Page 22 of Succumbed

The trail is narrow with lush growth on either side, so we walk closely, arms brushing. In my heels, we were almost eye-to-eye, but in my sneakers, Linc has a solid four inches on me. I look up to find him watching me, a small smirk on his lips.

“What’s that look for?” I knock my shoulder lightly into his arm, feeling comfortable in the outdoor environment and my workout gear. If I could work in yoga pants every day, I would.

“You know that saying, ‘you clean up good’?”

“Uh, yes?”

“You’re like the opposite of that. You dress down real nice, Lex.” He grins at his own ridiculousness and I can’t stop my laugh.

“Why, thank you.”

I preen teasingly, then snuggle my hands into the pockets of my fleece. I didn’t miss the way Linc’s eyes darkened when I emerged from the bathroom in my yoga pants and fitted jacket. That, and our sneaking around, went a long way toward easing the tension caused by his brother.

“As much as I’d rather just enjoy being out here with you, I do think I should share a bit.” He flashes me a small smile. “About Dec.”

“Might be helpful,” I murmur as I look ahead.

Linc sighs. “I’ll start at the beginning. Stop me if you have questions or get bored, yeah?”

“Sure.” I smile softly in encouragement.

“It’s always been the three of us. Met as kids, only got closer as the years went by. Dec’s always been…proud of being the older brother.”

I scoff quietly and he chuckles, looking down.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s not a surprise. He was the de facto leader of our little three-man gang for as long as I can remember. Being three years behind him and five behind Shane, I always felt like I had to work to catch up and be on their level. I didn’t want to get left behind.”

“You’ve definitely won in the emotional maturity department.”

His surprise makes me chuckle. “What?” I lift a shoulder, my mouth turning up in one corner. “Just saying.”

“I can’t wait to hear what Shane says when I brag about that later.” He winks at me before his gaze turns thoughtful. “Shane went to undergrad–Stanford–first, then Dec did the same, and I followed them. After they graduated, they went straight to grad school, then Shane got an engineering job at a chemtech startup. The two of them did a lot of volunteering while at school and after, and I joined them.”

“What kind of volunteering?”

“Building houses, mostly. Locally, and we even did a few trips abroad.”

“Makes sense.” Some pieces start to fit together about them and how they found their way into the green building industry.

“Yeah. I loved working with my hands and learning new things, and we got to meet some awesome people.” He shoves his hands deeper into his pockets and exhales, long and low. “That’s where I met Anne-Marie.”

I glance up at him. He’s frowning, with a crease between his brows. I want to reach up and smooth it away. What the fuck, Lex? Boundaries.

“She was so enthusiastic, you know? We got to talking, and I shared some of what Dec and Shane were working on. She had a lot of ideas, and she’d studied sustainability with her business degree. It seemed like serendipity, like we’d met because she had the missing piece we needed. Dec had big ideas, Shane had the science and tech expertise to make them real, and my engineering skills could turn his lab experiments into something scalable.”

The sky darkened as we walked. It won’t be long before the path is hard to see, but Linc’s story holds me captive.

“I introduced her to the guys, and everything clicked into place. We started working together immediately.” He reaches a hand up to grip the back of his neck. “Then our parents died.”

I suck in a harsh breath and lay a hand on Lincoln’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”

He casts me a small smile. “Thanks. It’s been years, but it was a shock. Car accident.” Linc peers into the distance, his expression tight. “Declan…he took on a lot of responsibility after that. All of it, really. They were our only family, so when they were gone, it was just us three. Four, with Anne-Marie. Declan was determined to make things happen for us though, to turn my parents’ legacy into something new and impactful.”

“Their legacy?”

“Yeah. My dad owned a construction company in Seattle. We sold it to invest in Procerus, and now Solum.”

My eyebrows rise. “Wow, that’s quite the leap of faith.” And a shit ton of pressure.

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