The Other Brother Part 2: Taboo: Stepbrother Billionaire Romance (7 page)

“Yeah, I know that part.” Allegra doesn’t sit, instead crossing her arms over her chest defensively. “Then you dragged him outside and beat the shit out of him. Tristan and Gavin tried to pull you off after the first few punches, but they couldn’t do it. You kept going until he was almost dead. In front of a whole crowd of witnesses.”

“There’s a part of that story that’s missing.” Here it comes. No going back now. “Nobody else knew what he said to me before I threw that first punch.”

She puts her hand on her hip and glares. “What could have been so bad that you would’ve nearly killed him?”

I groan, then bury my face in my hands.

“He told me to back off. He told me that you belonged to
him
. And that one night, he was going to slip into your bed and take you for his own.”

ALLEGRA

W
hat?

No.

My gut roils. It feels like I’ve been punched in the stomach a few times. Blindly, I reach out for the sofa and sit before I collapse onto my ass.

“You’re lying.” I look at Seth with disbelieving eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

“I think you do.” His voice is cautious. “Or you wouldn’t look like you’re going to get sick.”

“Theo would never…” I stop as I think about last night. About the years before he went to jail, how he’d grown increasingly crueler.

“Hurt me. Yes, I know you’ve said that again and again, but I don’t think you really truly believe it.” He sits beside me.

“You’re just saying this to exonerate yourself, for what you did to him.” I have to believe this. I have to. Because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

“I could’ve told the truth six years ago, you know. Probably would have still gotten some time, but not as much.” Seth says this quietly, and the torture on his face stops me in my tracks.

“Then why didn’t you?” I can’t hold still, so I stand and start to pace. My head starts to spin. I’m having a hard time focusing on Seth’s words. This feels like a dream, a nightmare really. One where I find out the monster under my bed is my brother.

Because… I don’t think he’s making this up. Whether Theo meant what he said or not… I at least believe he said it.

“I wanted to spare you this.” Seth scrubs at his stubble, stubble that just minutes ago was scraping against my neck. “I told Theo to stay the fuck away from you. That if I found out he ever hurt you… I would kill him. That I’d always be watching.”

He laughs sarcastically, shaking his head. “I thought I’d saved you, you know, and that the best thing for you was for me to just disappear from your life. I knew you would never be able to forgive me for hurting Theo, especially not if you didn’t know the truth. And then he went to jail, and I knew for sure you were safe, and it didn’t make sense to come back.”

There’s a tightening in my chest. I can’t catch my breath. I rub between my breasts, trying to get my lungs to work. Seth must see my distress, because he tugs me back down to the couch, grabs me around the neck and pushes my head down between my legs.

“Just take in a deep breath and let it out slowly.” He rubs my back gently. “You’re all right, Allie.”

Except I’m not all right. Nothing is all right, or ever will be again. How can I possibly function with this knowledge?

Theo… wanted me. Like
that
. And I wanted my… other brother.

Oh my God, how fucked up was this?

Sitting up, I push him away. I can’t breathe, I need space. I get to my feet and my legs shake, making it difficult to stand there and look down at him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with this, Seth?”

I can tell he doesn’t have a clear answer. Of course there isn’t an answer. This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

“I don’t know.” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. The man who loves to be in control, clearly not feeling as if he is. That terrifies me as much as anything.

“Great. Perfect.” I throw my hands in the air. Not reasonable, but I don’t care. “Why did you tell me then? You obviously came back to Galveston with some kind of plan.”

He jumps to his feet and paces the room. “My plan was to persuade Theo to leave town for good.”

“How? With your fists again?” Then a thought surges through my mind and I pale. “You… you aren’t planning on killing him, are you?”

He whirls on me. “Jesus Christ, Allie, no, of course not. I can’t believe you’d even think I could.”

Looking at him, and the barely banked fury I can see in his eyes… I think he could.

For me. Only for me.

It’s a chilling realization. And I’m not entirely sure that I believe him. “I don’t know what to think about all of this, Seth.”

I need to go. This is too much.

