“You can be my first customer.”
I nearly choked, but somehow swallowed and covered it up with a cough. After a sip of water, I pointed at my throat. “Went down the wrong way.”
I liked this girl but didn’t plan out my life beyond the minute I was in. It was too risky. Nothing was permanent. Especially not people. And if I ever said that out loud, people would hear that I knew more about being abandoned than most.
“Want to meet my daughter when you’ve finished dinner?”
This time, I did choke. “You have a daughter?”
“Her name is Ella. She saved my life.”
Chapter Nine
Drew
Easton was waiting in what was better described as the foyer than the lobby of Paths of Purpose.
“I told you I’d see myself back,” I said, my suit jacket slung over one shoulder and tie shoved in my pocket. I was too tired for whatever shit he’d brought with him.
“And I told you I’d give you a ride home.”
I wasn’t exactly in a position to turn him down, considering a she-devil had stolen my wallet. Why I hadn’t gone straight to Mrs. Quinn and outed the tigress, I didn’t know. I should have confronted that little klepto myself, but I couldn’t get anywhere near her when she was in the living quarters. Tomorrow. That was what I kept promising myself, though I half-expected to find she’d split by then.
“Thanks.” My brother looked as surprised as I was when the word left my mouth. I shrugged.
There was a black Escalade outside. I was relieved to see my father wasn’t in the driver’s seat. I had to be at my best to deal with him, and I wasn’t right now.
“Front seat,” Easton said when I started to get in the back. He climbed into the driver’s seat, hesitating a moment before he cranked the vehicle. “Leave It All Behind” by Welshly Arms blared through the speakers. Easton turned it down. I turned it back up.
“Mind if I smoke?” I already knew the answer but couldn’t resist, going so far as to reach into my pocket.
He wasn’t amused. “Yes.”
We rode in silence, me with my head leaned against the headrest and my eyes closed. After the past few days—months really—I was done. I didn’t want to talk. Didn’t want to hear a lecture. Frankly, I just wanted to be alone. Except, of all the people in the world I shouldn’t want to see, I was glad he was here. It kind of felt like when we were kids, and I had nearly gotten my ass kicked by a guy a lot bigger than I was. Easton had settled it without a single fist being thrown. We’d walked home in silence, and I remembered being grateful he was with me.
“I went by the Four Seasons today,” he finally said.
“Wife already kick you out?” Disdain dripped from my voice. I didn’t have to hide it anymore.
“Mama left a bag when they checked out. I finally ran by to pick it up.” There was a pregnant pause when he stopped at a red light. “The hotel is looking for you.”
I stopped short of banging my head against the glass. I’d given them my phone number at the condo in Houston because I knew I wouldn’t be there.
“Who isn’t?” I muttered under my breath.
“I settled your bill.”
I whipped my head toward him. He stared straight ahead, focused on the street in front of us.
“Why would you do that?” Over five grand a night for three weeks . . . was he out of his mind? Especially after what I’d done.
“I’ve asked that myself quite a few times today, and when I tell Mulaney, she’s going to ask too. Just not so politely.” A tenderness etched his face at the thought of his wife. I wanted to gag, knowing damned well she’d give him an earful about bailing me out. Ever since we were kids, she’d rubbed me the wrong way. She was condescending. Opinionated. And I tolerated none of those traits. My brother had been fooled by her.
“What was the answer?”
Easton stared out the windshield, contemplative for a long moment. “Don’t mistake what I’m about to say. You are responsible for every bit of shit you’ve pulled over the past few years, but somehow, I feel like I bear some responsibility in driving you to that point, though I don’t know why.”
What the hell? Easton thinks he was part of this?
My brother was intuitive, not one to easily have something pulled over on him. The millions I’d stolen from under his nose had been a major accomplishment. Easton had been the chief financial officer for what was once Carter Energy. He studied every dollar meticulously, yet I’d been better. For once, I was better at something than my brother. Thievery . . . that was what I excelled at over him. I wondered why our folks weren’t more proud.
