"I know she gives the best head in all of Miami."
Adrenaline ignites in my gut, too extreme to be stopped. I throw my fist into his nose, knocking him down to the tiled floor. Somewhere a woman screams. Theo curls upright to sit, cradling his bloodied face while swearing into his hands. The amount of satisfaction that comes with my burning hand and his broken face doesn't even begin to remedy the pure rage setting fire to my blood.
One of the bodyguards rushes at me in the same breath Hunter and Levi pull me back.
"Your redneck ass is so fired!" Theo yells up at me.
"Good thing you're not my fucking boss!"
"No, but I will be." A sneer stretches across his blood-smeared lips. "Before she left, I asked Angie to marry me."
Swear to fuck my stomach drops to my feet. I stare at him slack-jawed, waiting for him to confess he's joking.
Angie wouldn't take this circus that far, would she?
"Let it go," Hunter commands, patting my chest. "He's full of shit. Let's get the hell outta here before someone calls the cops."
He drags me away to the sound of Theo's twisted laughter.
The last day of their visit, I take Hunter and Levi to the beach. After we returned from the club, I spent the night stewing over what Theo said. Angie was weak before she left. He could have easily manipulated her into thinking he was what she needed. Maybe I shouldn't have given her so much space. If she agreed to marry him, it's all my fault for not making myself clear.
While Levi's off hitting on women in bikinis, Hunter stays at my side, quietly drinking for the better part of an hour. I stare out at the water from a rental chair, doing my best to destroy a case of beer and wishing I could sleep for a week straight. Hopefully once the guys are gone, I'll get that chance.
Hunter breaks the silence by clearing his throat. "I wouldn't believe a word that prick said to you last night. He obviously was just trying to get under your skin."
I crush another can in my fist, wishing it was Theo's head. "It worked."
Without bothering to ask if I want another beer, he cracks one open and hands it over. "I always knew you had a thing for my sister, but I didn't know you had it this bad. You two in love?"
There's no hiding our affair at this point, so I turn to him, stone-faced. "It's complicated. We'd been sleeping together for a while before she decided she needed help. I gave her space to figure things out."
Eyebrows raised, he smirks. "You didn't answer my question."
"Don't bust my balls, man." Turning back to the ocean, I swig down a mouthful of ice cold brew. "Yeah, I love her. She … wasn't as sure."
From the corner of my eyes, I see him drop back into his lounger. "Whoa. Didn't see that one coming. Does James know what was going on?"
"You're the only one I've told. Angie wouldn't let anyone know, including Theo. She thought it would be bad press."
"That doesn't sound anything like her. She always believed in love and that happily ever after shit. When we were little, she'd pretend she was a princess and make me play the prince because James wouldn't do it." He turns to me and chuckles. "You and Ang … I can't believe it actually happened. Who the hell would'a guessed when we were kids that you'd one day fall for my big sister?"
"Me," I grunt. "Always thought she was hot. Now … it's so much more than that. She's the total package."
With an appreciative grunt, he pats my shoulder. "Couldn't have picked a better man to make her happy."
"If she was actually happy, she wouldn't have needed to abuse her fuckin' meds," I snap, turning back to him with a glare. "I should've caught on sooner. If I were you and James, I'd kick my ass for not taking better care of her. Charlie's going to flip his shit when he hears the whole story."
Hunter shakes his head, grinning. "You really think she would've realized that she needed help if she had been down here on her own with that cokehead? Give yourself a little more credit, man."
The fact that she's pregnant and told me "she'd take care of it" weighs heavily on my tongue. As cool as Hunter's being about me messing with his sister, I doubt he'd be as understanding if he knew the whole story. Besides, I'm not going to tell her brother she doesn't know whether or not I'm the father.
The night she told me the news, I wasn't in the right state of mind. I should've told her before she left that I would help her raise the baby, even if it turned out to be Theo's. It'd be hard raising another man's child, but it'd be worth doing to keep Angie in my life. There are a lot worse things I'd do if it meant making her mine.
I hate Theo for being man enough to ask her the question I should've.
When a man's alone with his thoughts for days on end, some of them disguised as paranoia and one's worst fears, it's enough to drive a person insane. There are times I'll sit in Angie's living room, seeking a connection to her and what we had that I may have lost forever. Her betrayal hurt more than I'm willing to admit to myself. I knew from the start her idea of going away with Theo was a fuckin' train wreck waiting to happen.
One morning, while I'm getting ready to meet a new fighter buddy at the gym, I realize I'm holding onto something that wasn't totally mine to begin with, and might never be. When Angie returns, she should be free to make her decision based on what she wants, not what's convenient. If I stay on as her bodyguard, she may feel forced into a relationship.
Returning home doesn't feel right either. If Angie kept the baby, and it turns out to be mine, I'm not going to abandon my kid just because of his mom's mistakes. And who knows, maybe I'll eventually be able to forgive her even if it's not.
After sending Charlie my resignation in an email, I start looking for apartments in less expensive neighborhoods.
13
Hunter
Christmas has officially become my least favorite time of year. It wasn't so bad when Asher was around. Now that he's living in Miami and flew his parents down to him, it completely sucks ass.
Worse yet, I always think of Mom since she loved everything about Christmas. It would've broken her heart to know our family isn't meeting up for the holidays. Nothing made her happier than seeing us all gathered. Last year was an exception when Braden and Katie's twins came, and everyone flew out to California. Wish things could always be that way, but everyone's so busy with either being famous or raising kids. I can't afford to keep flying all over the damn place, and I don't like taking handouts from my siblings even though most of them have become filthy rich. I hate that our Christmas traditions may have died along with our parents.
This year I planned ahead and convinced Levi to take a trip up North to hit the snowmobile trails. We got a great deal at one of the better resorts, and I'm relieved I won't be sitting in the empty farmhouse, stewing in my single status, solidifying the fact that I'll likely die alone. I haven't had the heart to buy a new dog since Dad's Lab, Cash, died. That one was especially hard to handle because he was the only "normal" thing that reminded me of life before Dad's murder.
It's late by the time we drive into the resort. Levi and I grab a 12-pack and head for the hot tub, ready to unwind from the long drive. A few high schoolers fill the large pool along with a handful of adults, all of them drinking beer. My kind of crowd.
As I'm kicking off my sandals and throwing my t-shirt onto a chair, Levi elbows me. "Check it out. Looks like we had perfect timing."
I glance over to the hot tub, finding two women in bikinis with blond hair piled on top of their heads, backs to us. Sure there are a few other people in there with them, but the only guys among them are either too old or don't seem to have anything to do with the blondes. Maybe this won't be such a bad Christmas after all.
"Looks like Santa is being good to us," I tell Levi, slinging the cloth cooler over my bare shoulder. "Let's go check it out."
We make our way over to the square tub, setting the beer on the edge before climbing down the steps. When Levi calls out a general greeting, the two blondes turn their heads and my heart slams against my ribs.
"Hunter Kendall?" one of them squeaks. "What the hell?"
By some ironic twist of fate, Asher's childhood friend comes rushing at me, gifting me with the kind of hug I'd dream about in one of my wildest fantasies. Gorgeous, wet girl, great tits spilling from a bikini pushed into my chest. In any other situation I'd lift her off her feet, but Harlow made it clear the first time we met that she isn't like other girls. She likes men to be straightforward and honest, without unnecessary flirting.
I've been keeping up with Harlow on Facebook since we spent last Christmas together at Asher's house. She's a junior at the U, studying criminology with a psychology major. She's posted a few casual pictures of her with guys throughout the past year, none that made me think she isn't single. They weren't too series or intimate looking, and there weren't any declarations of a relationship made.