like a son of a bitch. The one thing that did make sense was the fear in Lex's voice when he yelled, "Gideon? Gideon!"
He was standing only a few feet from the man and Brewer. His hands were out in front of him, desperately searching for something. I stumbled to my feet and hurried to him. I was dizzy from the blows but somehow, I managed to stay upright and when Lex's hands closed around mine, I finally managed to take a breath. Brewer and my attacker were still locked in combat, but my only concern was for Lex. I had to get him out of there.
"Lex, we have to go," I said as I began dragging him toward the door.
"No, wait," he shouted as he used all his weight to stop me. "King?"
"Tell him to call the dog off, Lex!" the man, King, demanded. How the hell did he know Lex's name? And what the fuck was he doing in my house? Even as I had the thoughts, something about the man’s name felt familiar.
Brewer whined as the man began to apply pressure to his muzzle, but the loyal dog didn't let go.
"Brewer!" Lex called, but the husky held on to his prey. Lex shook my arm and said, "He's my brother, Gideon! Please, he's my brother!"
Despite the information, I didn't call Brewer off right away. Even if the guy really was Lex's brother, he’d broken into my house and attacked me for no reason.
"Gideon, please!" Lex repeated. The panic in his voice was clear.
"Brewer!" I yelled. I had to call the dog two more times before he released the man's arm. The big dog backed up several steps so he was standing between me and Lex and the guy.
"King?" Lex cried out as he released me and tried to step forward. He bumped into Brewer who refused to let him pass. The big animal moved back and forth to keep Lex where he was. I reached out to grab Brewer by the collar so he wouldn't inadvertently trip Lex. Admittedly, it hurt like a son of a bitch to watch Lex stumble toward the man who'd attacked me.
"King?" Lex repeated as he took a tentative step forward. His right hand was extended in front of him while his left was lower, like he was searching for any object he could use as a point of reference. But the room was in disarray because of my fight with his brother, so nothing was where he was used to it being. I stepped forward and grabbed his elbow to keep him from bumping into the overturned chair where I normally kept my clothes. Seeing my jeans and shirt scattered on the floor by the bed was a reminder that Lex and I were both naked, but I waited until Lex was clear of the chair and the path in front of him was debris free before I stepped to my dresser to grab a pair of sweats. My eyes stayed on King and Lex as I slipped the pants on.
King, for his part, stood in silence as he stared at his brother. I didn't know anything about the man except that he threw a mean punch.
But there was no mistaking the look of complete and utter disbelief on his face as his younger brother moved slowly toward him. I wanted to snap at the man to get over himself and put his arm out so Lex could find him, but I held my tongue. Clearly, King hadn't been expecting to see the advanced stages of his brother’s blindness. It made me wonder why that was. I remembered Lex mentioning that he’d told Grady about losing his sight before he’d told his brothers, but I’d just assumed he’d eventually told them. But what if he hadn’t? Either way, it was clear that King, at least, had had no clue how advanced his brother’s vision loss really was.
King finally put his arm out and then stepped forward to meet Lex. "I'm here," he said gruffly and then he pulled Lex into his arms. It was hard to see Lex being comforted by someone other than me. Especially considering how the events had played out. But it was just further proof that my feelings for Lex ran deeper than his did for me. Maybe his entire reaction to me admitting that I loved him had been his way of trying to tell me that he didn't love me back.
I felt sick to my