There was no need to discuss this. He wanted answers, but I wasn’t ready to give them. He was wrestling with what he could have done differently, blaming himself almost as much as he did me, and I took satisfaction in that. I was witnessing firsthand the fruits of my labor.
We pulled into the underground garage of the apartment building, the same one my son who wasn’t my son lived in. That made me nervous . . . and that made me uncomfortable. Anger I could handle. Jealousy was just another day at the office. Happiness . . . the last time I’d been happy was the moment my heart had been ripped out of me. Nervous? What the fuck did I have to be nervous about, especially when it came to a pint-sized boy who barely knew his ABCs?
Wordlessly, Easton and I rode the elevator to my floor. My breath held when we made it past where the little guy who scared me lived. I needed a drink.
My brother pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and inserted it into the lock of a door just off the elevator. Surveying the lobby, I noticed only one other door. I hoped like hell I didn’t have any neighbors. By keeping my ears open, I’d learned Daniel Elliott had, in essence, purchased the whole building for his family and friends. Whoever had lived on this floor before had probably taken whatever cash he’d been offered and happily waltzed off to another apartment.
Easton held the door open for me, and I sauntered past, heading straight for the kitchen. This place was bare minimum: white walls, a black leather sofa and coffee table, an open-plan kitchen sharing the same space. It was nothing like the vastness of my parents’ place upstairs or the condo I was used to in Houston, which sprawled over an entire floor.
I tossed my jacket on one of the barstools and grabbed the nearly empty bourbon bottle next to the sink where I’d left it last night. I poured half a tumbler for Easton and one for me, sliding a drink across the laminate counter to him. Lifting my glass, I gave an insincere smile, tossing most of the contents down my throat. The burn barely registered, even as it hit my stomach.
“Why?” Easton asked, his voice lethally quiet, the drink I’d poured for him untouched on the counter in front of him. Understandably, Easton wanted to know why I’d manipulated EXODUS and embezzled cash from Carter Energy. He wanted to know why I’d pushed our father in the direction of Starlight Petroleum Energy when it came time to sell our family’s company. Why I’d exploited Holly’s vulnerabilities. And the list went on. I was a bastard. I shrugged. He studied me with piercing eyes, begging for answers I had no intention of giving. “I’m asking as the brother who loves you, who thought you were my best friend. Not the brother you screwed over.” There wasn’t one ounce of malice in his words, but they still stung.
“There’s no need to do this, brother,” I said, reverting to the defense mechanism I used best. “Let’s stop the false pretenses, shall we?”
“I’ve never used them.” He looked me in the eye. I had no problem straight-up lying, but my brother wasn’t me. He was a stand-up guy.
“You don’t give a shit about me, so let’s save ourselves the time and effort.” I finished my whiskey and immediately poured another. Easton still hadn’t touched his. The way he was staring at me, I braced for him to take a swing.
“If I don’t give a shit, then why am I here?” he growled, gripping the edge of the counter. “Why aren’t you in jail? Because the punishment does not fit the crime.” Ange
r and hurt swirled in his eyes. He wasn’t afraid to express himself, wasn’t above raising his voice to get a point across, but he was careful and didn’t lose control. Yet he looked a breath away from doing just that right now.
“You and Dad got what you wanted. We made a deal.” It had been easy enough to bring forth evidence that Starlight Petroleum Energy had purchased Carter Energy based on cooked books. But I’d made that go away when they promised the FBI wouldn’t look any further into it either.
“As much as you deserve it, I can’t stand the thought of you in prison.” He slung back some of the liquor. “I’m a sucker.”
“For marrying Mulaney? Yeah, you are.”
“Damn it, Drew.” Easton pounded his fist on the counter, accidentally hitting the glass and sending it and good whiskey flying. He rounded the island until he was in my face. “I love her. I don’t expect you to, but you will be respectful.”
