Serves you right, ass munch.
Dagan stalked across the blond wooden floor of his living room to the small bar he and Ronin had set up in one corner. He dug out a glass from under the counter and filled it to the brim with his favorite whiskey before taking a big gulp. Man, he wished Taeg were here right now. The need to tell someone what he’d learned burned a hole in his gut, but Taeg was out of the country and it didn’t feel right sharing this bit of news over the telephone. He supposed he could go upstairs and find Keegan, but he already knew what his big brother would say.
You have to tell Ronin…family duty.
And all that shit.
Family duty would be not hitting on his brother’s adopted sister, and look how good he’d been at keeping himself from doing that.
Hell, why couldn’t things ever be easy?
He took another sip and slid from behind the bar, heading toward the wall of windows which was only slightly less spectacular than the one at Keegan’s apartment. The darkening sky painted an orange tinge on the horizon, giving the view a watercolor effect. Not that he could appreciate its beauty right now, with all the things he had on his mind.
What was it about Lina? It could be the forbidden aspect of any potential relationship with her, but he didn’t think so. It was something about her in particular. The way she smelled, like sunshine and rainbows. The way she talked, like she commanded the room. The self-assured way she glided across a floor, like she didn’t give a shit about anything and wanted you to know it.
Lina made no apologies for being who she was, for being different. He loved that about her.
If Dagan were to admit it to himself, from the very moment he’d first seen her, something about her touched him in a way no one else had. Now he realized where it stemmed from—the loss she’d suffered in her past.
Yet none of that truly mattered. Ronin had asked him to stay away from her, and he should honor that.
The sound of the front door unlocking made Dagan stiffen. He caught Ronin’s reflection in the window, and his chest tightened. He didn’t like keeping secrets from his brothers, and Lina’s past was a big one.
“Any luck discovering Sam’s whereabouts?”
When Ronin didn’t answer, Dagan turned toward him. He caught the flash of his brother’s fist an instant before it collided with the side of his face. Dagan flew backward, and the glass in his hand fell to the floor, shattering on the wood.
“What the fuck?” When Ronin’s fist came at him again, Dagan blocked it with his forearm. His confusion morphed to anger. True, he and his brothers had been known to get into fistfights over just about anything, but in the past, he’d at least known why. “What’s your problem, asshole?”
“This is my problem.” Ronin held up a pair of sunglasses, which had been crushed so that they were practically unrecognizable.
Dagan stared blankly at his shades until memory kicked in and he recalled exactly where he’d left them. Shit.
He flushed, which probably didn’t help manners any. “Listen, I can explain.”
Ronin dropped the glasses to the floor and closed his fingers around the front of Dagan’s shirt. “I told you to stay away from Lina.”
“There’s nothing going on between us.” Although there might have been, if Ronin hadn’t interrupted.
“Have you been hitting on her, because I swear Dagan—”
“I said no.” Guilt lent an edge to his tone as Dagan wrenched himself out of Ronin’s grasp. “Besides, we’re both adults. She’s not a little girl anymore, Ronin.”
Ronin swore, looking more furious than Dagan had ever seen him. “Don’t try to talk your way out of this. I told you to keep your hands off her, and I meant it.”
Dagan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “Like I said, there’s nothing going on. I just stopped by to make sure she was okay.”
“Well, don’t,” Ronin said flatly. “The last thing she needs in her life is someone who’ll hurt her and then walk away.”
Now that pissed Dagan off. Why couldn’t Ronin just leave well enough alone?
“You mean you like you did?”
Dagan immediately regretted his harsh words, but Ronin didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. His face screwed up in anger. “Lina can do a hell of a lot better than a one-night stand with an emotionally damaged man-whore.”
His hurtful words made Dagan stop short. A sharp pain stabbed his chest, and he choked in a shallow breath. “You really think that of me?”
“Tell me if I’ve said anything that isn’t true,” Ronin answered, his face a cold, expressionless mask.