Finally, Dante answered. He was half dressed and looked like he’d just gotten out of bed. Jesus, everyone in his family was getting laid but him. At least, this one made sense since Dante was newly married and well…a Santini.
“Anthony?” Dante said as if still trying to figure out who the hell he was. “What are you doing here?”
“Mom asked me to check on Elena.”
“So you flew from Hawaii to check up on Elena?” Dante still didn’t ask him in.
“Dante, babe, let your brother in,” Madison said from behind Dante.
Dante chuckled as he moved out of his way. “Sorry about that.”
“I see that you married a woman too good for you. Just like I said at the wedding.”
He stepped past his brother, who just rolled his eyes at him. Anthony ignored him. Instead, he gave his new sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek.
“I told you that you should run away with me.”
She laughed. “It was already after we were legally married.”
Her service dog Charlie sat on the floor beside her.
“Hey there, bud,” Anthony said. Charlie’s tail thumped on the floor.
“Not that we don’t love having you here, but if you’re supposed to be checking up on Elena, what are you doing here?” Madison said as she led him into the living room.
“I did go over there.”
And everything went to shit after that. Just what the hell was he going to do about this?
“Did she punch you again?” Dante asked.
“What are you talking about?” Madison asked.
Dante sat down, then pulled her down onto the couch beside him.
“We were about ten and Anthony decided he needed to tell her just how to do things. Told her that a girl needed to just learn her place. See, Anthony thought that Elena, being the girl, should have to do the dishes every night. We were too manly. Elena hauled off and hit him in the nose.”
She looked at Anthony. “She broke your nose.”
“It wasn’t a break,” Anthony said.
Dante hooted. “Yeah it was. There was blood everywhere. And then he snuck up on her when she was raiding the fridge in the middle of the night. He came up behind her and grabbed her by the waist. She was sixteen by then, but it was just as embarrassing.”
Dammit, his brothers loved telling that story. Elena was pretty damned proud of it too. Every time they wanted to embarrass him, they brought it up.
“It wasn’t her. JT and I had a fight,” he said.
Silence greeted that comment.
“Let me guess. You just showed up like you always did, no notice,” Dante said.
“Yes.”
“And she and JT were busy.”
“No, ugh, don’t make me think about it.” Dante’s comment suddenly hit Anthony. “Dammit, don’t tell me that you knew about them?”
“Yeah.”
“Since when?”
“Since the very first night.”
The rage was back, mixed with a healthy dose of disbelief. “And you let it happen? What the hell, Dante?”
Dante shook his head. “Listen, my life with Elena is different than all of you. We had to go through high school together. Besides, she’s a grown woman and she’s not a virgin.”
“But he’s my best friend. Don’t you think you should have told me?”
“I didn’t know he was back until a day ago.”
“But still, fuck, Dante.”
Dante shook his head. “Listen, we had to go through every horrible year together. By the time we both started dating, we agreed to stay out of each other’s business. It was different for Carlos and Brando. They’re both guys. Plus, they aren’t as mean as Elena. So, yeah, I agreed to it. It was the only way to survive with my pride intact. Besides, I got the idea he was stupid in love with her.”
Anthony had to bite back a growl. “I didn’t ask.”
“Of course you didn’t. You just started fighting like you always do. You are one loud pain in the ass sometimes.”
“Hey,” he said turning toward Dante.
Madison stood. “Calm down, both of you.” Charlie had come to stand beside her, and she patted the dog on the head.
He sighed. “Sorry, Madison.” He didn’t need to cause his sister-in-law to have an episode with her PTSD. She did well most of the time, but tension like this could be hard for her to take.
“You didn’t ask JT how he felt?” she asked.
“I was too mad. He was walking down the hallway with nothing but a pair of boxers on; like they had just been in bed.”
She cleared her throat, and he got the distinct impression she was trying not to laugh.
“What?” Anthony asked.
“Sorry. It’s just funny. And since I have no siblings, I have no way to know how this all goes, but I am sure you didn’t find it funny.”
“No.”
“It’s rather sweet though. I know you care about her, but I have to believe that JT does too.”
Anthony looked from her to Dante. “You said he was stupid over her?”
His brother nodded. “I get the idea that he got back in town, finished off the debriefings, then went straight to her apartment.”
Anthony sighed. He couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the idea of his baby sister and his best friend having sex. Being in love was even worse. How was a man supposed to come to terms with that?
“So, he broke your nose?” Dante said. “Seems like the two of them were made for each other.”
The doorbell rang.
“What the hell is this, Grand Central?” Anthony grumbled.
Madison went to the door. There was a murmur of voices, then more footsteps. Great, now someone decided to intrude.
Jack Johnson smiled. “Hey there, Anthony. How are things on the islands?”
“Great.”