“I planned on paying him off. To go quickly and quietly.” There’s pain in Seth’s voice. “I don’t care how much I have to give him to keep him away. It would be worth it.”

It probably would have worked, too. Might still work. Theo’s always been one to take the easy road.

“Were you planning on seeing me?” This is somehow more important to me.

He looks at me, guilt painted on his features, and then shakes his head. “No. I didn’t think it would be best.”

“Well, sorry to fuck up your covert operation.” Tears that I don’t want rise to clog my throat.

He reaches for me, but I dance back. “Allie, you haven’t. This… I think it was meant to be.”

“Yeah, I bet you do”

He sighs angrily. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you were able to satisfy some sick fantasy you always had about me.”

He takes a step back, as if I’d slapped him. And I had. That was unfair, not worthy, and I know it.

But I don’t want to be the only one in pain.

I turn on my heel. “I have to get out of here. I can’t talk about this anymore.”

Before I can open the door, Seth is next to me. “Go home, pack a bag and come back here. I’ll pay for a room for you to stay in. Just until I can do what I came here to do.”

He’ll pay for a room. He’ll pay Theo to go away. He’ll pay to make things better.

Money won’t fix this. Nothing can.

“I wish you’d never told me this. I wish you’d never come back.” The words come out in a rush, fueled by anger and hatred. Once they are out, I realize I don’t really mean them, but the damage is done. My words have hit their mark.

Seth’s eyes darken. His face shuts down. He’s back to being the guarded, stoic boy I remember from all those years ago.

“That’s fine.” His voice is cool, aloof. “You can hate me. I expected as much, but just do what I tell you. If you want to stay out of danger, don’t spend another night in that house with Theo.”

I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.

But I don’t say that. I don’t say anything.

I just go.

SETH

“D
amn it!”

The words aren’t enough to release everything I’m feeling. Needing more, I slam my fist against the door. It jars me all the way to my bones, and pain radiates up my hand from the scrapes on my knuckles. It’s nothing compared to other wounds I’ve gotten over the years, but at least it’s something to concentrate on. Instead of dwelling on Allegra.

She’s gone. She’ll never be back. Not the way I want her to be.

Instinct tells me to open the door and go after her.

Something tells me that right now, that will only make things worse.

I’ve dreaded telling her about Theo for years. Now, though? She had to know the truth so she could protect herself. I don’t know what I would do with myself if something happened to her.

She is, has always been, my first thought when I wake up and my last when I go to bed. There can be no chances with her. I have to do something.

Grabbing my phone, I make a call.

“What’s up, Fancypants?”

Just hearing his voice lightens my heart a bit. Tristan never seems anything but chill. “I need a big favor.”

“Spill.”

“Pick me up at the Tremont.”

“Just let me finish this sandwich, and I’ll be there.”

“No. Now.”

Forty minutes later I’m sitting in the passenger seat of Tristan’s Camaro cruising down Broadway. I’m angry enough that I didn’t trust myself to drive.

“You’re kind of being stalkery.”

“That’s not a word. And I’m not a stalker,” I say for the second time.

“You want to sit outside Allegra’s house in the car in the dark so she doesn’t know you’re there.” He smirks at me. “And that’s
not
creepy?”

I just turn and glare.

Tristan settles back in his seat. “This about Theo?”

I’m floored. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, dude, you went to jail for beating the shit out of him. I figured it was for a good reason, even though you’ve never bothered to tell me.”

Well. I’d never thought of that.

“I—”

But apparently he’s not done. He slaps his hand on the steering wheel. “One phone call, dude. One. Six years, I don’t see you. Jesus.”

“Do we really need to do this now?” What is this, pick on Seth night? I won’t tell him that I’ve kept tabs on him too. That I’ve been to more of his MMA matches than I can count.

Tristan jerks the car over to the side of the road, nearly hitting a trash can on the sidewalk. He parks and turns to glare at me. “If you want me to do a stakeout in front of Allegra’s with you, then yeah, I need to know the score.”

“Fine.” I scrub hard at my face. I really need some sleep, but know I’m not getting any tonight. “Remember the party?”

