Hard Fought (A Stepbrother Warriors Novel)(36)

I freeze in the middle of the hallway. No. Freaking. Way. Bree...and Jack? My playboy older brother and this petite, no-nonsense girl? Maybe that's why he hasn't been partying so much... he has a girlfriend. And it's Bree.





Chapter Twenty-Four



"I mean, they painted it like I'm the bad guy!" Anne says as she paces back and forth in the living room, the rest of the family gathered around her. "All that stuff about ignoring his pleas to take him back... he's never once reached out to me! No, that's a lie. Seven years ago he had the nerve to ask me for money, but that's it!"

I feel terrible for her, but I have to admit I'm barely paying attention. I can't stop staring at my brother and Bree. Have they really been sneaking around this whole time? And when Bree told Carter and me in front of Jack that her relationship with "Miles" was serious, was she talking about Jack? Does this Miles person even exist?

What? Jack mouths at me, as he catches me staring at him. I shake my head and focus back on Anne.

"I just don't get it. I really don't. He left me. Now they show a picture of me at a charity event, a picture of our neighborhood, and suddenly I'm a gold digger who turned my back on him? What about the fact that he nearly cleaned out our joint bank account? Or how hard I had to work to build up a business from nothing! Some reporting! I had no idea he was even in the country! I thought he was in Mexico or something!"

"He's been in Reno for about three and a half months," my father says from an armchair.

"What?" Anne says, her head snapping over to him. "Why...how...how did you know that?"

"I've had one of my investigators keep tabs on him."

Anne goes still for a moment as she stares at him, her brain working to process this information. I'm not at all surprised to learn my father looked into her ex, but maybe this is the first time she's seen his controlling ways for herself, or at least focused on her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she finally asks quietly.

"I didn't think you needed to be aware of it. The investigator has been fired, obviously. He wasn't doing his job, or I would have been given a heads-up on this situation."

"I think I need a minute by myself," Anne murmurs, and hurries out the door.

"Anne," my father sighs, and follows her. Bree slips out into the hallway, too, and Jack pauses for a moment before he goes. I stare after them, lost in thought.

"Alexa," Carter says, and I startle.

"Shit, I forgot you were here," I swear as he emerges from leaning on the wall in the corner. "Sorry I missed your appointment," I add, feeling a blush come to my cheeks.

"Going back to the boat house?" he asks, not addressing my apology.

"No, actually. I need to go talk to my brother. Privately." I stand up and head for the hallway. He follows. "You alright?"

"I already knew what kind of man my father is. Nothing he does surprised me anymore," he replies flatly.

I nod, and head for the hallway. Carter sits at the bottom of the stairs as I head up, knowing I have to pass him if I intend on going anywhere else, but giving me the privacy I desire. As I walk upstairs, I begin to second-guess myself. What if I'm wrong about Bree and Jack? Maybe I misread the signals. But something in my gut tells me I'm right.

Fuck, I'm out of shape and these are a lot of stairs, I think as I reach the third floor. I take a deep breath as I knock on Jack's door. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to say. I hear footsteps from within and then the door opens. He looks surprised to see me.

"Expecting someone else?" I ask as his look of compassion changes to a frown.

"No," he says with a shrug.

"Can I come in?" I ask, as he leans on the doorjamb.

"Of course," he says. I close the door behind me as I follow him in. I immediately begin looking around for evidence of a relationship, but it looks spic-and-span in here.

"You alright?" I ask, studying his face closely.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Because you seem—"

"Lex. What the fuck?"

I guffaw, appreciating my brother's directness. "Well...shit. Maybe it's none of my business anyway. And you know that I can keep a secret. If that's what it is, I mean. I wouldn't tell—" I take a breath. "Are you having a...relationship with Bree?" He freezes, like the gears that run his brain just stopped working for a moment. "I'm not judging you, and I won't say anything, I just—"

"Fuck," he groans. Holy shit, I was right.

"OK," is all I can say. "OK."

"You have to understand, we're not just, you know..." he says, waving his hand. "We really care about each other. Maybe that's worse, though."