That surprised Zarya. “Why?”

“They insulted Maris.”

She scowled.

Maris patted her on the shoulder before he explained. “I was very rudely thrown out of the establishment, and I made the mistake of letting Darling know about it.”

A bad feeling went through her. “What happened exactly?”

Syn answered in an angry tone. “They beat the absolute shit out of Maris, and gave him a concussion.”

Maris looked sheepish now. “That’s what I get for underestimating my opponents.” He gestured toward Hauk. “And after Hauk stopped Darling from blowing up the bar, Darling stalked my attackers and returned the beating with good measure. He really doesn’t cope well when his loved ones are hurt. Kind of loses all sense of reason and proportion.”

“How so?” she asked.

Maris let out a gruff laugh. “Give me a bloody nose, Darling takes a limb.”

Yeah, that was a bit extreme. Strangely though, it was one of the things she loved about him. “What will he do when he finds out his sister attacked you?”

“I don’t intend to tell him that Lise bitch-slapped me. Even gay, I still don’t want to admit a girl beat me up. Sheez!”

Hauk and Syn laughed.

But she didn’t find it humorous. “It’s not a fight if you don’t strike back.”

“True. Still, let’s keep this unfortunate event between us,” Maris whispered at her. “No need in upsetting Darling over it.”

“Okay.” Zarya didn’t envy Darling having to deal with his volatile sister. But at least that emotional explosion had taught her one thing.

Lise loved her brother dearly. It was a shame that Darling didn’t know how much.

The doors opened again to show Lise returning to the room. She pinned Zarya with a scowl. “You’re Sorche’s sister, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

Her frown deepened with confusion. “Why are you here?” Before anyone could answer, Lise threw her hands up and clenched her eyes and fists shut. “Never mind.” She opened her eyes and dropped her hands. “I’m sure it’s none of my business and Darling wouldn’t answer me about it even if I asked. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t crazy… About you, anyway. The rest is still open for debate… Now I’m really gone.” She made a very quick exit.

Hauk laughed deep in his throat before he spoke to Zarya. “Don’t ask. We just go with her moods. Once you get used to her, she’s actually very sweet.”

“Not to mention, we’re all responsible for ruining her. We have spoiled her rotten,” Maris added. “Darling more so than the rest of us. But like Hauk said, she is a doll when she’s not mad. And she has the kindest heart you’ll ever meet.”

That she definitely believed. No matter how odd this meeting had been, Zarya hadn’t forgotten how giving and sweet Lise had been to her sister.

All of a sudden, the door opened slowly as if the person on the other side was hesitant about entering.

That definitely wasn’t Lise.