Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound to My Sister's Billionaire Crush: Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

- SIERRA"Here," I said, leaning over the bath mat from my spot on the floor and catching the kid’s tiny, kicking ankles in one hand while I managed the wipe. His skin felt like wet silk, so small Desmond’s massive thumb could've wrapped around his whole leg twice."He's got your temper," Desmond muttered, his jaw tightening as the kid gave a sharp shove against his palm, nearly splashing the zinc cream right into his eye."He’s got your stubborn forehead, Desmond. Look at him. He’s frowning at the wall exactly how you look at the balance sheets," I gasped, my breath coming in short, tired hitches as I finally got the clean diaper lined up. "Fasten the left side first, or it leaks. Marcus told me his kids always cleared the lateral seam.""Marcus is a linebacker, Sierra. His kids are the size of barrels," Desmond said, his long fingers looking incredibly clumsy as he pressed the plastic tape down against the white paper.We stayed like that for another twenty minutes. Two grown adults

- SIERRAThe front room was completely bare, nothing but a couple of plastic milk crates, an unvented kerosene heater that was filling the air with greasy black smoke, and three empty crates of prescription sedatives from the Jersey clinic. Lilian was in the back room, lying on a rusted iron cot under three dirty wool moving blankets."She’s alive, Sierra," Lorenzo’s voice cut through my thoughts, bringing me right back to the green light of the microwave. "Finally, we had managed to rescue her." "But Elias didn't move her up there to take care of her. He literally tormented her. She’s down fifty pounds from the winter season. They’ve got her on a heavy fluid block to keep her from clearing the legal evaluations. If she can't pass a state sanity check, the New York court automatically hands the timber proxy back to me as her biological father. Which means Elias gets the full execution rights to the Figueroa land block before the month is out. He used her as leverage to clear his path

- SIERRADesmond slid the plate of slightly rubbery, over-salted eggs onto the breakfast bar and dragged a high stool over next to me. I didn’t even look at the food at first; I just picked up a piece of the rye toast, inspected the blackened corner with pure judgment, and then took a small, sharp bite anyway."So," I said, my voice still holding that dry, gravelly scratch from the middle of the night. "What’s the word on Vivian? I know she didn’t just sit in that Manhattan townhouse twiddling her thumbs while her dad was hiding my mother in a timber shack."Desmond blew on his coffee, the steam fogging up his view of my messy bun. "Vivian’s currently having a minor meltdown in an apartment on Park Avenue. Nigel’s tracking her shell phones. She tried to call three different flight charter companies in New Jersey. She knows the ice is cracking, Sierra. She’s just trying to figure out if she can bail before the whole family firm takes the dive.""She won't bail," I muttered, using my fo

- SIERRA"He used you as a legal hostage," I muttered, the blood roaring in my ears so loud I could barely hear the wind outside. "He was going to transfer you overseas because the Figueroa lawyers were getting too close to the New York registry.""The second he lost the transit seals, he panicked," Lilian said, her gray eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made me shiver. "He knew Lorenzo’s people were tracking the phone lines. He’s cornered. A man like Elias... when he realizes the registry is about to expose him, he doesn't run. He tries to burn the whole house down with everyone inside."Desmond knelt back down, his huge hand coming over mine, covering the yellowed papers. "He’s not burning anything. Toby’s already running the asset freeze. With this document, we don't even have to wait for the nine o'clock registry opening. We can drop this straight onto the federal prosecutor's desk by eight.""No," I said flatly. I looked at the fragile woman in the chair, then at my s

- SIERRAMy lower back was still screaming, but the freezing rain hitting the windshield was doing a great job of keeping me awake. We were barreling down I-95 South, the city lights of Boston bleeding through the dirty fog ahead of us. Adrian was dead to the world in his seat between us, making those tiny, soft clicking noises with his mouth every time Marcus hit a pothole.Desmond had one hand on the wheel and the other wrapped tight around my knee. His thumb was doing that slow, rhythmic rub right through my jeans."You're doing that thing with your jaw again," he muttered, not taking his eyes off the dark highway. "You look like you're grinding your teeth hard enough to crack them.""I'm fine," I said, though my fingers were practically tearing the seam of the manila envelope on my lap. "I'm just thinking about the Plaza. It’s too messy, Desmond. If we drop the marshals on them at a New York gala, Elias’s security detail will have five different exit routes through the kitchen bef