Free Angel of Redemption by J. A. Little

shouldn’t…but I do. Damn it.
    Claire
and I do girly shit on Friday night while Andy goes out with some of his
buddies from work. It ’ s fun. I don ’ t get to see my sister as much as I ’ d like to. We end up renting some teen-scream
movie, which isn ’ t
very good, but Claire has a crush on one of the actors, so I go with it. We
paint each other ’ s
toenails, put on mud masks, and pass out around 1:00 a.m. on the living room
floor.
    I
think I hear Andy stumble in at some point, but I have no idea what time. I
wake up with a sore back and a horrible crick in my neck. Worst of all, those
damn green eyes haunted my dreams again last night. I don ’ t remember anything else, just the
eyes. It ’ s
pissing me off how that infuriating man is starting to invade my thoughts. I
wonder what he does on his days off. Is he clubbing or partying? Does he have a
girlfriend? Is he married? He wasn ’ t wearing a wedding band, but that doesn ’ t mean a whole lot. Lots of people don ’ t wear wedding bands even when they ’ re married. I shouldn ’ t be this curious — it ’ s
none of my business — but I am.
    “ What ’ s the story behind the Wyatt brothers? ” I spit out the second Andy gets home from the gym that
afternoon.
    “ What do you mean? ” he asks, pulling a beer out of the fridge.
    “ I mean, I just placed Logan and Matty
there, and I ’ m
hearing rumors. Should I be concerned? ”
    Andy
clears his throat. He tilts his head and narrows his eyes. Shit, he can see
right through me.
    “ I think it ’ s a good placement for Logan. For
Matty …” He shrugs. “ I honestly don ’ t know. I guess time will tell. ” I watch him take a pull of his beer, his eyes never leaving
mine. “ As
for the brothers, I don ’ t know much about them. I usually deal with Emily or Aiden.
He ’ s
a good guy. Funny. I ’ ve only met Dean once. I think he ’ s more guarded, but he ’ s got a perspective that most don ’ t. The kids seem to respect and trust
him, which, for those kids, is huge. ”
    “ What does that mean? What ’ s his perspective? ” I ask hastily. Andy takes a deep breath.
    “ He did some time a few years back. Got
into some trouble as a kid, spent some time in juvie, and then blew his
probation when he got out. ”
    “ So, he served hard time? ”
    “ Yeah. A few years, I think. ”
    I
can tell Andy knows more details, but just as I ’ m about to demand to hear them, Claire
walks into the room.
    “ Hey, ” she waves. “ I ’ m hungry. What ’ s for dinner? ”
    I
look at Andy, but I can tell he ’ s said all he ’ s going to about Dean for the moment.
    By
the next afternoon, I ’ m feeling much better. Andy and Claire are busy beating
each other up on Wii boxing. It ’ s hysterical. They ’ re trash talking, and my sides hurt from laughing so much.
The children ’ s
lawyer vs the honor student. I don ’ t even know half the words they ’ re slinging at each other. When my phone
rings, I answer without even looking at it.
    “ Hello? ” I say, laughter still in my voice.
    “ Kayla? This is Aiden Wyatt. ”
    I ’ m immediately on alert, my amusement
at Claire and Andy ’ s antics fading.
    “ Hi, Aiden, ” I say tentatively. I ’ m already wincing. This can ’ t be good. I see Andy glance back at
me, his expression a mixture of concern and annoyance.
    “ I ’ m sorry to be calling you, but is there any way you can
come to the house? We ’ re having an issue. ”
    “ What ’ s Logan done? ” I sigh.
    “ Not Logan. Matty. ”

Chapter
8
    Dean
     
    “ You ’ re
such a dick. ”
    “ And why ’ s
that? ” I ask my brother flatly, pressing my
palms into my eyes. He ’ s just returned from the grocery store and apparently is
now chastising me.
    “ You want me to make you a list? ” he deadpans. “ You
could have at least been nice to her. ”
    “ I was nice. ”
    Aiden
scoffs. “ You were an asshole. What the fuck is
the matter with you? ”
    “ Nothing ’ s