Layers Crossed Read Online Free Page B

mine.
    With the spies
they had on me already, it was difficult to have any fun at all. If
it weren’t for my sisters-in-law, who still went out clubbing with
me once in a while, Tristan and Julian would have chained me up and
fastened a chastity belt on me long ago. So when my office door
swung wide open this morning, and instead of Christine, both my
brothers stepped in, locking it behind them, I wasn’t sure whether
they’d thought of a new way to make my life miserable, or were just
going to fire me and lock me up in an attic somewhere out in the
suburbs.
    “What do you
want?” I grumbled.
    “Still mad?”
Tristan sat down in the leather chair in front of my desk. “Come
on, Em, you were at a strip club. And thank God we didn’t come
earlier to see exactly what you were doing.”
    “It’s my
business what I do with my body. It’s my business where I go or
whom I see. IT’S. MY. BUSINESS.” I bared my teeth at them both like
a hyena with mad cow disease.
    Julian stepped
closer to my desk and folding his arms across his chest sat at its
corner. “The problem is, Em, that you are our business. You’re our
sister and a great partner at this firm. Your intuition is one of
the best assets we have, and we’re simply at fault for loving
you.”
    I rolled my
eyes.
    “Don’t roll
your eyes, Em. It’s not polite.”
    “Well, you
keep pulling that love crap and give me no choices. You can’t
control me. You can’t keep scaring guys away by showing your gun
collection. Daddy’s never done half the things you two have. And I
swear, if things don’t change, I’m out of here. I’m a grown woman.
I need to experience life on my own terms, not yours.”
    “Em, you know
you mean the world to us.” Tristan leaned his elbows on my desk.
“And we may be a bit over-protective, but we would love for you to
find someone worthy. I swear, I don’t know where you find these
guys you’re seeing! It’s as if you wanted to sabotage any possible
relationship yourself before you even go out. They’re not real.
They only date you for your name. They’re not David – and we don’t
want them to be – but it’s time you gave yourself a true chance,
Em. Besides, the things we’ve seen in this business – you know very
well what can happen to a woman.”
    “And you know
very well I can take care of myself. You made sure of it.” The
years I’d spent in the boxing ring, training in jiu-jitsu, and
learning about the Cross Enterprises business had definitely paid
off. There was no way a man could overpower me with his strength. I
knew nerve spots on a neck that could immobilize a person with one
pinch.
    Julian shifted
by a fraction, drawing my attention back to him. “We know you’re
strong, and could use a bit more independence and rebuild your hope
in love.”
    I lowered my
head, thinking about David again. “All I need is time and
freedom.”
    “That’s why
we’d like you off these cheater cases.”
    “What? What
will you have me do? Bring your morning coffee?” I rolled my eyes
again.
    “If you don’t
stop rolling your eyes, we’ll reconsider giving you this new case
that came in.”
    “Seriously?
You’re lying.” I shot off my chair.
    “We’re not
lying, and yes, it’s time to give you what you want. Now, from what
the client had said, there isn’t yet much to go on, so you’d have
to do all the work.”
    “So you’re
saying that he’s a safe bet. Nothing dangerous.” I slouched.
    “Honestly, Em,
we don’t know because we haven’t done the preliminary work… which
we trust you’ll do great at.”
    “Really? So
this could be big, right? I mean, who is this guy, part of a gang?
Is he looking for a kidnapped victim? Or does he need protection
from pimps or the mafia? Is he a Congressman in trouble?”
    My mind was
spinning. Within seconds of this news, I was already feeling like a
secret agent.
    This time
Tristan was the one to roll his eyes. And they said I was the bad
one.
    “Em,