Web of Lies: A Brook Brothers Novel

by Delaney, Tracie

  But it hurts, Rebecca, so very much.

  Try to include a photograph of Nathan next time you write. And please let me see him, at least once.

  My love and adoration, as always,

  Your Laurence.

  Dex squeezed his arm while he sat there in stunned silence. “Oh, Nate.”

  His eyes glistened over, and when he looked at Dex, she was all fuzzy. He blinked a few times to clear his vision. “He did love me.”

  He blindly reached for Dex. She didn’t hesitate, flinging herself into his outstretched arms. “Of course he did. How could he not?”

  He didn’t know why it was so important that this stranger, this sperm donor had loved him, but it was. The fact he hadn’t been the product of some one-night stand, but what seemed to be a true love affair validated him in a way he hadn’t been prepared for. What if his dad was still alive? Would he want to meet him? He clung to Dex for several minutes before letting her go.

  “There’s still nothing to hint at who he was, though. Knowing his first name was Laurence isn’t going to help very much.” He got to his feet. “Come on, let’s take the rest home. My brothers deserve to be a part of this.”

  Chapter 22

  Nate poked his head inside the lounge area which, given it was the middle of the day, only had one or two guests relaxing and sipping coffee. He called over to the bartender, whose name escaped him.

  “You seen Jax?”

  She pointed to the ceiling. “He’s on the top floor. A faucet in the penthouse is leaking.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He looked down at Dex who was chewing her bottom lip, concerned. “Go grab a coffee, Titch. I’ll be down shortly.”

  He jogged upstairs to the penthouse.

  “Jax?” he called out.

  “In here.”

  Nate wandered into the bathroom and spotted Jax lying underneath the sink.

  “You were at the lockup a while,” Jax said, but before Nate could answer, he added, “Pass me that wrench.”

  Nate did as he asked, repressing the urge to blurt out what he’d found. He perched on the edge of the bath. “You gonna be long?”

  “Five minutes,” came the reply. “Why?”

  “I found some more letters at the lockup, after you’d gone.”

  The wrench hit the floor, and Jax wriggled out from under the sink. He wiped his hands on a cloth. “You did?”

  “In the sideboard.”

  “That’s impossible,” Jax said. “Apart from a few miscellaneous items, the sideboard was empty.”

  Nate shook his head. “One of the drawers had a false bottom.”

  Jax’s eyes widened. “What?”

  Nate twisted his lips. “Mom really wanted to keep those letters secret. What I can’t figure out is why, when she took so much care to keep them from prying eyes, she carelessly left that one in a shoebox.”

  Jax pulled a knee to his chest and rested his arm over it. “I doubt we’ll ever know. Did you learn anything new from the letters?”

  Nate nodded. “I know my dad’s name was Laurence.”

  Jax frowned. “Laurence?”

  “Yeah, why? Does the name sound familiar?”

  Jax held out his hand. “Is there a surname?”

  Nate shook his head. “Although we didn’t get through them all. I thought I’d bring them back here so we can look together.”

  “Can I see the letters?” Jax asked.

  Nate handed them over. “I already read these,” he said, indicating the first few.

  Jax scanned one after the other, passing each one to Nate after he’d finished. He’d almost got through them all when he gasped.

  “Oh shit.”

  “What?” Nate asked, his skin prickling.

  “I think I know who your father was.”

  Nate’s eyes widened in shock. “You do?”

  Jax passed over one of the letters and tapped the paper. “Laurence Monroe.”

  Nate frowned, confused. “Should that name mean something to me?”

  “Laurence Monroe was the name of Indie’s father.”

  Nate’s head jerked back. “Fuck.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Nate blew out a slow breath as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “That’s why Dad went after him.”

  Jax nodded. “And why Indie’s brother, your half brother, was so intent on getting revenge on this family.”

  Half brother and a half sister. Jesus. “Which is how you met Indie.”

