The poor kid jumped at even the slightest sound.

I didn’t have to ask to understand what she was afraid of.

Our mutual father was her boogeyman, and Joelle Marks wasn’t yet convinced she was safe.

I wasn’t going to let that bastard screw her up any more than he already had, but it would take time for both of my recently discovered sisters to realize they could trust me.

Sisters.

What a mind trip that was.

Sure, I’d wondered if I might have a brother or sister out there, but I’d never let it go much beyond that idle curiosity. Now, I had to deal with the guilt of never looking. Maybe if I’d done some looking around, found out what kind of shitty father he was, I could have done something.

There were always ways to deal with the bullies of the world, and that included bullies like Gabriel Marks.

My father.

My lip curled even thinking of him, but I smoothed the sneer off my face and fixed it into a neutral expression.

Neither of them needed to know I was dealing with guilt or anger over everything that was going down. The anger would level out. The guilt…well, I had to suck that up and deal with it.

I’d have plenty of time to wonder about what-ifs and things that I could have maybe changed if I’d bothered to look Gabriel Marks up at any point in the past few years.

Now wasn’t that time.

“Nicco?”

At the sound of my mother’s voice, I looked up.

She had a glass of wine in her hand and offered it to me. “It’s been a crazy day. You could probably use this.”

I accepted it with a faint smile and nodded. “Thank you.”

After taking a drink of the pinot noir, I nodded toward the back patio where our guests were currently taking up residence. “How are they?” I asked my mother.

She’d just come in from outside. I’d watched as she carried out a plate of cookies, and I wasn’t surprised that the plate didn’t come back in. I also knew she’d have a few stashed away for me. I’d find them the next time I went into the kitchen.

“Coping.” She lifted a brow and studied me. “How are you?”

Instead of answering, I focused on the glass of wine in my hand.

My mother sighed and shook her head. “I imagine you’re feeling guilty that it came to this. You’re not to blame for any of this, Nicco.”

“I know that.” It was a rare lie I’d just told my mother, and judging by the way her voice firmed, she knew it too.

“Do you?” She touched her fingertips to my cheek and waited for me to look at her. “Then why are you standing here mentally castigating yourself instead of being out there with them?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it as each argument I could have offered fell apart almost as soon as it formed.

When I ended up offering no response, my mother cocked a brow at me, then shook her head. “There was nothing you could have done, Nicco. Maybe you could have gone and looked to see if you had family here in the past few years, true. But before that, you were a child yourself. You couldn’t have done anything. Perhaps I should blame myself for not wanting to know anything else about Gabriel?” She canted her head to the side as she met my eyes, a questioning look in her gaze. “Had I known he had daughters, could I have done anything? Would I have done anything, knowing it might come as a risk to you?”

“Don’t be silly,” I said, voice gruff. “It’s not your fault.”

“And it’s not yours, either. You helped when they came to you. That’s what we have to remember. And let’s remember one other thing – he is the one to blame in all of this. So, let’s keep the blame where it belongs.”

Shifting my gaze back to the patio doors, nearly blinded by the glare of the sun, I asked, “Do you think he’ll come looking for us?”

“I can’t tell you what’s in his head, Nicco,” she answered honestly. “But I do know he’s not a foolish man. Too self-aware and too arrogant, but if he senses it better for his self-interest to let this go, that’s what he’ll do.” She patted me on the arm. “It won’t serve his interest to piss you off, now will it?”

“How are you all holding up?”

Eyes slid my way as I stepped outside.

The warm summer sun hit me square on the shoulders as I sat down in the only open seat, one right across from my youngest sister, Joelle. She looked exactly like what she was, a nervous young kid who’d just barely managed to avoid a nasty mess.

Her father had planned to sell her off to a marriage to an older man. Unthinkable, considering she was only sixteen, but I knew from my studies of my father’s people that arranged marriages still happened within the Roma peoples. Most of the more progressive clans wouldn’t force a girl as young as Joelle to marry unless she wanted to, but it didn’t look like progressive described my father’s clan.

Man, was I glad my mother had gotten us away from them.

And shit, was I pissed off that I had two sisters who’d been forced to grow up in that messed-up life.

