Page 14 of Breaking the Alpha (Serpent’s Tongue Ink #2)

R iver strode into Wholly Yours Monday morning, two coffees precariously balanced in one hand.

Angelina was sitting on the floor in the back of the shop with a box cutter in hand and a pile of cardboard neatly stacked at her side.

She smiled up at him and hopped to her feet, easing one of the cups from his grasp.

“Please tell me this one is for me, because the monotony of cardboard recycling is numbing my brain.”

“I would never be so cruel as to flaunt a fresh caramel latte in front of you without sharing,” he replied as he rolled out the knots in his shoulders. “How has the morning been?”

“Busy for a Monday. Do you work today?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “I kind of forgot how much I like doing this stuff. How about you? Any more gemstone atrocities sell today? Those weird giraffe statues, maybe?”

“Don’t insult my hand-carved giraffes,” she admonished. “They’re unique.”

“They’re three feet tall and purple. You know why they’re unique? Because the person who made them woke up from their drunken haze and realized there was no market for big purple giraffes that look like eggplants.”

“I’m going to gift one to you and then you’ll have to like it.”

“I would reluctantly appreciate it, yes,” he huffed with a smile that had her heart fluttering.

“Did you do anything fun last night?”

“Just hung out on the porch. Grey went out with some friends and Birch and Jocelyn are at her parents’ place.” He chuckled. “You have no idea how weird it is for me to see Birch all excited to go hang out with his girlfriend’s dad. It’s like living in some alternate universe.”

She looked him over, the spark of desire in her eyes sending a small jolt through him. “Well, well, well. That’s a real smile I’m seeing, isn’t it? I think I get why some women might find you moderately cute.”

He grinned, knowing she was teasing him for the obvious effort he’d put into his appearance this morning after he’d snuck back into his old home after another long night on the Serpent’s Tongue love seat. “As long as you’re one of those women, I’ll take moderately cute any day.”

“You brought me coffee. I’ll raise my rating to adequately cute.” She set her coffee cup on the wrought iron table and crossed her arms. “How are you feeling about today?”

“Ready,” he stated, but his voice sounded as uncertain as he felt. “I better get over to the shop before Birch fires me and I ruin the whole spin my agent has in the works.”

She leaned in the doorway. “Give ’em hell.”

“That doesn’t sound very zen.”

“Go forth in mindfulness, peace, and compassion,” she corrected with a smile. “Better?”

“Much.” He glanced down the way toward his brother’s shop. “I don’t know how the next day or two is going to go, but can I call you as soon as I have a handle on this? I have a feeling I’ll need a friendly voice once this explodes.”

Her smile softened. “Of course. Good luck.”

The urge to kiss her rose so fast he barely managed to tamp it down.

But kissing her wasn’t on the table. Not now.

Probably not ever. Angelina was naturally sexy and innately sultry, but there was something different about it, something he hadn’t found in other women.

She put no effort into it. It was just who she was.

Everything from her voice to her walk to her hair screamed sex, yet it was the furthest thing from his mind when she’d soaked in a bubble bath two nights ago.

They’d crashed together on her sofa in the early hours of that Sunday morning, but he was under no illusion that they were anything more than friends.

His friend just happened to be fucking stunning.

He gave her a wave as he pulled his buzzing phone from his back pocket. “Hey Jodie,” he greeted his agent as he walked toward Serpent’s Tongue with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “I just uploaded the pictures and captions you sent over.”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” she replied, her voice bordering on gleeful. “Have you been monitoring the responses? River, honey. Windy Leigh would be wise to take her little victim narrative and go silent for a few months, because your shots have been fired and they are hitting the mark.”

Uneasy with the whole operation, he slowed his pace to ensure the conversation would end before he arrived at Birch’s shop. “But she isn’t being attacked, right? I mean, this is just about setting the record straight on that cheater accusation and the AI photos, not about siccing anyone on her.”

Jodie went silent, a move she often used to drive home her point before she made it.

