Page 7 of Clap Back (Carter Brothers)

Meanwhile, his polar-opposite twin, Auden, was the one that always caught my eye and held it.

Where Atlas was welcoming and always smiling—at least with me—Auden was standoffish and scowling.

Auden’s chocolate brown eyes weren’t exactly welcoming, but they were still my obsession.

Chocolate, from a very young age, had become one of my favorite things in the world.

And the deep, melty chocolate color of Auden’s had been the first thing I noticed about him.

Then had come the blond hair, cropped close to his head but still long enough to curl. It had been so much like my own that I’d been entranced.

And his skin.

It was smooth and tan, in stark contrast against the blond of his hair.

The tattoos down his muscular arms caught my attention and held it.

He had a gold star on his right forearm that looked a lot like a badge, with dark red and black ink swirling out around it.

“What’s going on?” Auden asked, avoiding my gaze.

Pepper, my one and only employee, who’d been with me for about six weeks now, said, “She already told y’all. Her dad is being a giant douchebag, and he’s been trying to get this place shut down since she opened. He’s finally succeeded, at least for today.”

That was the truth.

It was only for today.

I could do this.

I could, right?

“What is he trying to do?” I laughed at Auden’s earlier question.

God, the man was beautiful.

Right now, he looked like he was about to fight a bear just for me—that bear being my dad.

And he hadn’t cared that I was literally threatening the chief of police with murder.

“Yeah,” Auden said. “What else is he doing? I hate to admit this, but we were aware he had something against this place. He fuckin’ hates when we bring in food from your shop. He doesn’t outright say it or anything, but the man makes it clear that he doesn’t like when those pretty pink boxes arrive. We can’t prove it, but we’re fairly sure he throws it all in the trash if we leave it in the break room and he goes in there. We’ve taken to keeping all the food at our desks.”

The prick.

I hated him so much.

“The better question would be what hasn’t he done?” I fumed. “Other than making me hate living with him for most of my childhood. So much so that I stayed with my grandparents every chance I got. I even started calling myself by my grandparents’ last name since I couldn’t change it legally. He never supported me in any way. I wanted to do gymnastics? He refused. I wanted to go to a church camp and spend time with friends? Refused. I wanted to go to college in Michigan? Refused. I wanted to move out, refused.

“I have literally had to climb uphill to pull myself from under his thumbs. I mean, I tried to ask for my birth certificate once, and he all but threw a fuckin’ fit. I don’t have it, by the way. I can’t get a passport without it, either. So I’ve yet to go on my vacation of a lifetime.”

“He hates your best friend, too,” Pepper added softly. “When he heard they were friends—something she had to keep secret from her dad because he didn’t like her having friends—I thought he was going to tear the bakery down around us. He came in, told her that she would never speak to Athena again, and scared the absolute shit out of both of us.”

I sighed, running my hands over my face for a few long seconds before I pulled them away.

“You interested in going fishing?” Auden asked in that velvety smooth voice. “That’s where we’re headed. Maybe it’ll give your lawyer time to work, and you enough time to calm down.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Pepper pushed. “She needs to get out of here.”

“You’re coming, too.” Atlas narrowed his eyes at her. “Can’t have you out here following through with her threats. Don’t think I didn’t notice you eyeing your car, ready to head to the station yourself.”

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