He hadn’t felt this good in years. No merger, takeover or negotiation coup had ever made him feel this alive and triumphant. He’d convinced Carissa to share her life with him and he knew it would be one fun ride. He’d never loved Fridays as much as today. All week, he’d been looking forward to spending the weekend with Carissa and now he could. He stopped when he saw Malcolm sitting on the stairwell landing looking glum. “What’s up? Had a bad day at school?” Malcolm shook his head. “Miss Carissa came back looking upset. We were supposed to pick up some groceries to make brownies, but she cancelled.” Kenric swore. Had Lina upset her again? He patted the boy on the shoulder. “Thanks for the warning. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t make her double fudge brownies without you.” He hurried up the rest of the stairs and knocked. When Carissa opened the door he knew something was seriously wrong. “What did my brother do to your sister?” she asked. He should have been expecting the question.
