Page 36 of Enticing the Fixer

Leo

“Hey, Bro.” I grab Jagger’s head in the crook of my arm and squeeze. “How’s my baby brother?”

“I’m good. Thank you for asking.” As he laughs, he punches me in the gut.

“Gawd.” I suck in a deep breath. We’re two minutes apart, so there isn’t enough of an age difference to brag about. But that doesn’t stop me. “Do you give?”

“Fuck, yes.”

I let go of him and stand back, rubbing my stomach. The dude packs a punch.

“You should remember that your brother was in the Navy while you were pushing a pen.” August tosses a white rag over his shoulder as he ambles up to our conversation.

“If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked.” I snatch up the beer bottle my best friend delivered moments ago before Jagger arrived.

“Good one,” Jagger says as they high-five over the counter.

August hands Jagger a beer, and I suck down half the contents of mine, letting the alcohol roll down my throat. Today has been a long day. I’ve fucked everything up with Kinsley, and I’m not sure how I will make it right.

My brother eases onto the stool next to me as August returns to his other customers. “It’s good to see you around.”

“Yeah.” I nod. “It’s crazy we’d end up in the same place.”

“To Kansas City.” He shakes his head, and we tap our beer bottles.

“It’s a long way from Vegas.”

“And the Middle East.” His eyes flash with a darkness that didn’t use to be there. He was the lighthearted one. I was the nerd with my head in the books while he was tossing around a football.

“How’re you doing?”

“Don’t worry about me.” He presses his lips together. “I’m hanging in there.”

“That’s a noncommittal answer. Are you seeing anyone?”

“No.” To an outsider, it would sound like I’m asking if he’s dating anyone, but that’s not the case. Jagger has been plagued with nightmares since his return from the desert. The first time he’d stayed with me in Vegas, I thought someone was breaking into the house.

No one was breaking in, but the haunted look in his eyes when he realized he was safe and not in the middle of a warzone ripped me to shreds. As my twin, his pain is my pain.

“Didn’t they recommend you see someone?” I tap my fingertips on the countertop.

“Yes.” His jaw is tight as he stares at the line of whiskey bottles and specialty glasses in front of the mirrored wall. He doesn’t see the crystal decanters or his own reflection. “I’m not ready yet. I saw someone the first month I was back, but the nightmares were worse. It’s not worth it if they get worse.” He smiles and tips the bottle to his lips. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m always going to worry about you.” He’s crazy if he thinks I will stop worrying about him. He might play me off for a bit, but now that we’re in the same town, he’s not going to get away that easy.

As the band switches songs, a group of couples moves from the bar to the dancefloor.

“I know, but I’m doing okay. Really. I’m doing better. Let’s talk about you. Did you meet with my guy?”

“No. Truman’s got me on something else.”

“The Monroe case?” He rests his elbow against the bar top. “He asked me if I would take it, but I’m still tying up some loose ends on another situation.”

My gut churns. Jagger and Kinsley. The thought of her meeting my twin instead of me causes bile to rise in my throat. Ignore it. She met you. But at this point, she’d like him better.

“It’s going okay. There are defiantly some issues with the company. Someone installed a virus to steal client’s personal information, but that isn’t the only problem. Everything was in fine working order until three months ago, but now the numbers are off, and the stock prices are tanking.” I rub my forehead. “From a cursory look, it appears funds are being funneled into a shell account, but I don’t know who’s responsible or where the money is going.”

He arches an eyebrow. “The owner getting greedy?”

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