“Always her first,” I muttered.
“She’s my wife,” he shouted, fists clenched.
She wasn’t always. But there was no point in saying that out loud. He’d chosen her over me since she’d started working for our family business. Maybe before that.
When I didn’t speak, the muscle in his jaw clenched, and he carried on.
“You have stolen hundreds of millions from us and lied about so much I don’t think you even know the truth. You imploded our company; the one we were supposed to run together. And you have torn our family apart at the seams. Crushed our mother, who, might I remind you, is dying. I have every reason in the world to hate you, but what I want more than anything is to have my brother back. The one I watched baseball and drank beer with. The one I shot the breeze with, who made me laugh no matter what kind of shitty day we’d had. The one who had my back, and I had his. Give him back to me, and I’ll forgive and forget any of this ever happened.”
He shook me, eyes imploring. My gut twisted, but my heart was too hard. “That person doesn’t exist anymore. Stop wishing for something that will never be.”
He shook his head. “You’re wrong, Drew. He’s in there. Maybe I’ll see him again, and maybe I won’t, but I won’t stop trying. You’re stuck with me like a shadow, little brother.”
“You’re gonna stay here with me?”
Easton hesitated, and I wondered if he would actually take it that far. He had his precious Mulaney. No way would she allow that. His grip on my shoulders tightened. “Yeah. I am.”
What. The. Fuck? “What about your wife?”
“She supports whatever needs to be done.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I thought . . .” He paused as if searching for the right words. “You and I should’ve talked about a lot of things.”
“I’ve been right here,” I shouted. He was the one who hadn’t told me he’d gotten married, let alone he was even with her. “You’re the one always huddled with Dad and Mulaney. I didn’t go anywhere.”
Easton recoiled, blinking in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve got your life,” I said bitterly. There was no working this out. I was blood, but I didn’t count.
“I want you in it,” he yelled, the vein in his neck pulsing. “What made you think otherwise? When?” Easton shook me, harder this time. “When?”
It was on the tip of my tongue, but I clung to the anger that had kept me strong. His plea was heartfelt, nearly piercing through the hardness inside me. Wasn’t this what I’d wanted? For someone in my family to hear me? To notice I still existed?
“I need a shower. Then I’m going to bed. Kitchen duty starts at five in the morning,” I finally said, my voice devoid of emotion.
Easton drew in a harsh breath, tamping down his desire for answers. “I’m going to get my things. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Stay with your wife. I’m sure you’ll have a better time with her,” I said, stepping around him.
“You won’t push me away. Can’t you see that the lengths you’ve gone to would have succeeded if that were possible?” he asked to my back.
I pretended to ignore him, walking down the hallway toward the bedroom. The front door closed, and my mind spun. When had I entered this alternate universe? One where I’d royally screwed my family and now they were interested in me again? My thoughts. My . . . opinions. This outcome hadn’t ever figured into my calculations. I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
Chapter Ten
Drew
Shitty.
That was the current state of my mood. I didn’t want to be at Paths of Purpose. Hell, I didn’t even want to be in this city, let alone a place where most of the women and kids had been abused. I wasn’t immune to the people here, though I avoided them. I didn’t want to be around them. Fragile. Easton had exposed that characteristic in me last night.
I was skeptical of his motives. I’d screwed him over beyond forgiveness, yet he still wanted something to do with me. It didn’t make sense.
He must’ve joined Mama’s crusade. Now there were photos of us and our family on the dresser and the nightstand, and taped to the mirror in the bathroom.
It was hard to take being inundated with the past. They were trying to bring me to my senses by reminding me of a time in our lives when things weren’t so strained, but they’d failed. All that stuff just flat-out hurt. Because it’s not real anymore . . . and it hasn’t been for years.
* * *
“No suit today?”
