LITMIR.BIZ

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the life of a marine. She’d served in Desert Storm, done a year in Germany, a year in Japan and was happily based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, when her glorious life came to a screeching halt.

      “You were really happy in the service. You couldn’t wait to get away from here once you graduated from high school and you only came back on holidays. So I guess I’m just a little confused as to why you’re here now, doing this little security thing with Sam.”

      Bree looked up at her sister, the oldest of the Desdune siblings. Lynette Desdune Richardson, her mother’s pride and joy. Lynn had always done the right things in her mother’s eyes. She’d been a cheerleader on the honor roll. She went to college, found a guy, married him and had a baby, exactly as planned. And in the last year that guy had walked out of her life, leaving her with a mortgage and a son to raise alone. Still, Lynn was the epitome of womanhood, according to her mother. She was tall and beautiful, with the coffee-brown skin that all the Desdune siblings shared, light brown eyes, full lips and a great body—yes, Lynn was the woman that Bree had secretly longed to be.

      Even though she knew she’d definitely lose her mind if all she had to do from day to day was housework and taking care of kids, the small female percentage of her wanted the love of a good man and wanted that love to spill over into a couple of kids—but that wasn’t written in the scroll of her life; she accepted that. Besides, Lynn had a career now. She was an attorney at the Legal Aid Bureau. She said it was entertaining to say the very least, and Bree had to agree that her sister looked really happy. She wished she could feel that way.

      “It was simply time to come home, Lynn. Don’t make a big deal out of it.” Bree bit into her muffin and tried to look away.

      Lynn shook her head, sipped from her coffee cup, then smiled. “There’s nothing out that window that wasn’t out there yesterday or the day before. And you’re going to have to tell someone what happened sooner or later. I just thought you’d like to share with your only sister first.”

      Bree frowned. “Oh, don’t give me that only-sister crap, I had to find out from Mommy that Roger had left. I didn’t see that sister bond reaching out then.”

      “You weren’t here, Bree. You were doing your own thing and nobody really wanted to disturb you.”

      “Except for Mommy, who wanted me to come home, anyway.”

      Lynn smiled. “Mommy never wanted you to go. It was only because Daddy threatened to tie her up and lock her in her room that she didn’t board a plane and bring you home a million times herself.”

      Bree laughed with her sister. “Yeah, Mommy never did understand.”

      Lynn reached across the table, took Bree’s hand in hers. “But I do, Bree. I know that there is something going on, something that has hurt you deeply. I can see it in your eyes.”

      Was she really that transparent? It didn’t matter, she’d failed. She’d been so headstrong and so determined to make her life mean something, to prove to her family that she was more than just the baby of the troop, that she could hold her own. Yet when it really came down to it, she’d been a childish dreamer and as a result she was sitting here in her sister’s kitchen, sleeping in her guest bedroom and working security jobs with her twin brother.

      “I remember Mommy saying that there was nothing like growing pains,” she began in a hushed tone. “Now I know that she was right. Again. Mommy always seems to be right.”

      “Not always. Remember she thought that white dress and those white pumps would look fabulous on you for your prom.”

      Bree smiled at the memory. “Yeah, except I couldn’t walk on those stilts and I ended up wobbling right into Bobby Spencer, who was carrying two glasses of punch that immediately landed all over my dress.”

      The sisters laughed over the memory.

      “Growing up is hard. But for the record, I think you’ve done a wonderful job.” Lynn still held her hand.

      “Yeah, whatever.” Bree snatched her hand away, not willing to go any further. If she continued to sit there, Lynn with her caring eyes and tender touch would have her talking about things that were better off left alone. She stood abruptly and carried her own dishes over to the sink and rinsed off her plate.

      Lynn, who was taller than Bree by a couple of inches, came up behind her, wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders and hugged her tight. “It’s okay, you’re with family now, with the people that love and cherish you. Whenever you’re ready to talk, just know that I’m ready to listen.”

      For a moment Bree’s heart filled and she wanted nothing more than to rid herself of all these hurtful feelings, but she just couldn’t. They wouldn’t understand why she’d done the things she had and she didn’t want to see the disappointment in their eyes. So she took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over her sister’s arm. “Thanks, Lynn. But I’m going to be okay. I’m going to find an apartment and make a life for myself here in Greenwich. This is my home and this is where I belong. I should never have forgotten that.”

      When a yell from the living room pulled Lynn away, Bree stood at the kitchen sink, looking out the window in front of her.

      Greenwich was her home but it had never emotionally filled her. She wanted to see the world, to find action and adventure, to live her life on the edge, and joining the marines was the closest she was ever going to get to that. Her first four years had been fantastic; she trained in the Special Weapons Division. Because that was what had intrigued her most and she’d mastered everything, from martial arts to taking apart a semiautomatic weapon and putting it back together again in less than ten minutes. She’d been having the time of her life.

      Then all that had changed.

      The phone rang, startling Bree out of her reverie. Hastily, she dried her hands on the dish towel and scooped the receiver off the mounting on the wall. “Hello?”

      “What are you doing still home? You should be on your way to Bennett’s place.”

      “Good morning, Sam. Yes, I’ve had breakfast and am about to start my workday. And how are you this glorious fall morning?” Sam’s voice had been curt, laced with a bit of tension. But then if she had to spend every evening with Leeza, she’d be stressed, too.

      “Sorry, sis. I guess I’ve just got a lot going on this morning. But really, you should be on your way out. I hear Bennett is an early starter.”

      Bree cradled the phone between her shoulder and her ear and looked down at her hands. “Yeah, he gets up at the break of dawn, sort of reminds me of my days on the base.” She hadn’t cut her nails in a few days and was surprised to see the beginnings of growth. She’d never had fingernails before or worn fingernail polish for that matter. She wondered briefly what it would feel like.

      “Alex says he’s opening an art gallery in a couple of weeks. You should probably check out his building and find out what type of celebration he’s planning. It might be a good time for a hit.”

      Her adrenaline started to pump, slowly. “Really? You think it’ll go that far?” She pushed her hands into her pockets, not really sure why she was thinking about nail polish and stuff, anyway.

      “I think we need to be prepared for anything. This merger is worth billions of dollars. A lot of people stand to become rich just as a lot of people stand to lose their jobs. It’s our duty to make sure our people are protected from whatever goes down.”

      Bree nodded even though Sam couldn’t see her. Her brother had pored over those letters, studying every detail, the homicide detective in him never leaving the job the way Sam had. He said the Force was simply too restrictive. He wanted to really make a difference, so he set out to provide security for the citizens of Greenwich so that they wouldn’t end up on the desk of some homicide detective. “Well, I’m ready for whatever goes down.”

      Sam chuckled. “You’re always ready for anything, Rambo.”

      “That’s why you hired me.”

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