“I don’t understand,” Daytin said, her voice hardly a whisper, but still possessing that whiney note that made me want to grit my teeth. “What am I supposed to do in LA.?”

A lot more than you’re doing in Vegas, I thought. But I kept that to myself and smiled at her. “The same thing I did.”

Her thin hands fidgeted, rubbing against the threadbare material of her jeans, plucking at the loose threads emerging from the hole in the left knee, then moving to twist at her hair before starting at the pattern all over again.

I reached over and took her right hand. I couldn’t do anything about the other unless I sat in front of her, and there weren’t any chairs there available. If I squatted in front of her, I’d just draw more attention to us, and I didn’t want that. But when I took her hand, Daytin stilled for a moment, then a faint smiled creased her lips. The cracked skin in the lower one split, but she didn’t seem to notice. I’d bought her Chapstick, but she hadn’t used it.

“You’re going to do the same thing I did,” I told her again. “You’re going to get better. You’re going to get clean.” Holding her hand, we watched as planes took off and landed, the activity oddly soothing in its monotony. After a few minutes, I added, “We’ll find you a job, get you back into school. We’ll get you a life, Daytin.”

She snorted, then started to laugh. The sound wasn’t even remotely pleasant, and I couldn’t decide what hurt the most, the sound of it, like jagged blades, or the way she jerked away from me when she stood, as if she couldn’t bear to touch me a minute more.

“Yeah, sure.” Her jeans bagged around her thin hips as she paced back and forth in front of me. She shot me a look, but her gaze bounced away almost as soon as it touched me. “Maybe the fairy tale of sobriety and the straight and narrow worked for you, but it won’t work for me. I’m not smart enough, and I’m not pretty enough, unless you’re some pervert who likes whores who look like little girls.”

Her voice broke as she spun around and crashed into me. I’d gotten up to grab her, mostly because her voice was loud enough to draw attention, but also because I knew she was merely building momentum. If I let her continue, she’d end up getting us kicked out, and I didn’t want to stay in Vegas any longer than I had to.

Catching her face in my hands, I said, “Stop.”

She tried to pull away, but I didn’t let her.

“Stop it,” I said again. “There’s nothing wrong with you. That is Stefano talking, and every other asshole who has ever tried to make you feel worthless. But you are not worthless. Neither of us are. We never were. And one day, I got tired of feeling that way. You’re going to hit that point too, and I’m going to be here to pull you up when you finally crash, baby.”

A look of sheer mutiny crossed her face, and I wondered if I’d pushed too hard, but then, that defiance crumpled and tears welled in her dark eyes.

“Now.” Leaning in, I pressed my forehead to hers, and said in a low, urgent tone, “Suck it up. Don’t let these people see you hurting, see you desperate. We’re leaving this city, and if we ever come back, we’ll do it as queens, you hear me?”

* * *

“A queen, huh?” Daytin’s voice was still thin, but it’d lost that slightly maniacal edge. Still, she fidgeted as she looked out the window an hour later.

We’d boarded, but something had delayed the flight, and we were just now getting into the air. Looking down on the city that had looked down on us, I thought.

“A queen,” I assured her. “Not a princess, not a duchess. A queen.”

She laughed, not quite a real one, but not as brittle as before. “If you say so.”

Her pride had taken another beating at the gate when the airline attendant had paused, studying her ticket, then her ID.

“Business class?” she’d said in a cool voice.

I’d nudged Daytin forward and given the agent a look I’d seen Astra use a time or two—cool and calm. “Is there a problem?” I’d asked, emulating a tone Piety used.

“No. No, ma’am.” Flashing a bright smile at me, she’d scanned my ticket without hardly even looking at me then waved us both inside.

Now, almost thirty minutes later, it was still in our heads even although neither of us had said a single thing about it. Part of me wanted to go back and pop that agent a good one. Daytin, though…she kept squirming in her chair and plucking at those loose threads again, looking more miserable with each passing moment.

“We’ll look like queens, too,” I told her. “Right proper ones. Trust me. We’ll go walking through one of the casinos one day—and soon. Well, not too soon.” I rolled my eyes and looked over at her, hoping to see her smiling. But she was still tugging at those loose threads.

Her nails were bitten to the quick, the skin near them raw-looking.

“The only place I ever fit is the place where I just left, Cam,” she said.

“That’s bullshit.” Taking her hand once more, I folded my fingers over hers. “You just wait and see, sweetheart. Just wait and see.”

* * *

Daytin’s nervous little ticks were setting me on edge, so it was with a sigh of relief that we finally got off the plane. As we made our way out of the terminal, I hooked my arm through hers. “We’ll go to my place. On the way, we’ll get ice cream. There’s this place…”

By the time we’d picked up my suitcase, she had relaxed a tiny bit, even shooting looks outside. It was a perfect summer day, and I hoped it’d go a long ways to convince her that this was the best place for her.

“We’re by the ocean, right?”

