Broken Promise (The Denton Family Legacy #1)(7)

“Is that why you work at that strip club as a waitress?” Riley asked.

Lou paused, turning back to look at her brother.

“Oh yes, I know about the bar, and I know you slept with a couple of guys they hadn’t chosen for you.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “What you mean is I slept with people they didn’t approve of?” Lou had done everything to try to break the rules. She was tired of living a lie, and so far, her life had been one big fat lie.

“I love you, Lou. You’re my sister, my twin. I just don’t want you to get hurt. There are people out there who will hurt you just to rub our parents’ noses in it.”

Shrugging, Lou linked her arm through with his. “Don’t care. I love you, too, Riley, even when you’re too battered and bruised to realize it.”

Riley laughed. “Let’s go and impress the masses, and then you’ve got to disappear. I intend to take a woman home with me tonight.”

Wrinkling her nose, she walked into the house, which she’d never been in before. It was huge, like a mansion. She had to wonder if the Dentons’ neighbors had any idea who they were living next to. The basement was probably covered in blood and bleach. She shivered and did her best to hide her nerves. This was why she tried to stay as far away from their parents as possible. She hated these kinds of parties. People unnerved her. She was trying to work on her nerves by taking the job at the strip club, but so far, nothing had happened. It was easy to talk the talk, but her hands were shaking. She held onto Riley, hoping he didn’t see it, but knowing her very perceptive brother, he already knew.

From the moment they entered the house, they were swarmed by the crowd. She even spotted Landon, who made his way over.

Riley tensed up, and she truly believed they were both shocked when Landon wrapped his arms around them.

“Can you forgive me for being a total bastard?” Landon asked.

Her brother tilted his head to the side, frowning.

“I kept on hitting you. It’s not part of the sport, and I shouldn’t have done it.” Landon held his hand out. “Forgive me.”

Lou was shocked. She’d never known a Denton to actually apologize, and witnessing it now, yeah, she was in shock.

“There’s our son,” her mother said, shouting above the music to be heard.

She did her best to not roll her eyes, but she heard a snicker, and glanced over to see Landon chuckle. Behind him stood his brothers, who had seen her reaction as well.

“Who is this little spitfire?” Abel asked.

Lou knew all of the brothers names because Riley had made sure she knew who they were.

“My sister, my twin.”

“Holy shit, you both shared a fucking womb. How did she end up the most beautiful, and you a bag of shit?” Landon asked.

It wasn’t just the way he looked but also the way he talked. Lou finally understood what her brother said about Landon not seeming like a sixteen year old boy.

Before they could say anything, their mother was on Riley, pinching his cheeks and cooing over him.

Releasing her brother, Louisa folded her arms and watched the pathetic display from their parents. Looking at them, anyone would think that they loved their son when the real truth was, they had stopped him from getting a real chance in this life. It was moments like this that she had to wonder if Riley even had a clue what they had done to him.

“I see you brought your sister with you,” her mother said.

“Hello, Gertrude,” she said. It had been a long time since she called her “Mom”.

“Louisa,” Gertrude said. “What are you doing here?”

Laughing, she folded her arms. “Seeing as I was the only one there to clean up your precious son, I figured I’d come by to keep an eye on him. Make sure you’re not going to turn him into a sex slave.”

Riley groaned, and Lou didn’t care that they had an audience. She’d seen the way Riley looked, covered in blood tonight. Their parents hadn’t been there to offer him support, but they were prepared to take the credit now, and she wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Riley had won tonight, not them.

“Louisa, enough!”

“Do you really think people don’t see how damn false you are?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working tonight?” her father asked.

She turned to Eric, her father.

“I got the night off.”

“You shouldn’t be working at such a place. If you just did as you were told—”

“I could be settled down with a nice husband, being used as nothing but a damn incubator for kids, right?” She cut her mother off before she got into the flow of telling her how damn good she’d be if she just did as she was told.