Page 19 of Haunted

“Are you fucking serious, Theo?” I grate as the woman on his lap lifts her head from sucking on his throat. Theo looks over his shoulder at me and ushers the girl to her feet. Her tits bounce as they hang out of her top and bra.

“Oh my, there’s two of you.” The girl practically swoons.

We both ignore her.

“What are you doing here?” he asks while adjusting his dick in his jeans.

“We need to talk.” I jut my chin to the female. “And she needs to leave.”

Sensing the seriousness in my tone, Theo helps the girl fix her top and walks her to the door. My anger flares when he kisses her before letting her outside.

He turns toward me. “What’s this about, Luca?”

“Are you really making out with a girl on your couch with your daughter asleep just down the hall?”

“Keywords. She’s asleep,” he mutters.

“And what’s to say she won’t wake up and leave her room? Don’t be so damn stupid, Theo. It’s fucking sick that you would take that chance knowing she could walk in at any minute and see that shit. At least take it to the bedroom where you can close the damn door.”

Actually, he shouldn’t be fucking around with any women, considering he’s married. My hands ball into fists at my sides.

At least he has the decency to look guilty. Too bad it’s not only for the reasons he should.

“Can you stop busting my balls and tell me why you’re here?”

It takes me a moment to calm the raging fire building in my stomach. I want nothing more than to punch his deceiving face and ask questions later, but this is my brother, so I need to give him a chance to explain. I really don’t see how he can justify his actions, but maybe there’s a reasonable explanation behind his secrets.

“Who’s Jules?” I ask, cutting right to the chase.

His faces pales and he takes a step back until he’s leaning against the wall. I notice his hands shaking before he slips them into his pants pockets. The flutter in his throat gives away his nervousness, and it only piques my anger.

He licks his lips before answering in a quiet voice. “She’s my wife.”

“Yeah, no fucking kidding,” I growl. “The attending nurse walked in the room when I was there. She thought I was you.”

If possible, his face loses even more color. “Why were you visiting her?”

“That’s moot at this point. Why haven’t you told anyone about her? And how long have you been married?”

He blows out a breath and looks down at his shoes, eliciting my anger even more.

“Theo—” I start, but he interrupts me.

“Seven years. We got married the day she went into a coma.”

His eyes look worried and desperate. I count to twenty in my head to try to calm my ire.

“You’ve been married for seven goddamn years and you never thought to tell your family? Why, Theo? And what in the hell are you doing sleeping with other women while yourwifelies helpless in the hospital?”

He’s quiet for a minute before he hisses out a breath. “I’ll grab us some beers, then I’ll explain everything.”

I don’t want a fucking beer. I want him to tell me what in the hell is going on. Even so, I give him a curt nod and walk around the couch and sit on the opposite end where Theo just had a girl on his lap.

He comes back into the room and hands me a beer before taking a seat on the recliner. Leaning forward, he puts his elbows on his knees and dangles the beer from one hand between his legs. His knees bounce, reminding me of the day Ella was in the hospital. I thought he was anxious over what happened to Ella and possibly going after Chase. He was anxious all right, because he knew Jules was right down the hall and he or I could be recognized at any moment. It actually surprises me, now that I think about it, that none of the nurses called him by name.

I sit and wait, growing more impatient by the second when he stays quiet. Luckily, he catches my mood and starts talking.

“Jules and I met when she brought her car into the shop. The mechanic on the north side couldn’t fit her in for a few days, and she needed her car fixed immediately. She was from the north side but was sweet and kind and so damn pretty.Being from where we’re from, I never thought I had a chance with someone like her, but I asked her out anyway. She completely took me by surprise when she accepted.”

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