Page 135 of Broken Bonds

“Guys, meet my brother. As you can see, I’m the better looking twin, but I guess our girl thinks he’s alright lookin’,” he says, the biggest grin on his face.

I can’t help but scoff out a laugh and shake my head.

“My right ass cheek is better looking than you, knothead,” I retort, holding my hand out to shake Rule and Ollie’s hands.

When I step over to Van, he stiffens and looks a little scared for a moment. So, I shock the hell out of him when I pull him in and hug the giant asshole.

I hug him tight and lean up to whisper in his ear, “Thank you for loving him and being there for him all these years. To me, you are my brother, too. Just for being his.”

His eyes are misty when I lean back, and he looks choked up, which makes me laugh.

“Don’t act so surprised. Had you assholes stuck around, you’d have already known. But it’s alright. I think everything worked out exactly how it was meant to. I just wish it hadn’t had to happen the way it did.”

“Thank you,” he says, and I nod at him.

I look at each of these men, seeing their love for each other as they stand together, but also their love for Ramsey, even though she isn’t here.

“Take care of our girl, okay? And our babies. Make her happy,” Ollie says, breaking away to get closer to me.

“I will. I’ll love her until my last breath, and I fully intend for her to take hers before me,” I vow to him, looking him directly in the eyes.

He nods at me, his eyes gleaming with respect, and he smiles.

“Yeah, you’ll do just fine.”

Rule comes over next and gives me a lopsided grin.

“She wants to go to France someday. Will you take her? We never got the chance, and we promised,” he says.

“I’ll take her anywhere in the world that she wants to go.”

“Good. Rion already found out, but she’s got a filthy mouth when she starts speaking in French. Enjoy that. It’s always been my thing,” he whispers, winking at me as he claps me on the shoulder, and I choke out a laugh.

“Tell Rion and Forde to keep doing what they’re doing atJinx.Just don’t sell her. We put a lot of love into her, and we want it to stay,” Lake tells me when he steps closer.

“It’s not going anywhere, brother. I promise.”

“Be her strength. Her confidante. Her heart. She’ll love you like nobody else could. Take her out, be there for her when she’s sad or upset, never let her shut herself off again. And tell my kids about me. Make sure they know we loved them long before they took their first breath,” he says, tears shining in his eyes.

I pull him in for another hug and take a deep breath.

“I will tell them everything about you. How great of a brother you were. Our life as we grew up, always having each other, no matter what. And they will know that you loved them more than anything,” I whisper, holding the back of his head.

He hugs me tight, and when he steps back, I know this is it.

This is the last time I’ll see him until I meet him on the other side.

“Time’s up,” Lake says, wiping his eyes.

They stand together in a line in front of me as everything around me blurs.

“I love you, brother,” Lake says, his voice sounding distant.

“I love you, too,” I choke out before he disappears and everything around me fades to black.

I wake with a gasp, my heart pounding in my chest and tears on my cheeks. My throat gets tight as I try to calm my racing heart. Ramsey touches my chest and when I glance over at her, she looks at me with concern.

“Are you okay?” she asks softly, touching my cheek.

---