Page 34 of Underworld

Palming my face, I say through a groan, “It would just be you and me.”

His eyes widen. “You and me?”

“Yeah. Like . . . you know . . . a date,” I mumble. Holy fuck, that wasn’t smooth at all.

“You . . . you want to go on a date with me?” Alec squeaks out.

I shrug, trying to play it cool as I admit, “Well yeah . . . I mean . . . I’ve had the biggest crush on you for like ever so . . .” I pause and look up at his face to find it bright red. “I mean . . . if you don’t want to . . .”

“NO!” he squeals loudly, then waves his hands around. “Wait! No! That wasn’t what I meant! I mean . . . shit!”

I can’t help but smile at how flustered he is. “So . . . is that a yes to the date?”

He nods enthusiastically. “Yes!” Then he looks down at himself again. “But I need to get cute first!” He runs out of the workshop without a second glance back. I look down at the man who has haunted us for so long. “I hope you’re burning wherever the fuck you are.”

Without a backward glance, knowing my brothers will handle this mess, I make my way back to the house to get ready myself. I have a date tonight. A date with a guy I’ve had a crush on for years. Best. Night. Ever.

Four years later . . .

We’ve been secretly dating for four years now. We didn’t mean for the secret to go on for this long, but every time Alec and I thought about telling Jace and Zane, we chickened out. But today is the day. We need to tell them.

I squeeze Alec’s hand in silent support as we walk down the dark hallway of our new house. I am not sure how Jace managed to get this mansion-like house, but I think it has something to do with the number of gangs we’ve taken over. The cave we use for our compound belonged to one of those gangs. We took it as payment for our protection, so I assume this mansion was the same.

Hand in hand, we walk down the hallway toward the living room where the others are. Jace is hovering over a computer typing, and Zane is sharpening his newest set of knives. Fucking weirdo. I swear the man would buy a scythe if he could.

I clear my throat to get their attention. They both look up from what they’re doing. Somehow in sync, they both look down at my hand in Alec’s, then back up at our faces. Without a single word, they continue with what they were doing a moment ago.

Furrowing my brows, I clear my throat again. They both look up again, and Jace arches a brow as if saying, “Get on with it.”

Huffing out a breath, I say, “Alec and I would like to tell you something.” It’s Zane who raises a brow this time.

“Howe and I have been in a secret relationship for the last four years,” Alec blurts out rapidly. He doesn’t even take a breath.

I look over at him with my brow arched this time and mouth, “Seriously?”

He whines and apologizes. “Sorry.”

I squeeze his hand in reassurance, then look back at the two men I have considered brothers since I was brought to that horrible foster house. Zane and Jace exchange glances, and then Zane shrugs. Just . . . shrugs and goes back to sharpening his knives.

Slightly confused by the reaction, I look at Jace and arch a brow. Jace shrugs before he says, “I don’t care who you fuck. Well, I’m assuming there’s fucking but whatever. I also don’t care who you love as long as you’re fucking happy.”

My mouth gapes open. What. The. Fuck. I was expecting . . . well, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t that.

Alec's voice is surprisingly high pitched as he says, “Wait, wait, wait! We freaked out for three weeks for that reaction?” Alec points at Jace and demands, “I need a better reaction!” Then pointing to Zane, he says, “You too!”

Zane looks back up in confusion and asks, “Were you hoping I’d be disgusted?” Then, in a monotone voice, he says, “How could you? Oh. The horror. The horror.”

In the same monotone voice. Jace adds, “Our best friends. No. Oh, no. How dare you.” Zane and Jace look at each other and begin laughing their asses off.

Alec looks at me, and without meaning to, we say in unison, “Assholes!” But there isn’t much heat behind it, considering we are both smiling like loons.

That seems to set Zane and Jace off even more. They now have tears streaming down their faces from laughing so hard. But I have to admit, I’ve never been happier seeing my brothers laugh. It’s been so long since I’ve heard them laugh. I haven’t seen them smile in a long time, either.

I can't stop myself as I begin to chuckle. Their laughter is infectious.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jane

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