the corridor where she’d been kept. Taking a seat by the screen, I wound the footage back an hour.
Soon, it showed me the moment when Lilja walked into Lucia’s room. I fast-forwarded the feeds, waiting for my sister to make her exit.
Lilja came out almost forty minutes later.
What were they talking about?I wondered as my gaze stayed focused on the screen before me.
The door to the room was left ajar.What the hell, Lilja?I cursed at my sister silently as Lucia cautiously stepped through the door and peered down the hallway.
