I strip out of my skirt and underwear, then quickly shower. I wanted us to go as an Avatar couple, but seeing as we don’t have time for that kind of make-up, I settled for us going as Arwen and Aragon from Lord of the Rings.
It takes me an hour to get dressed and do my make-up, and once I’m ready, I grab my clutch and head up to Christopher’s penthouse situated above mine. Our keycards are programmed, so we have access to each other’s apartments. We also chose this building because it’s close to the office, and it was the only one with two apartments available.
When the elevator doors slide open, I see Christopher sitting on the couch, fast asleep.
As I walk toward him, I take in his square jaw with the light stubble. Feeling a slight flutter in my stomach, I shake my head and instantly suppress the emotion. It has always been a constant battle to not fall in love with Christopher. He’s everything I want in a man. Dominant, loyal, protective, successful, hot as hell… damn, the list is endlessly long.
For a moment, I consider canceling our plans so he can rather go to bed. But knowing Tristan and Hana are expecting us, I walk over to the couch.
I sit down beside him, and placing my hand on his leather pants, I give his thigh a pat. “Christopher.”
His eyes snap open, and he shoots forward. When he realizes he dozed off while waiting for me, he brings his hand up and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Sorry.”
“We’ll only show our faces then call it a night,” I say.
When I get up, Christopher’s eyes drift over me. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he rises to his feet. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” I nod to the elevator. “We’ll stay an hour at most. Okay?”
He nods as we leave his penthouse, and seeing how tired he is, only makes me worry more. Unless we have a family function to attend, Christopher works from five in the morning until midnight, every damn day. He’s been surviving on only three to four hours of sleep since Tristan left Indie Ink.
Walking toward the car, I say, “Ryker and I can deal with the contracts, so you have more time to focus on bringing in new business.”
“Ryker has a lot on his plate as the company attorney,” Christopher states the obvious as we climb into his Mercedes Maybach. Uncle Carter got Danny, Christopher, and Tristan one each when they started at Indie Ink. I have my own car but hardly ever use it.
“Then I’ll handle it,” I offer.
“You’re already swamped,” he argues.
“I can get an assistant,” I try to come up with a plan which will help us both.
Christopher glances at me. “That’s actually a good idea.”
Surprised, my eyebrow pops up. “Yeah?”
He nods. “Get someone to take over the basics, then I’ll hand the contracts over to you.”
“That’s a deal.” I grin at him, happy to have found a solution.
CHRISTOPHER
Walking into my brother’s penthouse, I let out a chuckle when I see all the skulls and tombstones. Halloween has always been Tristan’s favorite holiday.
“You made it,” Tristan says as he comes from my left.
“Of course,” I reply as we lean into each other for a brotherly hug.
Tristan’s gaze goes to Dash, and then he says, “Thanks for making sure he came.”
“You’re welcome.” Dash lets out a chuckle, which turns into a squeal. The next second she’s zipping across the room to get to Noah and Carla and their baby girl, Hayley.
I watch as Dash scoops Hayley into her arms. She loves her niece as if she were her own daughter.
“Want a drink?” Tristan asks.
“Sure.” Knowing Dash will be glued to Hayley’s side for the rest of the night, I walk with Tristan over to the drinks table. He pours me a bourbon, to which I murmur, “Thanks.”
After we’ve taken a sip of our drinks, I ask, “How’s business?”
“Good,” he answers in his usual brisk way.
The entire family is aware of Tristan’s love for all things dark.
Why haven’t we stopped him from getting involved in the illegal trade of goods? The answer is pretty straightforward. We tried, but you can’t make Tristan do anything he doesn’t want to do.
Instead of alienating him from the family by trying to force him to walk the straight and narrow, which was the only alternative, we’ve accepted him for who he is. We keep an eye on things, and we’ll be there to help if things go sideways.
But I’ll never force my brother to be someone he’s not. Yes, I worry about his safety, but knowing one of the best assassins in the world is his best friend, helps me sleep better at night.
Tristan is Tristan. You either accept him for who he is, or you lose him, and I have no intention of turning my back on my brother because his morals and life choices are different from mine.