Page 62 of Playing with Trouble

They’d sideswiped her car.They’d followed her.They’d destroyed her house to prove they could reach her anytime, and next time, she might not walk away.Not unless Christopher did exactly what they wanted and helped them steal that four million dollar crown.

I took Violet gently by the shoulders.“I need you to trust me.Not just as security but as someone who cares about you.Can you do that?”

She nodded without hesitation.“Yes.”

“Then I need to talk to your brother.Alone.”

Violet glanced at the door.I could see the natural protectiveness she had for her sibling, but when she looked back at me, I could also see she was done treating Christopher with kid gloves.

“Okay,” she said.

“Thank you.”I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.The fact that she let me do it without flinching felt like I was being trusted with something priceless.Hopefully, her heart.

I walked back into the room by myself.Christopher was propped up on pillows, his face a mess of bruises and swelling.He eyed me warily as I approached.Whoever had assaulted him had certainly worked him over, but not to his breaking point.This had been a warning.

“Let me guess,” I said, dragging a chair over to the side of his bed and sitting down.“Cracked rib or two, broken nose, mostly bruising.”

Christopher nodded.“They want to keep me overnight for observation in case of a concussion, but they already checked for breaks and internal bleeding.”

“Good.”I clenched my jaw.I wanted to lay into him, but I kept my temper in check, for Violet’s sake.“Your sister is really worried about you.”

“I know.”He sounded sullen, almost childlike.Like he was waiting to be scolded for what he’d done.

I sighed.“Look, I’m going to be real with you.I’m not thrilled with you right now.But Violet says you’re a good kid who got mixed up with the wrong people and had trouble getting out.And I want to believe she’s right about you.”

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees.“So I’m taking that chance because she raised you.She knows you better than anyone.And your sister is not someone who trusts easily.”

Christopher let out a harsh laugh, then winced at the effort it took.“You think I don’t know that?You think I don’t know she lets me get away with things she’d never tolerate from anyone else?”Guilt practically poured off him.

“And you took advantage of that trust by not telling her what was going on,” I said quietly.“Even when you knew her life was in danger.”

His shoulders hunched.“How was I supposed to tell her I fucked up again?That she was being targeted because of me?Violet is the only person who hasn’t written me off and…I didn’t want her to walk away.”

I watched him, my chest tight.He wasn’t a kid anymore.Hell, at his age, I had been in the military for a few years.But he also didn’t have what I did.A family who backed me even when I screwed up.He’d only ever had Violet.She carried him through everything, and now he was terrified of losing the one person who’d never abandoned him.

“So you decided not to tell her,” I said evenly.“And tried to fix the situation yourself, even while her life was being threatened.”

He glared at me.“Well, what the fuck would you have done?”

I didn’t flinch.I could take his anger.“I would have told her the truth and warned her.I wouldn’t have let my sister walk around blind to danger, even if it meant she was pissed off at me.”

“And trust she wouldn’t just write me off and walk out of my life?”

“Exactly.”I gave him a shrewd look.“After everything Violet has done for you, you couldn’t trust that she’d stick by you?Violet loves you and it’s obvious how much she cares.She’s not going to abandon you, but you hurt her, badly.You took away her ability to protect herself, and to protectyou.”

He swallowed hard and looked away.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat this,” I went on.“It’s going to take a lot to earn back that trust after this stunt.Not because those assholes pulled you into their bullshit.That part?That’s onthem.People like that do this all the time.They find someone with a family or a friend or a partner—someone they love—and use them for leverage to get what they want.I see it constantly in my line of work.It’s not uncommon.”

Very reluctantly, Christopher glanced back at me.I could see the fight draining out of him, so I pushed on.

“The problem isn’t the criminals,” I said.“The problem is that you didn’t warn your sister.You let her, and everyone at my firm, think it was someone else targeting her.So we couldn’t keep her safe the right way.”

He scoffed defensively.“So what, you’re saying if I had just told her, everything would have magically been fine?”

I shook my head.“No.I’m saying it’s not your fault whattheyare doing.But you were wrong not to tell her.”

Christopher’s lips pressed together, and shame flickered in his eyes.“I made the mistake of hanging out with those guys back in high school, and over the years they’ve turned into full-on criminals.They figured robbing a museum is easier than robbing a bank.They said if I helped, they’d stop hurting Violet.But if I didn’t…she’d pay for it.When you moved her into your place, it made it harder for them to get to her.So this morning, they jumped me.Told me it wasmylife on the line if I didn’t help them.”His voice faltered.“I don’t know what to do.They’re not going to stop until they get what they want.They said if I went to the police, they’d find a way to hurt one of us, and not just a beating.”