  Jax briefly grinned. “We were destined to meet.”

  Nate swept a hand over his face. “What a fuck-up. How do we tell her?”

  “Tactfully.” Jax got to his feet with a heavy sigh. He put his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “This must be a hell of a shock to you, too. You okay?”

  Nate shook his head. “Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s going to take some coming to terms with, but I reckon it’ll be worse for Indie.”

  Jax and Nate walked downstairs, his stomach hurtling to the floor the second they entered the basement. His eyes locked on Dex’s. She raised an eyebrow. He shook his head.

  Indie was busy in the kitchen, making lunch. She glanced up and grinned. “I guessed you’d come running as soon as you smelled food.”

  Jax didn’t return her smile. He looked as sick as Nate felt. None of them knew how Indie would react. Hell, he couldn’t get his head around the fact that his half brother’s wife was also his half sister.

  “Babe, come and sit down for a minute.”

  “Let me just finish this,” she said. “Two ticks.”

  “No.” Jax’s response came out short and sharp.

  Indie frowned, her eyes darting between Jax, Nate, and Dex. “What’s going on?”

  Jax walked over to her, took her gently by the elbow, and propelled her toward the sofa. “We need to talk to you.”

  Her tongue dampened her lips. “Jax, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

  He settled her on the sofa, taking her hand in his. “As you know, we went to the storage unit today, and, well, Nate found something that affects you.”

  She touched the base of her neck. Her fingers held a slight tremor. “What?”

  Jax handed her the letter. “You’d better read this.”

  Nate gripped Dex’s shoulder, and her hand came up and covered his as Indie scanned the letter that was about to blow her life apart. After she’d finished reading, she went very still.

  “Indie?” Jax said when several seconds scraped by without her saying a word.

  Indie folded the piece of paper over and leaned forward to set it on the coffee table in front of her. “Finally, I understand,” she said quietly, lifting her eyes to Jax’s. “Why your dad went after mine.” She turned her eyes on Nate. “Ours.”

  Dex gasped as she caught on. She squeezed his hand even tighter.

  “Indie—” Jax said.

  “Can you give me a few minutes?” Indie said, cutting Jax off. “I need a moment to myself.” She got to her feet and went to leave, but as she passed Nate from his position behind the sofa, she paused. “I won’t be long. Then we’ll talk.” And with a quick sweep of her hand down his arm, she gracefully walked into her and Jax’s room.

  “Shit,” Jax said, raking a hand through his hair.

  Nate sank onto the sofa beside Dex. “I should have left those letters where they belong. In the past. I shouldn’t have told you what I’d found.”

  “No,” Jax said. “You did the right thing. We’ve had enough secrets in this family.”

  The three of them fell into silence. Dex propped up her head on Nate’s shoulder, and he gently caressed her inner thigh while they waited for Indie to return.

  Within five minutes, she was back, her spine erect, a determined set to her jaw that Nate couldn’t read. He simply didn’t know her well enough to second-guess her mindset. He hadn’t bothered getting to know any of his brothers’ significant others, being too wrapped up in his own misery. Except now, Indie meant a whole
lot more to Nate than simply being Jax’s wife.

  Jax rose to greet her. She gave him a reassuring smile and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I wonder if you wouldn’t mind taking Dex upstairs. I’d like to talk to Nate alone.”

  Dex immediately got to her feet, leaving him feeling cold and exposed. He wasn’t averse to holding his own if Indie’s reaction became contentious, but it kinda felt like kicking someone when they were down.

  Indie crossed over to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of beer for him and a glass of wine for herself. He took a swig and waited for her to say something. It seemed like the right thing to do.

  “I don’t normally drink before six, but today isn’t exactly normal, right?”

  “Definitely not.”

  Her eyes searched his face as though looking for some similarity. He guessed that because he found himself doing exactly the same.

  “How do you feel?” she said, surprising the hell out of him. He hadn’t expected that to be her first question. He gave it due consideration and then shrugged.

