Hard Fought (A Stepbrother Warriors Novel)(55)

"Best not to think about it," I murmur.

"Maybe they feel strange now, moving in together if they're sort of dating," Jack points out to Bree.

"Oh, do you feel strange?" Bree asks us, bluntly as ever.

"Um..." I reply, feeling overwhelmed.

"Can you give us the room for a minute?" Carter asks, taking control of the situation. Anne obligingly follows out Bree and Jack, looking dazedly back and forth between them. "Hi," Carter says, turning to me with a smile.

"Hi," I murmur. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not the one who's been shot today, so let's focus on you. I know I'd talked about moving in together, but this is different. I want you to feel safe, but I also don't want you to feel uncomfortable in any way. I mean, I don't want it to get in the way of, you know, us. I could try to get Roger to take the extra room as protection—"

"I think I'd feel a lot weirder living with Roger," I reply with a smile. "And honestly, I'd feel safer with you. It can't possibly be a weirder situation that what we've had. At least our parents aren't getting married anymore, right?"

"Right. OK, I'll get our stuff from the house later today."

"I can help."

"I don't want you going back there. Your father nearly got you killed."

"You're probably right. It's weird, though. I don't feel as angry at him as I think I should," I murmur.

"Well, I think I'm mad enough for the both of us," Carter murmurs, his fists clenching.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to have anything to do with him. It's just that I don't feel angry at him anymore. It's like being mad at a lion for being a carnivore. It's just how he is, and he isn't going to change."

"I suppose that's a healthy way to think about it," Carter replies grudgingly.

"So can I get out of here today?"

"The police will want to take your statement, but I can probably get them to wait until you're home."

"Home. With you."

"With me."

I grin. "I think this might take a little getting used to."





Chapter Thirty-Six

Two months later...



"Yes!" Bree exclaims, staring in shock at the diamond ring in front of her. Anne, Carter, and I applaud as Jack slips it onto her finger. My little brother laughs in relief. I've never seen him sweat so much when he wasn't on the field.

"Fuck, I was nervous," he swears.

"You shouldn't've been. This ring is gorgeous!" Bree says, turning it in the light.

"Lex helped me pick it out," Jack says, giving me a nod.

"You knew?" Carter asks, nudging me.

"Hey, this is different," I whisper back.

"There's some champagne in the fridge, I think," Anne says, getting up and heading over to the kitchen. We're at Jack's penthouse having a family dinner to celebrate Bree completing her novel, and Jack took advantage of everyone being in one place to pop the question.

Well, not quite everyone. My father settled things with the cartels, and despite sending Anne lavish gifts, she refused to take him back. Jack and I are effectively cut off from him, but while we've lost a father, we've actually gained a mother – or mother-in-law, rather. Anne doesn't plan to live with Jack and Bree forever, of course, but they've made it clear she's welcome until she feels like her life is back on firm footing.

"Do you know what kind of wedding you want?" Anne asks as she returns.

"Something small, don't you think?" Bree asks, placing her petite hand in Jack's giant one.

"Yeah, nothing too fancy," Jack agrees.

"Carter, when are your meetings?" Bree asks.

"No, tonight's about you," Carter demurs.

"Oh, please. I can't handle any more attention, honestly," she says.

"Tomorrow," he replies, giving me a look. "Thanks to Alexa."

"I don't think I can take all the credit," I say.

"Don't worry, Lex, I know you're the brains in this operation," Bree says with a teasing smile at her older brother.

I've been helping Carter and Roger start their own private security company, and truthfully, it has been a lot of work. But tomorrow, it should all start to pay off. I drafted a solid business plan for them, and tomorrow they're going in to meet with investors. We've actually made a great team: Roger has the industry connections, Carter has the skills, and I have the business savvy.

Carter was worried about me helping at first because he didn't want me to lose sight of school, but I've still managed to enroll myself in the summer semester, with some help from Jack. I didn't want to take money from him so I made him sign a loan document. He thought it was ridiculous, but I insisted I'd pay him back.