Page 29 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“No, I mean, I’m a protective sister toyou.”

That gives me pause. I am speechless as I realize what my best friend is trying to tell me. It only makes me feel worse about the whole thing. So far, I’ve avoided lying directly to her face about them—technically speaking, I did oversleep this morning.

“You’re amazing,” I tell Teagan. “But I’m also old enough to take care of myself.”

“I know, babe. It’s just… Trust me, you don’t want to get involved with any of my brothers. You’re a good woman with a heart of gold. You deserve a husband, a wonderful family,” she says, her gaze drifting off to the side. “My brothers are awesome, don’t get me wrong, and I’ll go scorched earth on anyone who tries to say otherwise, but they have a different lifestyle. You wouldn’t pair well with any of them.”

Alarm bells go off in my head, and I realize I never talked to her brothers about what Teagan knows about their lifestyle. I never asked them if she knows they share women. Hearing her speak now, however, I think I’ve got an answer to that question.

But my curiosity is piqued.

“What do you mean a different lifestyle?” I ask her in a most innocent manner.

“Oh, it’s complicated. It’s not something they want me talking about with anyone else,” Teagan sighs. “Just trust me, they’re guaranteed heartbreakers for an amazing gal like you. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“I believe you,” I gently concede, briefly staring at what’s left on my plate. “I just hope they find happiness someday.”

It’s a grim reminder that what we have won’t last. I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

“Oh, don’t worry; they’re frequently entertained.” Teagan rolls her eyes. “There’s always one chick or another hovering around, looking for a way in. This month, it’s that Alexandra Jones lady.”

“Alexandra,” I mumble, ignoring the thud my stomach makes as it drops.

“Yeah, you met her.”

“Their partner on the green energy projects,” I confirm with a slight nod. “She seems nice and all. Are they… you know, personally involved with her?”

“River said she’s trying, but he hasn’t told me whether they’re interested or not. My brothers keep their personal lives to themselves, to be honest.” She pauses and chuckles quietly.“Besides, I think she’ll run screaming for the hills if they do decide to let her in. A lot of women do. I mean, they go for one night, maybe two, but then—” Teagan stops herself altogether, giving me a wide-eyed stare as she realizes she’s given me too much information.

8

Cassius

Aweek after our last conversation with Christa about it, Nathan is still digging into Perry-Sage. We agreed to keep the whole thing to ourselves and to respect her wish not to talk about it again. It doesn’t stop us from investigating, however.

“Do we suspect Christa of anything?” Nathan grimly asks.

I sit across from his desk, going over his most recent printouts. “No, not at all. It’s not about that. I just want to find out as much as I can about what happened. She went through something; you can see it, too.”

“Oh, yeah. The subtle flinching. The way she suddenly shuts down whenever the name of the company pops up,” he agrees. “I don’t think she was involved in whatever crime happened there.”

“Plenty of crime happened there,” I say, turning one particular news headline over for him to see. “Perry-Sage in Hot Water for Embezzlement and Fraud.” I show him another page. “White Collar Division Raids Perry-Sage HQ.” I mean, I could go on.”

“I read all that, too.”

“I think she was there,” I mutter, setting the papers aside.

Nathan leans back in his chair and gives me a curious frown. “River said the same thing. I’m inclined to agree, but what makes you so sure?”

“Remember Kandahar?” I ask.

Shadows fall over his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Remember how different Sgt. Hank was after that IED wiped out half of our convoy?”

“That was carnage, Cass,” Nathan says. “A lot of our buddies died that day.”

“Yes, and Hank was holding one of them, trying to keep his entrails from spilling out before the surviving medics got to him,” I reply. “It was too late, but it was all he could do. After that, he changed. Completely.”

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