“Yes, I have a problem,” Parker bellowed. “Lana knows this girl.”
That she did, and I didn’t imagine she’d be too happy about this situation. It’d be a shame if she found out.
Preston sighed at the scowl on his brother’s face. “And?”
“What the hell am I supposed to tell her? Lana’s going to notice she’s missing.”
But would she? Don’t get me wrong, I liked Lana, she was very sweet, but I didn’t really know her. I tended to avoid conversations with her. The speed at which she talked scared me. Shelby was bad enough, but Lana…I’m still not entirely sure what she said the last time I saw her.
Preston shrugged. “Tell her what you want.”
I never noticed the similarities between them until now, but Parker had the same two lines on his forehead when he was angry. And his mouth dipped down just a bit on the left side. Then there were the eyes. Preston had this glint deep down in those gray depths. The same glint I saw on Parker. It made me question his golden boy persona.
Was Parker Whitley the person people thought he was, or was he faking it just like me?
“I kidnapped someone.”
The entire room went quiet as everyone stopped and turned toward Ava.
“Don’t worry. I’ll let him go.” She rolled her eyes and returned to her plate as if she hadn’t just blurted out a confession to a criminal offense. “Just as soon as he learns his lesson.”
Dean and Parker dropped their faces in their hands while Preston didn’t so much as cock a brow. I was intrigued. This was quite possibly the most fascinating dinner I’d ever had. It was also disturbing and wrong in every way possible, but I wasn’t bored or locked in a room.
“Ava, sweetheart,” Dean said while pinching the bridge of his nose. “Who did you kidnap?”
Dean not only sounded completely calm asking that, but he said it in a way that might lead one to think this wasn’t her first time.
“Mr. Chang thought he could stop making spring rolls.”
And the intrigue just took a violent turn into get me the fuck out of here.
Happy and smiling, Ava was dangerous. Being around her was like picking a lollipop out of a bunch when you knew half of them were poisoned. She burned down the west side of Ashworth because she got an A in chemistry. I did not want to find out what happened when she was agitated.
Preston leaned over and whispered, “You look nervous, Little bird. Do you not like my family?”
Fuck no.
“Do you like your family?” I whispered while Dean gave Ava a lecture on the errors of abduction.
“I fucking hate them.”
“Then why are we here?” Why was anyone here? This was not a safe place for people.
“Eh.” He shrugged. “They’re family.”
And what a family they were.
“Why? Are you uncomfortable?” Preston teased.
I glared at him and hissed, “I’m fine.”
Why wouldn’t I be fine? It wasn’t like I was sitting with a man proudly wearing a dad of the year shirt while he sipped from his grandpa of the year mug and talked to his psycho kids about how spring rolls were not a valid reason for kidnapping. It wasn’t as if there was a current captive dining at the table with them. But did I get any sympathy? No. All the lectures were saved for the spring roll guy.
Fuck you, Mr. Chang. I hope you choke on your spring rolls.
One text on Parker’s phone caused an eruption of chaos. The next thing I knew, Preston shoved me violently away as Parker roared and flipped the table.
My sister gave new meaning to the term unpredictable. Add in my old man’s mysterious yearly trips to a cabin that didn’t exist, and my mother’s cunt proclivities and chaos reigned free. Parker was the only stable one, at least by outwardly appearances.
