Page 69 of You Don’t Kiss Your Brother's Best Friends

The man was blond-haired and blue-eyed, which I hadn’t expected, and sported the biggest pair of shoulders I’d ever seen. He was gargantuan in size, larger than life — the perfect caricature of your typical 80’s action hero; all swollen on steroids and performance enhancers and God only knew what else.

Instinctively, Kayden pushed me behind him. Not that it would’ve mattered. If the man had any interest in me at all, there was nothing stopping the mercenary captain and his men from shoving everyone and everything aside. Fortunately, Roman Wynter had but a single interest upon entering the kitchen. And it had nothing to do with me.

“BEER.”

He didn’t shout the word but he said it lustily, and it sent everyone scrambling. Dorothea, already white as a sheet, pointed in the direction of the walk-in. Roman Wynter pushed past her, flung open the door, and disappeared inside.

The clank of bottles was the only noise in the entire manor, as everyone else remained in place. Several momentspassed, and when the mercenary captain emerged from the refrigerator again he was holding three bottles of beer pinched between the fingers of each big hand.

“R—Roman!”

Raif came rushing in just then, scrambling to make up for his absence. It was fun, watching him grow increasingly more alarmed with every passing second. He held his tablet pinned so tightly against him, I was sure the screen would break.

“There’s whiskey in your room, of course,” Raif said quickly. “As per your instructions. If you wanted beer, all you had to do was—”

“Raif?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

Somehow I was able to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. Raif’s usual complexion had always been somewhere around zombie apocalypse Now he turned pink, then red, then purple.

“I’m going upstairs now, to sleep,” Roman continued, staring the man down. “If someone disturbs me, I’ll kill you first. Then them.”

Raif swallowed, his Adam’s apple traveling up and down the entire expanse of his long neck.

“Yes, sir.”

All eyes followed Roman as he headed for the exit, with Raif scurrying after him. The six-pack of bottles dangling from his fingers rattled noisily with every step. He stopped halfway and whirled on Kayden.

“When are we eating?”

“Dinner’s at eight o’clock,” Kayden replied without missing a beat. “Sharp.”

The mercenary nodded, and growled an acknowledgment. He left the kitchen on long, powerful strides that had his men struggling to keep up.

The very second he was gone, Bishop and Andre slipped into the kitchen through the side door. Kayden and I retreated to the corner, and motioned them over.

“Holy shit,” Andre swore. “Did he actually becomemoreof an asshole?”

“At least he’s in a good mood today,” quipped Bishop.

“Did I hear him say he was going up to his room?”

“To sleep,” Kayden affirmed. “Yes.”

Andre looked over his shoulder and shook his head slowly. “Things are going to move fast from here on out. Especially after… what happened.”

He looked pointedly at me, and I nodded toward Kayden.

“I already told him.”

Now it was Bishop’s turn to be confused. “Told him what?”

Together, the three of us filled him in on the events at the lake regarding Jacob Foley. Bishop’s look of complete dismay was crossed by vehement anger, and ultimately, concern for my well-being. When the tale was over, he placed his hands on my hips.

“You sure you’re alright, Joce?”

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