  “I’m not sure. I’ve known I was the by-product of Mom’s affair for years, yet I’d never given a shit about finding out who fathered me.”

  “And now you know, how do you feel?”

  He tilted his head to one side, ignoring her comment. “How are you feeling?”

  She pulled in her lips. “I’m not going to lie. It’s a hell of a shock, but, you know, I’m a little bit excited, too. When Dad died, and then Phil, well…” She drifted off, her gaze focused on the wall behind him. She gave a brief head shake. “I thought I was alone in the world. I mean, I’ve got Jax, of course, but no blood relatives that I’m aware of.” Her smile started out small, but soon she was beaming. “And now I have. I’ve got a brother.”

  “Half brother,” he corrected, then immediately wanted to kick himself for being a dick.

  Indie didn’t break stride, though. She just smiled at him.

  “Half brother… who’s an ass.” She threw back her head and laughed. It was impossible not to join in. “I know we’ve never been close, and I don’t expect us to all of a sudden be texting or speaking on the phone every day, but maybe, over time, we could build some sort of a relationship that’s about more than me being married to your brother.”

  “I’d like that,” Nate found himself saying. “I never told you, but you made a really beautiful bride, Indie. I’m so glad I was there to share your special day.”

  She hugged him. “You’re different, Nate, and I don’t mean because of all this stuff with Dad. You’ve been different this whole visit. Your face isn’t quite as hard and bitter.”

  Nate gave her a crooked grin. “You can probably thank Dex, although if you tell her I said that, I will disown you.”

  Indie made a cross against her heart. “Your secret is safe with me.” She lifted her wineglass to her lips and took a sip. “You know, before Dad lost everything, he was such a wonderful father. The man in those letters, that’s the man I prefer to remember. Loving, kind, funny. I’m not sure whether it was losing your mom that made him so angry and bitter, or whether it was your dad’s revenge that took it’s toll, but please don’t think badly of him.”

  Nate wasn’t sure whether he had it within him to be so magnanimous or forgiving, but one thing was certain: the pain and anger Laurence Monroe had carried around had, in the end, destroyed his family. Nate would not be that man.

  “Nor of Phil,” Indie continued. “He was your half brother, too. And despite what you might think, especially after what he tried to do to Jax, he wasn’t a bad person, just misguided.”

  Nate nodded but remained silent. He wasn’t sure he had it in him to be as charitable to the guy who’d almost got Jax killed.

  “If you want to know anything about Dad or Phil at any time, please just ask me.”

  “Thanks. I will,” Nate said.

  She gave his hand a squeeze. “There’s no rush.”

  “I’m sorry about what my dad did to your dad. Our dad.” He chuckled. “Shit, this is gonna get real confusing.”

  She smiled with him. “I’ve always believed the real father is the one who brings up a child. Cares for them when they’re sick, reads them stories at night. Cleans their scraped knees when they fall. That’s what your dad did for you. And as for what went on between our fathers, well,” she shrugged, “there’s nothing to be done about the past. In a way, I’m relieved, because ever since Phil talked me into his stupid revenge plan, I’ve spent years desperately wanting to know the reason why your dad hated mine so much. Now I have the answer. I don’t think Dad deserved what your father did to him. It takes two people to have an affair, but I’m guessing he loved your mom so much, he was consumed with hatred and jealousy.”

  “Yeah, and I was a permanent reminder of her betrayal.”

  “Yet he chose to stay with her and bring you up as his own. That shows the strength of his love. We all make mistakes, Nate. Christ knows I’ve made tons, not to mention one that almost got Jax killed and resulted in Phil’s death. I’m just glad the bad shit stopped with our parents, and we can find a way to move into the future together.”

  Nate got to his feet and stuck out his elbow. “Come on, sis. Let’s go put Jax out of his misery.”

  They found Jax and Dex in the lounge area, along with Calum and Cole who Jax must have called. Nate and Indie took a seat.

