going to do about that text?”
“I’m fucking taking care of it!”
“Damn! Is it me or is he more sour than usual?” Liam mumbles to Cole.
“Tell me about it,” Cole mutters.
“Did something happen?”
“Does something need to happen? He’s a brooding asshole by default.”
“True, but nah, something happened.”
“I did give him Mia’s message.”
“Oh yes. That was a fucking big blow to his ego. Look at the way he’s standing in the doorway like he’s about to bolt.”
“And go where? He just got out of those cuffs, but his face is all over the papers. Maybe he’s pissed about that.”
I’m unaware that I’m growling with anger until I speak. “I’m fucking pissed because you’re talking about me like I’m not fucking standing here.”
“Ah look, Cole, it speaks.”
“It does that from time to time. You’d be surprised.”
“He’s been tight lipped about one thing though?”
“What?”
“Mia.”
“Shut the fuck up, Liam!”
“Okay, okay…” he says, hands raised, but I can see the hard set of his eyes as he stares me down. “You look like you have a fucking screwdriver up your ass.”
“You’re about to get something up your fucking asshole if you don’t watch your fucking tongue.”
“Watch my tongue?” he scoffs. “Why don’t you focus on planning that wedding, huh, J?”
“Liam…” Cole mutters, shaking his head.
“No,” Liam says. “He thinks he can sneak around with one of those Bishop bitches and not get caught. I mean, why else was she at the hospital.”
One of the Bishop twins was at the hospital? I fucking bet she’s the one who told Mia about the contract.
A heavy sigh escapes me.
These days, well, since the night Mia practically used me and threw me out, I’ve been a mess. Not just your regular, angry toxic masculinity mess, but like a powder keg about to explode.
I know it’s only a matter of time and now as I look at my brother, gauging his rage toward me, I decide there and then to spare him.
I know my brother. If I blow up at him, there will never be a relationship between us in the future.
We are already at the edge of the precipice and depending how today goes, everything will change. So, I try to center myself.
“You know what, it’s high time you and I talk,” I mutter silently, walking in the foyer, shutting the door behind me. The sun is still rising, but I haven’t slept since the day Mia woke up.
“Talk?” Liam scoffs. “What good does talking do if you’re just going to lie to me.”
“I’ve never lied to you,” I snap. “And you know that.”
We stare at each other for a beat. Cole decides then to settle down on one of the lounge chairs in the foyer that looks like a fucking hotel lobby, looking highly entertained.
“Yeah, you just never offer up information,” Liam says. “You just keep it to yourself, even when it doesn’t just concern you.”
“And what is it that you want to know exactly, Liam?” I demand, folding my arms. The doctors advised me against putting pressure on my arm but fuck that and fuck them. “Right now, grow a fucking pair and ask me the one question you want to know.”
I watch him. He’s silent, not even giving away any emotion and yet, I already know what’s bothering him. I just want him to admit it and face it.
“How would it feel, J,” he says softly. “if the roles were reversed? How would that make you feel if it was me in your shoes and you watched me take her?”
I don’t need a translator for that. I already have an answer.
“There’s no question about it. I’d fuck you up, bury you and go teach her a fucking lesson that she’s mine.”
He blinks, watching me.
“Ha! Bet you weren’t expecting that one, were you, Little Liam? Cole says from the couch. Liam and I study each other. We danced around this at the hospital and before that but now, this is the moment of truth.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “You really do love her.”
I look away from him then. I’ve said that I love Mia like a million times over but still that’s not enough to keep her with me.
“You say I keep secrets from you, that I’ve been lying to you but Liam, between the two of us, who has secrets?” I demand. “I’m a fucking asshole with issues, but you… you need to fucking figure out what you fucking want or else there will always be a fucking rift between us.”
“Maybe you don’t get it,” he snaps. “I’m always