Born to Fight

Chapter 15

Celeste

I was sitting alone in the lounge room, watching a horror movie.

Which, in hindsight, was a terrible idea.

Scary movies and I had never exactly been friends. Give me a target range, a combat course, or a night in the woods with Loki and I was fine.

But ghosts, masked killers, and things that crawled out of dark corners?

Yeah. Not my thing.

Still, I was completely absorbed in the movie when a loud commotion erupted outside the front door.

I froze.

Someone was on the porch.

I slowly sat forward, my heart beginning to pound.

Another noise came from outside.

I got to my feet.

Maybe it was nothing.

Maybe.

But after everything that had happened, my brain had developed an annoying habit of turning every unexpected sound into a potential threat.

I cautiously made my way toward the front door, every nerve on high alert.

Then something moved behind me.

I spun around and screamed.

“Jesus, Celeste!”

My hand flew to my chest.

Jamie stood several feet away, staring at me with an expression that quickly turned into amusement.

“You scared the hell out of me!”

His mouth twitched.

“I noticed.”

I glared at him.

“What are you doing sneaking up on people?”

“I wasn’t sneaking.”

“You were standing behind me like a serial killer.”

His grin widened.

I rolled my eyes and turned toward the front door again.

Whatever was happening outside suddenly seemed like Jamie’s problem.

I abandoned my investigation and returned to the lounge room.

At least the horror movie was predictable.

I dropped back onto the lounge chair, grabbed the remote, and turned the volume up.

I had barely settled in when I heard voices approaching.

Jamie wasn’t alone.

I looked toward the doorway.

And nearly groaned.

Lilly stood there beside him.

She had a pillow tucked under one arm and a large overnight bag hanging from her shoulder.

Oh, hell no.

My stomach sank.

I looked from Lilly to Jamie.

Then back to Lilly.

“What’s going on?”

Jamie looked entirely too calm.

“Lilly has decided to have a sleepover with you.”

I blinked.

“She has decided?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

“This is your house.”

“I know.”

“Shouldn’t you be the one deciding who stays here?”

Jamie shrugged.

“Technically.”

I pointed at myself.

“Or maybe, considering I’m the person who has to be subjected to her company, shouldn’t I get a vote?”

Lilly’s smile grew.

Jamie didn’t even flinch.

“I meant what I said, Celeste. Lilly has decided she’s having a sleepover with you.”

“She’s what?”

I looked at Lilly.

She gave me an enthusiastic little wave.

“No.”

Her smile faltered.

“No way.”

“Celeste—”

“I don’t want a sleepover.”

“Too bad.”

I stared at Jamie in disbelief.

“Why?”

“Because Josh and I have a training op tonight.”

That immediately caught my attention.

A training op.

Which meant I’d be alone.

Or at least, I would have been.

“And Lilly thought you might like some company,” Jamie continued.

I slowly turned toward Lilly.

“This was your idea?”

She nodded.

“I thought it would be fun.”

Fun.

Right.

There was something about the way everyone had suddenly decided I needed company that made my instincts start screaming.

“What exactly did you two discuss before coming in here?” I asked.

Jamie smiled.

“Nothing suspicious.”

“That’s exactly what someone suspicious would say.”

Lilly laughed.

I didn’t.

I looked between them.

Something was definitely going on.

Maybe they really did just want me to have some girl time.

Maybe.

But I had learned the hard way that people didn’t always tell you everything.

And I couldn’t afford to trust blindly anymore.

Especially not when it came to Billy.

My father.

The man who had walked out of my mother’s life before I was even born.

I’d listened to his version of what happened between him and Tina.

I’d even tried to understand it.

But understanding wasn’t the same as believing.

There were still too many unanswered questions.

Too many holes in his story.

And I intended to find out what really happened.

Which meant I needed to be careful.

The last thing I needed was Lilly getting close enough to figure out what I was doing.

“Celeste,” Lilly said, breaking through my thoughts. “I just want to get to know you better.”

I looked at her.

She was smiling.

She seemed genuinely excited.

And that almost made me feel guilty.

Almost.

But I couldn’t forget that she was Billy’s daughter.

My sister.

A stranger who had somehow become part of my life overnight.

I wasn’t ready for that.

I wasn’t sure I ever would be.

“Jamie, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

His expression softened for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

“Too bad.”

I frowned.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s already arranged.”

His tone made it clear.

The discussion was over.

I stared at him.

He stared back.

Neither of us moved.

Fine.

If Jamie wanted to play this game, I could play too.

I plastered the most convincing smile I could manage onto my face.

“You know what?”

Jamie raised an eyebrow.

“A good old-fashioned sleepover suddenly sounds fantastic.”

Lilly’s face lit up.

I turned toward her.

“How does pizza and a movie sound?”

“Perfect!”

I smiled sweetly.

“Jamie’s shout, obviously.”

Jamie groaned.

I looked back at him, my smile becoming smug.

“There you have it.”

I gestured toward Lilly’s overnight bag.

“One sleepover.”

Then I pointed at Jamie.

“And you’re bankrolling the whole thing.”

He shook his head, laughing under his breath.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Thank you.”

But as Lilly started talking excitedly about what movie we should watch, I smiled along with her.

Because she didn’t know.

None of them did.

They thought tonight was about pizza, movies, and getting to know each other.

They had no idea I was still searching for answers.

And if getting closer to Lilly gave me another piece of the puzzle…

I was more than willing to play the part of the happy little sister.

For now.