Page 5 of Ruthless

I tug on the edge of my blue tunic and attempt to make myself invisible as the warm August air hits my arms. There’s no way I want to be in the middle of whatever silent battle they’re involved in.

“Do her brothers know she’s staying with us?” Axel cuts through the silence as his mouth splits into a lopsided grin that causes his dimples to appear even more profound, and he shakes the bag in his hand.

Asher’s face is blank, giving nothing away as he glances down at our joined hands. “Fucking Vegas? Seriously?”

“I should have known you’d track my fucking phone.” Zane runs his free hand over the messy knot on top of his head, showing off the muscles of his bicep before he starts playing with his beard. I’ve realized he does this whenever he is either nervous or trying to calm himself.

“If you think her dad isn’t doing the same with her”—Asher points a tatted finger in my direction but still doesn’t acknowledge me—“or knows the second you two left Atlanta and got back, then you’re a fucking dumbass.”

“Fuck off.” Zane drops my hand and shoves Asher back a step, getting in his face. The sunlight reflects against the ring on his finger as he does, outing our secret for both brothers to see. I’m sure they already knew, but this is evidence of what we’ve done in their face.

I brace, waiting for him to yell, but Asher is too focused on Zane to notice. He grinds his teeth together and clenches his fists, but before the two of them can come to blows, Axel laughs, causing all heads to swing in his direction.

“I told y’all he married the sexy librarian.” His eyes go straight to the diamond on my left hand, confirming his suspicions. He drops our bag onto the ground, lifts me in a hug, and spins me in a circle. The motion causes my glasses to shift sideways, knocking things out of focus, but he’s too excited to notice. Every jerky motion causes my stomach to turn on itself as I feel my nausea creeping back up. I have to suck in a deep breath to keep from throwing up all over him.

“Put her down.” Zane punches him in the shoulder. “She’s pregnant, dickhead.”

“Shit, I forgot.” Axel sets me down but doesn’t let go until I’ve gained my balance and am steady on my feet. “Sorry about that.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder and gives me a one-armed hug while I readjust my glasses. His grinning face comes back into view as I do. He’s so much like my younger brother Keegan it’s scary.

Asher’s gaze finally swings to mine at Zane’s words as if he’s forgotten I’m even standing there until now. “Connor called me after you turned your phone off. He’s pissed, but I managed to buy the two of you some time.”

“Thanks.” Zane nods, giving him gratitude for both of us.

“Don’t thank me. Any of this shit blows up and lands on my doorstep, or any of the girls get hurt, I’m holding you responsible. You got me?” The lines of Asher’s face harden.

“I got you, Ash. But, that ain’t gonna happen.” Zane’s nostrils flare as he remains focused on his brother.

Asher sucks in a deep breath and nods, but when he doesn’t make a move to step out of our way, I know he has more to say to his brother and doesn’t want to do it in front of me.

Zane must pick up on it, too, because he grabs our bag from the ground and shoves it back against Axel’s chest. “Take Kennedy into the house for me and get her settled in.”

“Do I look like an errand bitch to you?” Axel arches a dark eyebrow at him as his fingers dig into the black canvas until the knuckles of his fingers turn white.

“Just do it.” Zane sighs and shakes his head. The movement causes him to shift a smidgen closer to his younger brother.

Axel isn’t intimidated by Zane’s actions as he leans in and sniffs Zane’s breath. “Is that Juicy Fruit?” His nose wrinkles at the thought.

Ignoring the question, Zane shoves Axel out of his face. “Just take her into the fucking house.”

“Damn, man. You’d think marriage would have chilled your ass out some.” Axel doesn’t pay Zane’s attitude any attention and continues to goad him.

“Ax.” Zane grinds his teeth together and shoots his brother a death glare.

“We’re going.” Axel waves him off and flashes me a smile. “Come on, Short Stack.” He takes my hand and tosses the bag over his shoulder as he moves to lead me into the house, but before he can take a step, I spare Zane one last glance.

He must see the unease written on my face because he kisses me on the top of the head and nudges with his chin for me to follow Axel. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

I nod at his answer, suck in a deep breath, and let Axel lead me inside the house and into my new life.

When we walk through the door, I do a quick glance of the giant living room, but it’s the two women standing in front of us wearing huge smiles that has my heart stuttering in my chest. They’re making no effort to hide that they were looking at us through the large front window. The one closest to me is only a few inches taller and has long dark hair, olive skin, and bright green eyes. A small mirror image of her bounces on her hip with a tiny fist shoved inside her petite mouth.

The taller one next to her has red curly hair, fair skin dusted with a few freckles, and blue eyes similar in color to mine. My eyes study her the longest, looking for any other familial similarities, but other than her eye color, that’s where they end.

She stares back at me with a funny expression on her face while she twists her hands out in front of her. I’m guessing she’s struggling with how to approach me, much like I am her. We only recently learned of the other’s existence, and it’s still taking some time to get used to. We were the closest cousins when we were little, but I have no memory of it or her, and I hate it.

We haven’t had much time to talk since the murder of her mother and the disappearance of her father, the former governor of Georgia. Rumor has it that he embezzled funds and left the country to start a new life, but I’m not naive and know better. This has my father written all over it.

Axel drops my hand and points to the two women. “I’m gonna take this into her room. Y’all keep her company.” He slaps the redhead on the butt as he walks past, leaving me with yet another set of strangers.

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