He looked at Dante. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Well, if you must know, Anthony here went over to Elena’s unannounced. He discovered that his best friend and Elena are sleeping together and got into a fight. Much like his lover, JT apparently kicked his ass.”
“Shut up, Dante,” Anthony said, but there was little heat in the words now.
“I think you need some ice on that nose. It is really swelling up.”
He wanted to say no, but he couldn’t. Madison was too much of a sweetheart, and she just wanted to take care of him. Besides, if he stayed in the living room, there was a good chance he and Dante would start arguing again.
“Sure.”
He followed her into the kitchen. She filled a soft ice bag up with ice, pulled out a mallet and smashed it. Charlie stood as if at attention, waiting to see if he was needed. Or, he might have wondered if there was food involved in this ritual.
She handed the ice bag to Anthony. “Be careful.”
He set it on his nose and sighed.
“Come on over here and sit down.”
She led him over to the kitchen table and sat him down. “Did you take any pain meds?”
“No. Elena didn’t offer.”
She chuckled as she opened up the cupboard by the sink and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen.
“You really can’t blame her. You did try to beat up her boyfriend.”
After filling up a glass of water, she gave him the pills then the water. Once he washed it down, she sat down on the chair beside his.
“I’m her brother.”
Madison shrugged. “Like I said, I can’t relate. Your family always overwhelmed me.”
“And you married into it?”
She gave him a blinding smile. “That should tell you how much I love your brother. It was hard to do, you know.”
“Love Dante? Yeah, he is a pain in the ass.”
She laughed. “No. Well, a little bit. Man always makes an embarrassing scene. But, what I am talking about is going from friends to lovers.”
He thought about that for a moment. Truth was, he had never had that issue. He
rarely dated women he worked with or was friends with. “What made you do it?”
“Hard to describe what we went through earlier this year, but even if that hadn’t happened, I have a feeling Dante would have worn me down. It’s nice knowing that I just don’t love him, I like him too. That is really important.”
Madison had witnessed a murder and then been stalked by the man responsible. It had brought his brother and his new wife together faster, but she was probably telling the truth. Once a Santini man met the woman for him, he couldn’t think of anything else until he had her as his own. Anthony felt lucky to have escaped that particular problem.
“And I know she has had a crush on him for years,” Madison said. “I wasn’t sure who it was until I saw them together. When he’s near her, she just lights up.”
“Ugh, stop talking like that.”
What he hated the most was that he just hadn’t seen it. He should have seen it. Granted, she always seemed to tag along with them when she was a teenager, but that was nothing new. She had been following him around from the time she could walk, and he had always liked it. It had been embarrassing at the time, but, for a brief span of time, he had been her big hero brother. Now that he thought back though, he remembered there had been a few years she had completely ignored him. Sometime between grade school and the first time he brought JT home.
“That means he took advantage.”
Madison snorted. “Really, Anthony, are we talking about the same woman? She saw an opening and took one last chance. Why do you think she’s lost weight in the last few months? It was killing her that he was gone. I will tell you one thing. You better make it right, because I have a feeling that man loves her and wants more than just an affair. You are going to have to come to terms with it, or you will not only lose a best friend but also a sister.”
He looked at the woman he now considered a sister, and felt nothing but happiness for his younger brother. She wasn’t just gorgeous, but she was smart. Dante did a good job capturing the perfect woman for him.
“Tell me again why you’re married to my idiot brother?’
“Hey,” Dante yelled out from the living room. “Don’t make me come in there and kick your ass, old man.”
She shook her head. “Because another woman would be appalled that her husband just threatened his brother. I was made for him, just like I think Elena and JT were made for each other.”
He made a face. “Do me a favor? Please stop saying that, at least for today. I need to get used to this situation.”
“Sure thing. Want some coffee?”
“I would love a large cup of very black coffee.”
She smiled and went to the cupboard. As she poured his coffee, he realized he had to talk to his friend, but for the moment, he was going to sit back and spend time getting to know the woman who captured his brother’s heart.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A few hours after he left Elena’s apartment, JT heard the knock and knew without looking who it was. He’d been worried about this confrontation since he walked out of her apartment. He had wanted to stay and fight beside Elena, but he knew it would agitate the situation. Plus, Elena knew how to handle her own fights. Especially with her brothers. Prepared for another fight, he approached the door and opened it.
Anthony’s nose was swollen and his eyes were turning black. Regret shifted through him. From the moment he met Anthony on the varsity Quantico team, they’d been friends. Not once had they had the kind of fight that brought them to fists.
Until Elena.
“Damn, I’m sorry.”
Anthony’s expression darkened. “I promise not to hit you if you invite me in.”
JT stepped back and let his friend walk in. He shut the door as Anthony prowled the room. He knew when Anthony was in this kind of mood, it was best to let him keep moving. He’d never known a person who had to be moving constantly when he was thinking something out. If you tried to stop him, he exploded.