  “You okay?” Jax asked them both, his hand reaching for Indie’s.

  Nate did the same with Dex, her warm skin grounding him. “Yeah, we’re good.” He turned to the twins. “Jax caught you up?”

  “Yep,” Calum said. “Do me a favor, bro. Don’t ever ask me to draw your family tree.”

  “You are such an ass,” Cole said, rolling his eyes at his twin.

  “I’m sorry,” Nate said, looking at each of his brothers in turn. “I wish I’d had the courage to tell you years ago, but I was so damned hurt, so angry at Dad and furious with Mom, so scared of losing you, even though I kept pushing you away.”

  “It’s in the past, Nate,” Jax said. “Don’t keep beating yourself up over something that wasn’t your fault.”

  He bit down on his lip. “I hope I haven’t ruined your memory of Mom.”

  “Mom was human, Nate,” Cole said. “That’s all. You haven’t ruined anything. She just happened to love two different men. She put all of us first, and that makes her pretty damned special in my book.”

  “Mine, too,” Calum said.

  “And mine,” Jax said.

  Dex moved closer. “You know what this is telling you?” she murmured.

  Nate looked down at her. “No.”

  She grinned. “That I am always right.”

  * * *

  Dex waved madly as Nate propelled her through security, his family eventually disappearing from view. When they got airside, she let out a deeply satisfied sigh.

  “I’ve had the best time.”

  He curved an arm around her waist and kissed her temple as they set off for the first-class lounge. “We can come back soon.”

  She gave him a crooked smile. “What a difference a few days makes.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You’ve had your money’s worth, Titch. Time to drop the smug attitude.”

  She tapped her forefinger against her bottom lip. “Hmm, I reckon I can get a few more days out of it yet.”

  They found a seat close to the window where they could watch the planes taxiing to the runway. Dex went to sit in a chair, but Nate caught her arm and tugged her down beside him. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then caressed her lobe, which sent a shiver of delight creeping down her spine.

  “I want to say thank you.”

  Her eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline. “Apologies and thank you’s.” She glanced around theatrically. “Who are you, and what have you done with Nate Brook?”

  A glimmer of a smile briefly danced on his lips, but it didn’t break into a full-on grin at her teas
ing.

  “I owe you everything. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be all bitter and twisted inside, mourning the things I’d lost. But you pushed and pushed. You wouldn’t give up, even when I said some pretty horrible things and treated you so very badly. Because of your tenacity, my little Dex, instead of losing it all, of destroying my family, I now have everything I ever wished for. I’ve rediscovered a closeness with my brothers that was smashed into smithereens seven years ago, and I’ve gained a sister, too.” He bent his head and picked up her hand, his thumb rubbing gently across her knuckles. “And I have you.”

  She held her breath, her gaze fixed on watching him caress her skin. His head came up.

  “I know we rushed into this thing so quickly, and I don’t regret it for a moment, but after we get home, I want to take time to get to know you without the shadow of my secret looming over us. Romantic walks along the beach at sunset, picnics in the park, bike rides—with cooter-safe saddles.” He grinned, and so did she. “I want to know every single thing about you.”

  Bringing his hand to her face, she pressed it against her cheek. “Promise me something?”

  “Anything.”

  “If you get lost inside your head again, talk to me. Don’t keep things all bottled up inside. Let me help give you some perspective. We can fight and argue. Hell, I hope we do because I kinda like the making up part, but please don’t keep things from me. Don’t shut me out - that hurts most of all.”

  He blinked. “I promise.”

  Epilogue

  Four Months Later

  Dex closed the door to Bernard’s office, unable to resist sticking up two fingers. Not that he’d see her, but still… she felt a shit load better. He’d been in a foul mood all week, and she couldn’t wait for the clock to tick over to five p.m. so she could get the hell out of there. Nate had promised her a weekend to remember, and she hoped that started and ended in his bed.