Adams, Eve - The Banished Bride [Brides of Bachelor Bay 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

Andrew threw open the front door and skidded to a stop when Logan, Gage, and Lizzie stood there.

“Andrew,” Gage greeted with a grin. “I didn’t think you’d be home for another week at least.”

Andrew shot a seething glare at Noah. “Apparently you aren’t the only one.”

“What’s going on?” Logan stepped forward, his gaze narrowing on a shirtless Noah.

Lizzie gasped and covered her mouth. “Amelia.”

“It isn’t what you think,” Noah said, trying his bullshit on the rest of the family.

“Is that so?” Andrew whipped around to face him. “Are you telling me that my walking in on you and Amelia, both naked as the day you were born, isn’t exactly what it seems? Tell me brother, did you fuck her just to spite me? Do you even have an ounce of compassion in that useless muscle you call a heart?”

Unbelievable. Noah actually grinned. Oh, hell no. Not this time. No, this time Noah would take something seriously, even if Andrew had to beat it into him.

“That’s enough,” Logan barked.

Noah’s grin widened, and Andrew snapped.
Fuck this
. No more being the charming Gallagher. No more being the peacemaker amongst the brothers. He’d been the nice brother along with Gage for far too long, and where had that gotten him?

Tonight that ended.

He pulled his arm back and threw his fist, connecting it with Noah’s lip and sending him sprawling back.

Shaking his hand—god
damn
Noah had a hard jaw—Andrew pushed past Logan before he grabbed Noah and beat him to a bloody pile of useless shit. “It most certainly is. If you’ll excuse me. Forgive my language, Lizzie.”

“Andrew, where are you going? Come back here. Let’s get this sorted out,” Gage called out to him.

Screw them. He’d just spent a full month down in San Francisco for his family, negotiating prices and securing shipments. With what he negotiated for a shipment of scrap lumber, none of the Gallaghers would want for anything, not for many generations to come.

Except, in Andrew’s case, a warm body to go home to.

“Andrew, my office. Now. Noah, you too.” Logan didn’t shout. He didn’t need to shout. His tone rippled through the still summer night and stopped Andrew as if it had been a wall.

He wanted so badly to defy his brother, and one day he might learn to ignore that tone. But, this time, he knew better. Despite the need to rip Noah’s goddamn head from his body, Andrew had to keep a level head. Logan had the tendency to lose his temper when pushed too far, and Noah just didn’t give a shit.

“Gage, help Lizzie with Amelia.” Logan ran his hand over his face and let out a long sigh. “All right, you two. Let’s go.”

Andrew waited for Noah. They exchanged glances, yet neither moved. Andrew narrowed his gaze and doubled up his fists, the need to kill his brother rushing through his system like a wildfire.

“You first,” Noah said with a smile.

Andrew took a step toward him but stopped when Logan reached over and grabbed Noah by the neck, hard by the wince on Noah’s face.

“Noah, goddamn it, if you don’t move your ass I will end you, right here, right now.” Logan gave him a shove toward the office and then followed, keeping himself between Noah and Andrew.

Not until they were in the office with the door closed did he turn to face the youngest of the Gallaghers, his dark eyes lethal. “I’m only going to ask this once, and if either of you bullshit me, I’ll deduce my own conclusions.”

“Ask away, brother.” Noah sank down in a chair and leaned back casually, as if this were nothing more than an informal conversation. “I have no secrets.”

“That much is true,” Logan countered in a growl. “Your excursions with the opposite sex here in Port Steele are very well known,
lothario
.”

Noah simply smiled at the use of his nickname.

“Let me kill him, Logan.” Andrew doubled up his fist and raised it, ready to follow through with his threat. “I’ll even take him out back so as not to spill blood on the carpet.”

“Andrew, why not make us all a drink.” Logan nodded at the stand against the wall with the decanter of brandy waiting patiently. “I have a feeling we’ll need it.”

Andrew knew he definitely needed a drink. He went about the task of pouring the liquid into three glasses as he watched Logan pace back and forth in the study, every so often stopping long enough to spit off a round of insults directed at Noah.

Logan and Noah were the most alike, at least in looks. Both with brown hair and eyes, strong and rugged features that fit the life of a lumberman, they broke the hearts of many women. Logan grew out of it and settled down. Noah didn’t.

Logan wore the burdens of the world on his large shoulders. Noah, on the other hand, didn’t have a burden in the world. Why should he worry about other people when he didn’t even give a shit about his own problems?

And, once again, Logan played the role of the patriarch as he lectured Noah on his actions. Ever since losing their parents, Logan Gallagher served as not only the patriarch of the Gallagher empire, but also to the entire town. Bringing a shipload of women to Port Steele was brilliant and put the Gallaghers ahead of their cousins, the Pettys, and it was primarily Logan’s idea. The man was a visionary, just like their father.

Then there was Noah, who couldn’t see beyond his cock.

Andrew brought the drinks over and set them on the desk in front of Logan, not trusting himself to hand one to Noah. He’d just as soon dump the spirit over his lackadaisical brother’s head and then shove the glass up his ass.

Noah reached forward and took one of the glasses when Andrew stepped back from the desk, his drink in hand. Logan did the same and cringed as he threw back the contents of the entire glass, wincing as he swallowed.

