Page 19 of The Cousins and the Brunette

“Cute.” He stepped a little closer, close enough for me to catch a whiff of expensive cologne. “But your quips won’t save you from what’s coming. Your father’s got the next three days to deliver the tech, or we keep his precious princess a while longer.”

My stomach lurched, but I forced a nonchalant shrug. “You don’t scare me.” But he did.

Joel’s face darkened, his jaw working as if chewing on a particularly unpleasant thought. “You’ve got quite the mouth on you, don’t you? Must be genetic. Your old man’s silver tongue is what got us into this mess in the first place.”

If only he knew how un-genetic my sharp tongue was. I’d learned it on the streets, not from some fancy Elite businessman.

“Oh please.” I snorted. “Joel, if you fell for his sales pitch, that’s on you. Ever heard of due diligence? Or did you skip that day in Ruthless Business 101?”

He slammed his palm against the wall near my cell, the sound reverberating through the basement. “You think this is a game? Your father offered us tech and then pulled out of the deal at the last second. We had contracts signed and in place and he made us look like fools! He’s a fucking traitor!”

I blinked, genuinely surprised. “Wait, what?”

Joel’s gaze narrowed, searching my face. “You really don’t know, do you? Well, isn’t that interesting.”

A coldness ran down my spine. What the hell had Shoemaker gotten himself into? And more importantly, what had he dragged me into?

Before I could counter, the sound of more stomps on the staircase signaled an intrusion. Braxton and Sebastian entered the room. From the corner of my eye, I caught the warmth in Braxton’s smile, the thoughtful crease of Sebastian’s brow.

“Thought we’d find you here, grilling our guest,” Braxton said, his tone light, teasing. It was like a refreshing breeze in the stifling tension between Joel and me.

“Someone has to,” Joel snapped, but the ferocity seemed to have dulled a little bit in the presence of his two cousins, and his stance less rigid.

Braxton chuckled, leaning against the wall. “Hey, Joel, remember that time we snuck into your dad’s wine cellar? Uncle Fredrick was so pissed.”

Sebastian’s lips quirked. “How could I forget? You nearly knocked over that priceless Ming vase.”

Joel snorted. “Yeah, and Sebastian here squealed like a stuck pig.”

“Did not,” Sebastian protested, his calm demeanor cracking slightly.

Braxton grinned. “Oh, you absolutely did. Sounded like a teakettle on steroids.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fascinating. Really. You three should take this act on the road.”

Joel shot me a glare. “Nobody asked you, princess.”

I shrugged. “Yet here I am, forced to listen to your little trip down memory lane. Lucky me.”

Braxton’s grin widened. “Aw, come on. Don’t you want to hear about the time Joel got his head stuck in the banister when we were kids?”

“It wasn’t stuck,” Joel said softly. “I was...inspecting it.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “For two hours?”

“Shut it,” Joel mumbled, a hint of red creeping up his neck.

I listened to the cousins banter, my back pressed to the cool wall, as they shared memories of a past I knew nothing about. The laughter, the camaraderie—it was disarming. For a split second, I allowed myself to see Joel not as my captor, but as a man shaped by family and loyalty.

I smirked. “Let me guess, you were ‘inspecting’ it face-first?”

“I said shut up, you two!” Joel snapped, but there was less bite to it now.

Braxton snickered. “Oh man, remember how Aunt Mildred found him? She thought he was praying and started joining in!”

Sebastian’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Poor Joel was too embarrassed to admit he was stuck.”

“I wasn’t stuck!” Joel insisted, but a slow smile touched his lips.

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