Alec parked his ass on the arm of the chair Jake occupied. “Fine. Sam’s tough, but she’s obviously rattled. Although I’m not certain it’s all about last night.”
“Meaning?” Brandon turned sideways to face him.
“She was shot at and then had to spend the night alone with Caleb. You tell me.”
Concern creased Brandon’s brow. “Caleb’s an ass when it comes to Sam, but he wouldn’t hurt her. Or any woman for that matter.”
Alec bark out a laugh. “No, of course not. Quite the opposite in this case, I’d say.”
This time, Brandon didn’t even bother with a question. Just arched a brow and stared.
Joe looked back and forth between them as Jake sat forward with interest.
“And she chewed my ass good for moving her car, Bran. I’d say your backside is fair game next time she sees you.”
Brandon nodded, as if it was a foregone conclusion. “I figured as much.” His eyes narrowed. “You gonna to tell us what happened last night or make us guess?”
Alec took a long draw on his beer. They’d invaded his space and ruined his chance to get laid tonight, so it served them right to have to wait a minute. Or two.
“They had sex,” Alec finally told them.
Beer spewed beside him and he reached over and slapped Jake on the back.
Brandon looked skeptical. “Did Caleb actually tell you this?”
Alec shook his head. “No. And before you ask, Sam didn’t tell me either.”
“Then —”
“I’ve known Sam since high school, Bran. I know what the woman looks like when she’s been sexed up.”
Joe cut in. “Caleb was all kinds of fucked up when I saw him. More … snappish, than usual. Distracted. Not the usual behavior of a man who just got laid.”
Ah, his jabs had been successful then.
If there was one thing Alec knew about Caleb, it was the fact that he was in love with Samantha, whether he’d admitted it or not. Why Caleb had been such a dick to her over the years would make sense if they were in grade school or some shit. That meant something else was going on that Caleb kept to himself. Whatever.
Alec missed his big brother. The one who smiled and laughed and took him fishing. The guy who’d enjoyed life just because it was happening. Caleb hadn’t been the same since their parents died, since he’d almost … yeah. Those were dark times for all of them.
Losing their parents had been bad, but Caleb harbored demons Alec couldn’t even begin to imagine. Caleb wouldn’t talk about it, but Alec knew all the same. It had taken Caleb months to recover from that last mission. Other than the slight limp he sported on occasion when the weather turned bad or he’d worked out too hard, you’d never know he’d been injured. On the outside.
The inside was a different matter entirely.
Among other things, Caleb had developed a warped sense of responsibility to this family. Thinking that, as the oldest, it was his job—his alone—to look out for them. A massive load of bull, as far as Alec was concerned.
Family meant they were a team. They looked out for each other, had each other’s backs. And this deal with Sam, well, Alec had his back. Whether Caleb knew it or not.
The irony was, Alec’s own love life was a revolving door of women. He was probably the last person on earth who should play matchmaker, but Sam was his best friend. And his brother needed to get his shit together.
Damn it, they deserved to be happy.
“Alec?”
Joe’s voice brought him back to the conversation. “Sorry, what?”
“You were about to tell us how you’re so sure Caleb had sex with Sam.” Brandon groaned and turned his face to the ceiling. “Please tell me you don’t have his place wired for video.”
He laughed. “I’m not that twisted.” He thought about it for a second, remembering his argument with Caleb about security cameras. “At least not twisted enough to watch. Y’all will just have to trust me on this one.” He tossed Jake a wink and reached over to grab a piece of pizza.
“Now,” Alec said around his slice, “which one of you yahoo’s wants to tell me what you’re doing here … and how long you’re planning to hang around? Must be pretty important to let Amanda run the bar and to get Rambo here off the compound.”
Brandon’s foot shot out, nailing him square in the shin.
“Ow!”
“Rambo, my ass,” Brandon muttered. “And I asked Joe and Jake to hang around after they met with Cay. Something about this situation isn’t right, and I can’t put my finger on it.”
Alec stared at his pizza, knowing full well what Brandon was talking about. “It tastes fine to me.”