Logan grunted as he set the glass down on the desk. “Noah, please tell me there is no truth in Andrew’s accusation. You did not pursue Amelia to spite your brother, did you?”

“Andrew released her. She is a woman, flesh and blood, and has needs.”

“Don’t deliver your lines to me and expect me to believe them as the women you seduce do. Her flesh and blood lives under this roof!” He slammed his fist down on his desk. “Lizzie is my wife and I will not allow this sort of scandal to upset her.”

Noah rolled his eyes, and Andrew shook his head, knowing how much Logan hated Noah’s nonchalance. Judging by the way that vein in his temple continued to throb, pushing Logan any further could be hazardous.

“Allow me to apologize to Amelia. I simply misunderstood her experience.”

Logan turned three shades of red as his expression grew lethal. “You will not be going anywhere near her. We only paid passage for women worthy of marriage to our men. I would never bring over a woman of ill repute, or one better suited to serve the men on Seattle’s mad row than the fine men of Port Steele. You’d do best to remember that.”

“I’m truly sorry for the inconvenience I’ve caused,” Noah said jovially.

“Inconvenience?” Logan stared him down until Noah dropped his gaze. “Is that what you think this is? Noah, I’m going to have to do something about this.”

He snapped his gaze up to his brother.

A tremor of alarm shot through Andrew as he asked, “Such as?”

“You caught him in bed with Amelia,” Logan reminded him, as if Andrew would ever forget that image of Amelia’s ripe body, her nipples puckered and rosy from her arousal. Noah, with his erection purple in his need to bury himself between her curvy legs.

“We weren’t exactly in a bed,” Noah explained but then fell silent when Logan shot him another murderous glare.

“If this gets out—”

“It won’t.” Noah shook his head.

“Port Steele isn’t that big of a town. That Lucy has the biggest mouth this side of Seattle. It wouldn’t surprise me if this scandal graced the front page of the paper come morning.”

“Logan,” Noah said, trying to smooth out the situation with his
I-don’t-give-a-shit
smile. “It really isn’t that bad.”

“I’m going to kill him.” Andrew seethed and doubled up his fists, his need to beat the shit out of his little brother too much to hold in. The son of a bitch seduced Amelia in her own chambers just to spite him.

“You’re not going to kill him,” Logan told Andrew.

Unbelievable. Once again Noah, being the youngest, got away with everything, and Andrew had to simply accept it. Well, not this time. This time Andrew would see to it that Noah got his just reward.

“Something has got to be done, Logan. I can no longer tolerate this constant acceptance of Noah’s philandering while the rest of the family makes excuses for him. And worse yet, he’s gotten Amelia to follow in his wayward footsteps.”

“Shut up, Andrew.” Noah stood and faced him. “Don’t you dare drag her into this. If you have issues with the way I’m living my life, say them to me, but leave Amelia out of it.”

Andrew faced him as well, and the tension thickened between them. He narrowed his gaze to a pinpoint precision on his brother as he doubled up his fists. “It was your choice to bring Amelia into this, dear brother. When you decided to seduce her, to fuck her as some sort of way to get back at me, you crossed that line. She is just as guilty as you are in all of this. I hope you’re happy with the choices of your life.”

“And what choices are those?” Noah growled and took a step toward him.

“Fucking everything in a skirt here in Port Steele. Tell me, Noah, once you run out of women here, where will you go next? There are plenty of women in San Francisco and several have no standards at all. They’d be perfect for you.”

“You son of a bitch!” Noah charged and slammed his shoulder into Andrew’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. They stumbled back into one of the wall tables and knocked it over. The contents gracing the top of the table came crashing down.

Andrew recovered and threw the first punch, connecting his fist with Noah’s lip. Noah fell back, tripped over a chair, and fell to the floor. Jumping back up, he swung hard and hit Andrew in the jaw. A blast of pain exploded in his head, and he tasted blood as he bit his tongue.

“Andrew! Noah! Stop this!” Logan tried to get between them, but Andrew pushed him aside. There was no way he’d let Noah get away with ruining this family. If he would have only kept his dick in his pants, Amelia and Andrew would be sharing their good news and making wedding arrangements by now.

“Stay out of this, Logan.” Andrew stood ready for Noah’s next assault and blocked his punch, and then threw one of his own, which connected to Noah’s nose. He felt a sense of satisfaction when Noah stumbled back, his hands covering his face, blood oozing out between his fingers.

Years of pent-up frustration and hatred for the special treatment granted to his little brother had finally sent Andrew into a rage he couldn’t stop, nor did he want to. Noah was going to learn exactly what happened when one of his quests crossed the wrong man.

“Enough!” Logan attempted to step between them, but this time Noah pushed him back and threw a punch at Andrew, all in one move.

It connected with Andrew in the side of the head, and he saw stars. Shaking it off, he tried to charge Noah but was stopped when Gage appeared and grabbed Andrew by the collar.

“What in the hell is going on in here?” he demanded.

“They are trying to kill each other.” Logan held Noah back and handed him a handkerchief to hold up to his nose.

“When aren’t they trying to kill each other?” Gage glared at Andrew as he released him with a firm push.

“This time I do believe they would have succeeded if we hadn’t been able to break them apart.”