Page 17 of The Love of Secrets

“You know this guy?” We both ask her at the same time.

She slaps my back as she chuckles. “Yes, that’s my brother. Now, move.”

I do exactly as she says, even though I’m not super happy about it. She ushers Bear into the apartment. “Why don’t you come sit down on the couch? Do you want a drink?”

He grins at her as he struts into the living room, plopping down on the couch while she busies herself getting him a drink from the kitchen. I try to ignore the situation and give them some privacy so I tend to Oliver. He has eggs all over his face and in his pajamas. He needs a rinse off and change of clothes.

I glance at Cecilia and the man who just knocked on the door and I can see the resemblance now that I’m not shocked by him on her doorstep. “Cecilia.”

She turns toward me. “Yes?”

“I’m going to give you and your brother some time while I clean Oliver up. Okay?”

Her eyes fill with gratitude as she places her hand over her heart. “Yes. Thank you, Mateo.”

I leave her to reunite with the only family that she’d told me was important to her.

Chapter twelve

Cecilia

“What are you doing here?” I cautiously ask my big brother. I can’t believe he’s sitting here in front of me.

“Rumors started to circulate around town that you had bailed, and I couldn’t find you. I needed to find out what happened, find you. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. Why didn’t you call me?” There’s an accusation in his tone.

I clench my hands together on my lap, nervous to tell him what’s been going on and why I needed to leave. I take a deep breath. It’s time to tell him the truth. I glance over at Oliver’s bedroom door and hope like hell Mateo doesn’t hear me. I’m not ready to tell him everything.

My eyes drop to my hands when I sigh. “I didn’t tell you because of Michael.”

He furrows his brows, his mouth turns down, and clenching his teeth, he grits out. “Why does Michael matter?”

“He’s the sheriff, Bennett, and you’re in a motorcycle club that is known for doing illegal stuff.” I use his real name to emphasize how serious this situation is.

“So?”

Why is he acting so dumb right now? God, I’m going to have to spell it all out. “I didn’t want him to target you and your club.”

He throws his head back and a deep chuckle comes out of him. He then scoots closer to me, wrapping his arm around me. “Bug, I love you thought about me, but I’m the big brother. I’m supposed to be taking care of you. Besides, Michael can’t touch me.”

Now it’s my turn to feel confused. “What do you mean he can’t touch you?”

“Let’s just say the club has friends in high places,” he says, crossing his arms across his chest with a small smirk.

I just give him a smile at his response but don’t ask any more questions because honestly, I don’t want to know. Bennett is seven years older than me. He’s taken care of me my whole life. When Michael and I started to date, Michael had insisted I distance myself from my big brother since he was the sheriff and Bennett was a known member of a motorcycle club.

What would people say, Cecilia?

Now, I regret it more than anything. Bennett must feel the turmoil within me. “It’s okay, Cecilia. Can you tell me why you left Michael?”

My stomach churns at the thought of explaining to him what has been going on behind closed doors. I keep my eyes down as I get ready to reveal everything, because if I look at my big brother, there is no way I’m getting through everything. “As you know, I started dating Michael my freshman year of college. At first, everything was great. He treated me wonderfully, made sure I had everything I ever needed. I thought I was in love.”

I gulp and look over at Oliver’s door. It’s still closed, giving me the strength to finish the story. I can at least feel good about Mateo not knowing how stupid I was to trust the wrong person. “When he found out I was pregnant, things changed.”

Bear goes still. As if he knows that what’s coming next is something he won’t like. “What do you mean? You seemed happy at least from afar?”

“It started as suggesting that I shouldn’t hang out with certain friends, that they were bad influences. Then he would suggest not eating certain foods or wearing certain clothes. He would tell me that if I was going to be with him, I needed to make sure I presented myself a specific way. I dealt with it because he was still good to me most time of the time.”

“What do you mean ‘most of the time?’” Bear’s voice dropped low and dark, laced with anger.

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