“Elena said I had to apologize to you.” Every word was said from behind clenched teeth.
JT shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Okay.”
Anthony glanced at him and his frown turned darker. “I’m not going to.”
“Okay.”
Anthony stopped and turned to face him. “Dammit, quit being so damned reasonable.”
Frustration marched down his spine. He could be understanding. Growing up in the Thomas house, he learned at an early age how to defuse a tense situation. But he didn’t know what the hell to do in this case.
“What do you want from me, Anthony? I stepped over the line. I can understand.”
“Shit.” Anthony shook his head. “I don’t want to admit when Elena was right.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
Anthony paced away again, and looked out onto the patio. He shoved both hands through his hair. “I want to know why. Why Elena?”
There was enough confused irritation in his friend’s voice, JT took pity on him. “She told you how it happened?”
“Yeah.” He looked back over his shoulder at JT and rolled his eyes. “Of course she was the aggressor.”
“She’s a Santini.”
“Why can’t you just leave her alone? You were gone so long.”
So, Elena had told him everything. “You would rather I just slept with her one night and never touched her again?”
“No.” He turned again to face JT. “No, dammit. Why would you say that?”
“You’re the one who said I was gone so long. How would you have felt if I had never called her again?”
“I would beat the shit out of you.”
He threw his hands up in the air. “I can’t win.”
JT loved the man like a brother, but Anthony would make the most patient person want to throttle him. When Anthony was in this kind of mood, it was best to avoid him. Studying his friend’s expression, JT knew that leaving him alone would not be an option.
He sighed. “You know that assignment was…bad.”
Anthony nodded. The one person JT could share things about the job was Anthony. As another NCIS agent with the same security clearance, he could hear the things that most other people could not. He would also understand what undercover was like. Most people thought it was exciting. It had been, at first. Then, the last couple of years, it had gotten really old. A person couldn’t live a true life pretending to be someone else.
“The only thing that kept me going was thinking about Elena.”
Anthony settled his hands on his hips and frowned at him. “What are you telling me here, JT?”
JT drew in a deep breath then released it. “I love her, man.”
The moment he said the words, JT realized just how important they were and how stupid it was to worry about saying them out loud.
“Aw, damn, why did you have to tell me that? Shit.” He was quiet for a second. “Fuck me.”
“What?”
“I can’t beat the crap out of you again if you say things like that. You love her? How the hell did that happen?”
The confused irritation in his best friend’s voice almost made him smile. He knew it had more to do with Anthony not being ready to accept that his sister had grown up.
JT shrugged. “Not sure. I just know I do.”
“She’s just a little girl.”
“She’s a woman, Anthony. You need to start accepting that.”
He was quiet for a second as he continued to look out the window. “I still want to hit you.”
“Get over it. Or at least work at getting over it. I really wanted you to be my best man.”
For a second, Anthony didn’t move, didn’t say a word.
“You’re planning on marrying her?”
JT nodded, warming up to the idea. He had known from the moment he touched her, he wanted her by his side and in his bed. Then he thought about the Santinis and their inability to keep secrets from each other.
“Don’t tell her, because I thin
k she’s a little wary of getting married.”
Anthony leveled his scariest Santini stare. “Can’t you change your mind?”
JT shook his head. “I knew from that morning after. Really our first night together.”
“The morning after?”
“We went to breakfast, and I sat beside her. It was the morning after Madison saw the murder. So, she wanted me to listen to what she said she saw and asked my advice.”
Anthony nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Yeah. Well, I was sitting beside Elena and in that instant I knew.”
“You knew what?”
“I knew I wanted to be there beside her every day. I wanted to have breakfast with her and go to the beach. I wanted to do all kinds of things with her, and I wanted to share so much with her. I couldn’t do anything at the time. I couldn’t tell her I was in love with her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Because you were leaving.” Anthony sighed. “Dammit.”
“I would say I am sorry, but I can’t be sorry. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides being your friend.”
“You’re not good enough for her,” Anthony grumbled as he crossed his arms.
“No one is.”
Anthony made a sound of disgust. “Dammit, stop saying things like that.” He paced away and looked out the window. “She told me you thought I wouldn’t be your friend anymore.”
JT held his breath, unsure of where Anthony was going with this. It was the one thing he would regret. But he couldn’t give Elena up. Not now. Not ever.
Anthony studied him for a long moment. His face was expressionless. Then, he shook his head.
“I told you years ago, you were an honorary Santini.”
The tension in his stomach loosened just a bit. “Guys aren’t supposed to sleep with their friend’s sister.”
“But you love her. Did you know before?”
“I’m not sure. I think so or probably wouldn’t have chanced losing you as a friend.”
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