Page 10 of Beautiful Killer

I knew that feeling. “Right.” That was another reason I felt kind of responsible for Julia, married now or not. Her mother had basically abandoned her, all but pushed her into Bobby’s greedy hands. Yes, my stepsister was a grown woman, but when her mother left, she’d barely looked back. I knew Julia hardly ever heard from her mom. That had to hurt.

“That kinda brings me to why I’m here actually.”

Here it came.

“So anyway, I was wondering if you could loan me some money?” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “I’ll pay you back.”

I let out a tired breath. “What about the money Dad left you?”

“I didn’t get as much as you, Sunny.” More of that bitterness. “I had to live. You know I’ve been looking for a job, but nothing’s come up.”

She was constantly changing jobs. I wasn’t sure how someone could be that unlucky. “What about Bobby?”

“You know he hurt his back,” she fired at me. “What are we supposed to do?”

Suddenly, I wanted her gone. I just wanted her out. “How much?”

“Two grand?”

I felt my shoulders jerk back. The amounts were getting bigger. I was about to argue, and I knew she saw it, too, because her lips thinned. Next up would come the nasty jibes and insults. I didn’t want to fight with her, I wanted my damn shower and my book, so I gave in. “I’ll transfer it to your account tonight.”

All the tightness in her face vanished and for a split second there was no bitterness or jealousy, there was only relief. Real relief. I wondered if there was more to this, if there was something she wasn’t telling me. “Is everything okay, Julia? You . . . you know you can always talk to me? You know that, right?” I found myself saying.

The scowl came back. “Really? I seem to remember a conversation you weren’t willing to have with me, and now look where I am?”

Yes, a conversation she had with me right after my father died, where she demanded I give her a large portion of my inheritance because it wasn’t fair I got more. I refused to go there with her and started for the door. “I’ll transfer the money shortly.”

She huffed and breezed by me, out to the street.

I closed the door after her and stomped upstairs.

When I walked into my room, my gaze slid to my big empty bed. A vision of Zeke standing beside it getting dressed flew through my mind, the way he looked at me as he walked out.

Don’t think about him, Sunny. You need to stop thinking about him.

Somehow, I knew that was going to be easier said than done.