They’d been planning to marry her off to a man in his early forties, and from what I’d gleaned from Suria and my mother, the man she would have married was a bastard of the highest order.

Suria, the oldest of the two sisters, had come to me for help.

I’d only found out a few days ago that I even had sisters.

But there had been no question of whether or not I’d help.

I had family. Family was supposed to be there for each other.

Joelle was munching on a cookie – one of my mother’s monstrous chocolate and peanut butter chip creations – and she paused long enough to offer a shrug. “Right now, I have a cookie, and that’s all that matters,” she said, feigning a distinct lack of concern.

But the shadows in her eyes, the tension in her shoulders belied the easiness of her words.

Suria gave her a worried look when Joelle wasn’t looking then shifted her gaze to me. She offered a tight smile. “The cookies are pretty excellent. Think your mother would share the recipe?”

“With the two of you? Absolutely.” I eyed the man sitting next to Suria. His name was Kian, and from what I knew of him, he was a decent enough sort. He made Suria smile, and he’d gone in to help get Joelle to safety. That counted for a lot in my book.

But that didn’t mean he’d get my mother’s chocolate and peanut butter chip cookie recipe. “I can’t speak for you though, man.”

Kian held up his hands. “I’d much rather sit back and enjoy the results myself. I burn more things than I successfully cook.”

“Oh…” I winced and shook my head. “Don’t let my mother hear that. She has a firm belief that all people should know how to cook the basics. If she hears you can’t, she’ll drag you into the kitchen by your ear.”

Suria laughed at that. Kian smirked. “She’d give up on me. My mom did.”

“Give up…not in my mom’s repertoire,” I told him, shaking my head. I focused on Suria once more, the smile fading from my face as we studied each other. “I’ve already told you this, but the two of you are welcome here as long as you need someplace to stay. It doesn’t matter if it’s a few days, a few months…a few years. This is Mom’s condo, but she’s already told me to let you know you’re welcome. I know she’s told you, but I want to reiterate. Just say the word.” I offered a faint smile. “I’d let you stay with me, but it would be cramped. There’s just the one bedroom, and even if I let you have the bed…well, it’s a studio apartment. We’d be miserable.”

Suria managed a wan smile but looked over at Kian. “We’re still kind of…processing.”

“Is it too much to hope that he’ll let it go?” Kian asked. “I’ll go to the cops. I told him I would, and I have no compunction about doing so. Joelle’s ready to tell the police anything she needs to if it will keep her from going back to him.”

“Good,” I said, nodding. “It may well come to that.” I slanted a look at her. “You are a minor, Joelle. That doesn’t exactly bend the law in your favor, but your dad screwed up big time, and that offers you some protection.”

“What if they don’t believe me?” she asked, her voice hesitant.

“It will be your word against his.” Leaning forward slightly, I pointed out, “But he’s been in trouble before. He doesn’t have the cleanest history with the law. That won’t play into his favor. Plus…it’s not just your word. It’s your sister’s too.”

“What do we need to do to protect her?” Suria asked.

“There are a few options,” I said, glad she’d asked. She was a sharp one, but I’d already figured that out. She was also brave and determined. “Joelle could try to apply for emancipated minor status, but I don’t know if that’s the ideal situation. You don’t work, do you, Joelle?”

“Not outside the clan, no.” She nibbled on the cookie, staring at nothing.

“Then that’s not as good of an option.” Shifting my attention to Suria, I said, “You could apply to be her guardian.”

“I don’t work outside the clan, either,” she said, her voice hesitant. “And it’s entirely likely I could be in trouble for some of the things I’ve done for them.”

“We’ll deal with that hurdle.” Taking a deep breath, I offered, “There’s always the next option. I can file for guardianship.”

Suria and Kian shared a look, then Suria looked at her little sister. “I…but…we live in LA.”

Nodding, I said, “I know. It’s not ideal. I could perhaps file for temporary guardianship, and you can get a job. Prove that you’re a responsible caretaker, then we try again, under your name.”

Joelle looked pale and tired, and I felt pity for her. “But none of this has to be decided tonight. You all – we all – have had one hell of a day. We’ve got time to work this out.”