Page 55 of Unravel You

“Let him be.” Wesley downed his drink. After he set it down, he tilted his head toward Matt. “Derek’s the one getting married. He’s already winning. What I want to know is what’s going on with you? Did you figure things out?”

Matt’s dark gaze met Wesley’s, then mine. “I messed up. My girlfriend is in the hospital, and I just took off.” He stuffed his hands in his hair. “I’m such an asshole.”

“Wait, what?” Tyler sat up in his barstool. “When I left you in New York two weeks ago, you were her bodyguard. Now she’s your girlfriend?”

“A bodyguard?” Wesley rose to his feet and leaned on the high table. “You’re a fucking marine. What the hell are you doing playing bodyguard?”

“That’s exactly what I said.” Tyler slapped Wesley’s shoulder.

“It’s a long story. And by the way, how’s your person of interest doing?” Matt sat back on his seat.

Zack stood, rubbing his hands together, a big smile on his face. “Man, I missed family drama. What happened?”

“I told you that in confidence.” Tyler glared at Matt.

“No, you didn’t. You wanted to tell me.” Matt shrugged.

Tyler let out a breath. I’d been so focused on Valentina I hadn’t noticed how much he’d changed. He was still all muscle but not bulky like before. Had he changed on purpose? “Are you in some kind of trouble?” I asked.

“This all happened because of you. I asked you for a ride to New Jersey and ended up in a real bad scene.” Tyler raked a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t realize Dom and Emilia were in such deep shit when I asked you to escort her and make sure Dom was okay.” I should have gone with him, but at the time all I could think of was to keep Valentina out of Dom’s mafia problems.

“Shit is right.” Tyler sipped from his beer. “Dom’s situation ended up in a fucked-up shooting. I spent three days at the ATF field office explaining what’d happened and why I was there in the first place.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I had it under control. There was no crime to pursue since both shooters, you know, ended up dead. But I was so rattled after it I went to a bar on my way out of town to cool off. I hated that there was nothing I could do to stop any of it. The whole scene was gruesome. Poor Emilia was in the thick of it. So was Dom.”

“Thank you.” I squeezed his shoulder. “If you ever need anything, I’m your guy.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault I’m a dumbass.” Tyler rubbed the stubble on his face. “Even if you had come with me, I still would’ve slept with her.

“What happened?” I exchanged a look with Matt who seemed to know all the details already.

“I slept with a person of interest in a case I was assigned to.” Tyler’s cheeks actually turned red. Not in the way Valentina’s cheeks turn pretty and soft. He was pissed and worried sick.

“Was?” Matt asked. “When I last saw you, you were just laying low for a while. You got fired over it?”

“Nope. I was reassigned.” He met Matt’s gaze, then Wesley’s. Matt and Wesley were in the Marine corps together. Tyler was ATF, but they understood the gravity of the situation better than Zack and I could.

“If you need anything, let me know.” I meant it. I would spend my entire fortune to make sure my family was safe.

“I’ll be fine. I just don’t like it when shit gets out of control like this.”

“Yeah,” Wesley said, straight faced, and finished the rest of his beer. “Since we’re all in a sharing mood.” His gaze darted between Matt and Tyler. “Anabelle will be at the party tonight, so people will ask about her brother Charlie. Just tell them he’s still deployed. Okay? Tell them it’s all classified.”

Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know it isn’t.”

“What the hell happened in Venezuela?” I asked Wesley. “You looked like shit the last time I was here.”

“It’s classified.” He took another swig from his glass and got nothing but air. “Why is the service here so slow today?”

“Because you assholes are drinking like fish.” Zack gave me a meaningful look to let it rest before he headed for the bar.

A pang in my stomach made me sink deeper into my barstool. Mom had been right to be mad at me for leaving. I hadn’t just left Atlanta; I’d turned my back on everyone. The road to billionaire was a selfish and lonely road. What kind of trouble were my brothers in?

Several times last night, I found Matt and Tyler talking about a woman they’d met in Venezuela and how Matt was certain she was in trouble again. Shit. All of this was official government stuff I had no access to and no way to help them.

---