Miss Nece covered her surprise well when I—we—showed up an hour early. I hadn’t been able to sleep, so I’d lied and told Easton I needed to be at the shelter. I’d planned to smoke out back until I was due to report for duty. What I hadn’t expected was for him to stay once he’d seen me inside. Our father was noticeably absent.
“If I’d known you’d be disappointed, I’d have tried harder, sugar.” I grabbed an apron and flashed her an irresistible grin.
“That bacon ain’t gonna fry itself,” she said sternly. At least she hadn’t decked me for calling her sugar.
“If you put me in charge of that, it’ll burn itself.”
She tried to keep a straight face, and did a good job of it, but her eyes gave her away. They laughed, amused at my brand of mischief.
“Not on my watch. I’ll teach you what you need to know.” She pointed her spoon at Easton. “Remember how to set up those dishes, baby?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then get to it.”
He exited the kitchen, leaving us alone.
“Now wait a minute.” I held up both my hands. “You can call him baby, but I can’t call you sugar?” I shook my finger before she could answer. “And why don’t I get any love?”
She swatted me with the dishtowel hanging over her shoulder. “Because you’re trouble.”
* * *
“I’ll be there in half an hour. Love you.” Easton ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket. I made a face, knowing exactly who that tone was reserved for. “I have to go, but I’ll pick you up tonight.”
“Hard being in two places at once, isn’t it?” I should’ve protested I could make my own way home, but the truth was, I wanted him to go out of his way for me. And if I’m honest? Especially if it pisses off his wife.
He arched a brow. “Yes, but I’ll make it work.”
I watched as he disappeared toward the foyer. He wasn’t the only one needed in other places. My phone had been ringing so much, I’d had to turn it off. Surprisingly, it was a relief to be out of touch. I was almost delusional enough to think my problems had disappeared.
I collected the bin of dirty dishes from lunch and took them to the kitchen. Where was the tigress? I hadn’t seen her or her mutt all day, and I’d most definitely been looking. Had she taken off already? She wouldn’t have gotten far on what was in my wallet. My credit cards were all maxed out, and the cash . . . there wasn’t any to speak of.
As I loaded the dishwasher, a woman I’d seen around approached with her own dishes.
&nbs
p; I set the plate I’d been about to load on the counter and held out my hand. “Allow me,” I said with the most charming smile I could muster. She was completely unmoved. Whatever had happened to her, someone—most likely male—had fucked her up, so much so that she didn’t even want to look at me.
“Thank you,” she said, averting her eyes.
“You’re welcome.” I kept my tone as unassuming as possible because I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. I was an asshole, but not to women. Well, not women who were down on their luck. “Last night, you made an extra plate. Need me to get you one?” Her head jerked up in surprise. “Just because I don’t talk to anyone doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention.”
She laughed, albeit nervously, but her shoulders relaxed slightly. “Yes, I’d like a plate to take with me. But I can get it.”
I shook my head. “I’ll procrastinate doing dishes any way I can.” Her smile widened as I grabbed a clean plate, and she followed as I went to the leftovers. “Some of everything?”
“Please.”
I scooped field peas onto the plate, making sure to keep my attention on the task, not her, so she’d be more at ease. She was fine around women and children, almost a social butterfly from what I’d seen yesterday, but around me, she was closed off. “You have a big appetite?” I asked, pointing at the chicken with the tongs.
She laughed nervously again. “No. It’s for one of the new residents. I think she’s having a hard time adjusting. It’s like that when you first get here.”
I ignored the pang of sadness I felt for the stranger. I wanted information, not her life story. “The one with the black eye and the dog?”
She looked uncertain for a second, as if she wasn’t sure she should discuss another resident. “When Sonya’s face heals, it will be easier for her to be around other people,” she said quietly, sympathetically. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Little Miss Innocent wore that bruise to her advantage. She’d had no problem coming out of her room to swipe my wallet.
Thick As Thieves: An Enemies-To-Lovers Romance (Paths To Love Book 5) Page 5