“Yeah, how could I forget?”

“Well… Theo said some things about Allegra that I didn’t like.”

“What kinds of things?” He eyes me, but I’m pretty sure by the look on his face he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“Things no brother should say or think about his sister.” I bite the words out. They taste dark and bitter.

Tristan just shakes his head. “I always thought he wasn’t quite right in the head.”

“Really?” This is news to me.

“Yeah, the couple of times I met him, he just… rubbed me wrong.” Tristan looks at me from the corner of his eye.

“Oh, he didn’t rub you the right way?” I can’t help the knee-jerk insult—it’s how we communicate. It’s not the best time to laugh but I can’t keep it in. Tristan’s face is way too serious for me. It’s not a look I often see on my carefree friend, who is so laid back he sometimes seems like he’s going in reverse.

Tristan punches me in the arm. I know he pulled back, but damn if it didn’t still sting. I resist the urge to rub at it. Don’t want him to know he got me good.

Jesus. I’m not exactly lacking in the muscle department, but each of his biceps are the size of my head.

“Can we go now?”

Without a word, he drives away from the curb and we continue on our way.

The house is dark when we pull up, and I’m glad—less people awake to notice a strange car parked on the street. I check my watch. It’s only eleven o’clock. Maybe Allegra took my advice and is back in the suite that I booked for her—the one right next to mine. Maybe she’s at least at a friend’s house.

Knowing her, though, I doubt it. She wouldn’t be her if she did what I told her to do.

“Now what?”

“I don’t know. Wait, I guess.”

“For what?”

“You’re annoying me.”

Tristan laughs. “You’re an idiot. You don’t even have a plan.”

“What do you want me to do? Go up and ring the bell and see if Theo is home then punch him in the face if he is?” I’m annoyed because he’s right. And I always have a plan. But Allegra throws everything that I know to be true out the window.

“It would beat just sitting here like a couple of creepy old men.” Tristan whistles, and I barely resist the urge to punch
him.

“I just need to know if Allegra is home and safe. That’s all.”

“Call her.”

I huff. “I have, dumbass. Several times, but she’s not answering her phone.”

“What did you do to piss her off?”

I glare at him, wondering now why I invited him along. Oh yeah, right, I needed an unrecognizable car just in case Allegra looked out the window, and a voice of reason in case I decided to do something stupid. I should’ve remembered that Tristan
has
no voice of reason inside his buffed-up body and brain.

“You slept with her, didn’t you?” Tristan crows. God, I hate him. Not really. But kinda.

“Not open for discussion.” Scowling, I slam open the car door. “I’m going around back to see if she’s home.”

Tristan gets out too and whispers loudly. “You did, you motherfucker. I want details.” He follows me around to the backyard.

I don’t answer him but push through the thick hedges. A bramble scratches at the back of my hand, leaving a nice long red line. I’m going to start itching soon. After living here for a few weeks, I found out that I was allergic to the sap in the bushes. I’d escaped through them often enough.

Once we’re in the back, I look up at her bedroom window. It’s dark too. But she has to be home. Where else would she go?

I have to know. It’s going to kill me if I don’t. I can’t go back to the hotel now. I’ve crossed a line and I can’t go back.

“Give me a boost.” My voice is grim. If only my employees back in New York could see me now.

Tristan gives me his wide-eyes. “What? Are you crazy?”

“Just do it.” I push him toward the house so I can climb onto his back, then shoulders. That should give me enough lift to be able to climb onto the edge of her window and look in. She never sleeps with her blinds closed. In fact, I remember that she likes to sleep with her window open, so the breeze can gently caress her and so she can smell the oleander trees.

“Fine.”

Tristan bends over a little, and I plant my foot on his back, trying to find the best footing on his beefy shoulders, when I hear someone clear their throat from the shadows near the balcony off the kitchen.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Tristan stumbles sideways, as do I, and we both tumble onto the grass, like a freaking circus act.

I look up to see Allegra glaring down at us.

Tristan gives her a finger wave. “Hey, Killer. Been standing there long?”