“Oh, yeah…” I grinned widely, thinking about the sweet little place Piety had helped me land. I knew it wasn’t as cheap as she led me to believe, but I was too in love with it to argue. Besides, my guilt when it came to my sister-in-law was a complex thing. I was constantly torn between feeling like I owed her too much to ever let her do anything more for me, and not wanting to refuse her anything, even if it made me feel like I was taking advantage of her.

I’d eventually find a way to pay her back. That was what I told myself. I knew she’d never take money, but I knew what was important to her. I’d make a difference in the world, make it a better place for my family. I’d dedicate myself to doing good–

“It would’ve been nice to know you were going to be late getting in, Camry.”

“Kaleb!” I turned so suddenly that I would have run into him if he hadn’t grabbed my shoulders to stop me. Blinking up at him, I stammered, “What…um…hi.”

He squeezed my shoulders, then let me go. I took a step back so we weren’t in each others’ personal space. Next to me, Daytin had gone rigid. I caught her hand, more out of a need to make sure she didn’t bolt than anything else, but I wanted to reassure her as well.

“What are you doing here, Kaleb?” Then, without giving him a chance to answer, I looked over at Daytin. “Daytin, this is my big brother, Kaleb. I’ve told you about him.”

Daytin gave him a nervous look from under her lashes as Kaleb opened his mouth, and my gut told me that whatever he was going to say, it wouldn’t help my friend. Shooting him a fierce stare, I wrapped my arm around Daytin’s shoulders.

“She’s been sick, so I brought her here so she could get some rest,” I said. Some people might not agree, but I’d been there. I knew addiction was a form of sickness. One that ate the heart, mind, soul, and body—one that destroyed lives and relationships and friendships. Sure, there were choices involved too, but it was rarely as simple as most people thought.

Kaleb frowned, but he gave me a slow nod before glancing at Daytin. “Piety and Astra told me you were coming,” he said.

I could hear the unspoken but you should have told me and reminded myself that I needed to focus on Daytin.

“Friends of yours?” she whispered to me.

“Yes. They’ll be friends of yours, too.” Hooking my arm through hers, I met Kaleb’s gaze. “I know we need to catch up, but maybe we can get Daytin settled first.”

* * *

I’d asked Kaleb to drive Daytin and I back to my place, but he’d insisted I come home with him. Piety wanted to see me. I knew that wasn’t the reason, but I agreed to go. My sister-in-law would be an ally, and I had a bad feeling I was going to need one. To my surprise, Kaleb had behaved himself while we ate. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he’d stay quiet for long, but it was still disappointing to see him scowling at me when I came back downstairs after settling Daytin in one of the spare rooms. She’d be sleeping soon, I’d seen it in her eyes, and I just hoped she’d miss what was coming next.

“Sick, Camry?” he demanded.

“What would you call it?” Glaring at him, I grabbed plates from the table, wishing we’d gone with my suggestion of spaghetti instead of pizza so I’d have something more to fill my hands than paper plates.

“How about just admitting she’s one of your former drug addict friends?” He kept his voice low, at least, but he still sounded like an ass. “I thought you’d decided it was best to cut ties with that life.”

“Cut ties with that life,” I said. Dropping that plates into the trash, I turned to face him. “You know what? I cut ties with that life and I’ve kept them cut. That doesn’t mean when a kid in trouble reaches out and tells me she needs help that I’m going to leave her hanging just because of how she and I met. She was in trouble. She doesn’t have a big brother to ride to her rescue. She doesn’t have any family. No one but me that gives a damn about her—”

“For all you know,” he snapped.

I gaped at him, and it was my turn to try to keep my voice down. “You asshat! Daytin is just a lost, confused kid and you won’t give her the benefit of the doubt?”

“I don’t know her.” Jaw set in a hard line, he folded his arms in a posture I knew all too well from my childhood.

“You hardly knew me by the time I asked for your help.” I folded my arms over my chest. “But you did it anyway. And you might not know Daytin, but I do, and she’s just a scared kid.”

“You think—”

“Okay. Okay…” Piety stepped between us, hands raised up. She’d just put Jeremiah down and still had a burp rag on her shoulder, but she was the sort of beautiful that could pull it off. She could pull off anything, including the quelling look she gave my brother. “That’s enough, from both of you.”

Kaleb opened his mouth again, but she cut him off before he could speak.

“Yes, you too.” She held his gaze a long moment and then looked over at me. “I’m sure this whole thing has stressed you out. Why don’t you go get cleaned up? When you’re done, we’ll discuss what you think Daytin’s next step should be.”

I thanked her, but didn’t even look at my brother as I walked out of the room.

Behind me, in voices still not so low I couldn’t hear them, I heard Piety ask, “What’s the deal, Kaleb?”

“Cam’s just a kid, Piety. She doesn’t know how to make a good decision to save her life.”

It stung.

Coming from the guy I’d adored my entire life, those words stung.