Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set(100)

“You’re dead wrong. You may not mean to, but you’ll destroy Carly and suffocate yourself.” Forget what this marriage would do to him, Mike thought “Is that a way to live?”

His brother didn’t answer.

“Pete, you’re not...” Mike trailed off. As close as the brothers had always been, they’d never traded sexual exploits, and Mike had no desire to start now. Still, he couldn’t protect Carly if he didn’t know the truth.

And though no one had appointed him her keeper, he’d taken on the role as if it was meant for him alone. “You’re not sleeping with Regina, are you?”

Pete stared from his seat on the couch. His silence pronounced him guilty.

Mike let out a groan. “For the love of...”

Pete had the grace to look ashamed. “I thought I could wait, but...”

Sweet and innocent. How the hell had she gotten involved with either one of the Novack brothers? Each had the power to break her heart.

Pete shrugged. “We’ve been engaged for the last five months and dated on and off for three before that. A guy certainly can’t go that long without...”

“He damn well can,” Mike shouted. “And if you loved her, you would have.”

“If she loved me, I wouldn’t have had to look somewhere else,” Pete retorted.

Mike clenched his teeth. “And what does that tell you?”

“Go back to globe-trotting and let me handle my own life.” Apparently Pete was about to dig in his heels as hard as Carly had. Neither wanted to face reality.

Considering Mike had abandoned his own reality, he had no right to force theirs on them. “Just don’t be surprised when things backfire.”

Peter glared at him through narrowed, suspicious eyes. “Mind your own business,” he said, clearly warning Mike to keep his mouth shut.

“Because you think your partnership’s at stake?”

“Possibly.”

“Then why’d you bring Regina back here? You know I’m staying over. Or did you take that risk on purpose?”

He couldn’t stomach being in this apartment for another minute. Mike turned, scooped his keys off the counter and grabbed his camera from the front hall closet.

“Don’t tell her, Mike.” Pete’s words reverberated in his head as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.


* * *

Parents and children, men and their dates, guys and their dogs and one lone man with his camera romped in Central Park. Mike wandered around, snapping photos without paying much attention to the setup. Each shot captured life in a way he treasured. Each would have a spot in his private collection. A select few he’d bring downtown to his new editor. He wasn’t used to soft pieces, but after the hard stories he’d covered until recently, he welcomed the reprieve.

Until today, he’d retired his camera to the depths of Peter’s closet, hoping to banish the unpleasant memories that went with it. To his surprise, when he’d picked up the camera and snapped the first shot, the rush of adrenaline had been powerful and positive. Of course, it had helped that Carly was his first subject.

If only he could view his life the same upbeat way. During his last assignment, he’d hitched a ride home from the countryside. Close to civilization, mortar fire hit the back tires of a bus ahead of him, sending it careening down the side of a ravine. Nothing Mike hadn’t seen hundreds of times before in cities with different names. By the time he’d reached the bus, the smell of gasoline permeated the air. He and his companion managed to get the survivors out before the explosion hit. Jagged metal ripped through the muscle in his right shoulder. Just the memory made him break into a sweat and he wiped the back of his hand over his brow.

All those young kids abandoned because their mothers had sat in the front of the bus while they played in the back. The luck of the draw, something Mike had also seen too many times before. All the carnival food he’d eaten with Carly threatened to come back up.

Over the next few weeks he was sidelined with his injury. He’d used the time to help track down the kids’ fathers or other living relatives. Most had already been killed. All those children, orphaned like Mike and Peter. And though his boss had ordered him back to the center of the conflict once the doctors gave him a clean bill of health, Mike had bailed out instead.

He’d left mid-assignment, hopping the first plane back to the States. Three weeks early for his brother’s wedding... or just in time, depending on one’s place in this awful triangle, he thought wryly.

He glanced down at the camera in his hand, a piece of equipment that felt as comfortable as his own skin. At that moment, Mike knew. No matter what memories or doubts haunted him, he’d be facing them sooner rather than later. When his boss called—and he would—Mike wouldn’t hesitate. Though Dom had finally given in on the extended leave issue, he swore that the next hot story was Mike’s. Mike trusted his boss and friend not only to give him the time he needed, but to drag his butt back out there as soon as he could afterward. It would be the push he needed to return.