“Honey, let me explain what will happen if it gets out that she was hunting for your replacement before you came to your senses and filed for divorce. Sure, she’ll have the whole cheater moniker, but why, River?

Why would any woman cheat on a guy like you? ”

His mind blasted through a dozen reasons, but before he could reply, she continued.

“It won’t be long before people wonder what’s wrong with you . Windy Leigh has marketed herself as the most adoring, blissful young wife in North America. Why would she look elsewhere if she had a man taking care of her needs?”

He caught what she was saying and stopped cold. “You’re protecting my dick.”

“I’m protecting your career, which, yes, includes your dick,” she said with an exaggerated sighed.

“You sell promise, River. Women see you and want everything those bedroom eyes, bad boy tattoos, and v-cut promise. Men see you and they want whatever you’re selling if it’ll make women look at them the way they look at you.

As long as people want you, companies will pay for you.

And as long as everyone believes you deliver on what you promise, everyone is happy.

And I promise you, Windy Leigh has another round of fake photos of you sitting in a folder on her computer just itching to be put online to try to ruin you.

And whatever she attacks with next won’t be as innocent as an orgy. ”

Running his hand through his hair, he forced his feet to keep walking. “I don’t want this to get ugly. It’s one thing for me to be dealing with it, it’s another to drag my brother’s shop into it.”

“So we keep location tags off. This is a critical point in your career, River. Don’t let your ex dictate your future.”

*

River was definitely strutting when he walked into Serpent’s Tongue Thursday morning with four of Angelina’s bracelets on his wrist. Every morning before work, he swung by Wholly Yours with two cups of coffee and got his daily dose of caffeine and Angelina.

They both pretended he hadn’t spent another night on the Serpent’s Tongue couch, they both feigned ignorance about the floral cloth bags of fresh baking left by the store’s door every evening, and they both acted like neither wanted anything more than friendship.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was working.

Birch and Grey were already on site. Birch was working on a new design and Grey was copying one of the older pieces onto a fresh piece of paper.

“Well, that answers that question,” Birch said with a chuckle, elbowing Grey. “He was out upholding the Baker reputation in a warm bed all night, not face-down with a bottle of moonshine.”

Spinning a chair around, he straddled it, swatted at Birch’s pencil, and played along with the story since it was better than telling Birch where he was spending his nights.

“I think Jocelyn’s made you forget you were once a bed-hopper.

” He flexed and kissed his bicep, earning a snort from Grey.

“These guns upheld the fighter rep protecting your ass.”

“Whatever, pretty boy,” Birch scoffed, reaching over to flick at the bracelets. “Ah, shit. Grey, I told you LA was going to turn him into an organic kale-eating, hemp-loving hippie.”

He tried to hide the stupid grin on his face as his thumb grazed the black beads on his red bracelet, but Grey was too quick, knew him too well.

“Ho. Ly. Shit,” Grey breathed, leaning in close and looking him square in the eye. “Birch, I think he caught what you have.”

Birch wasn’t as fast on the ball and his brows knotted in confusion. “I’m not sick.”

“You sure the hell are,” his younger brother stated seriously. “And so is River.” He pulled his shirt up over his mouth and nose and slid his chair away from both of them. “I didn’t know it was contagious. God, I’m so young. What if I catch it?”

“Catch what?” Birch growled, and River could almost see his nerves igniting.

Jumping up so fast he knocked his chair to the ground with a thud, Grey made a cross with his fingers, his face still covered. “It’s the lovesickness, Birch. He’s caught it. It’s gotta be airborne or something.”

River rolled his eyes as Birch wadded up a piece of paper and chucked it at Grey. “You’re an idiot. Pick up that chair.”

“Just look at the poor bastard,” Grey persisted, grabbing River by the jaw and tilting his head. “Smiling like a fucking moron, wearing jewelry, out all night, not even bragging about it.” He sniffed him and feigned a coughing fit. “And he reeks of Eau de Gorgeous Woman.”

Slapping his brother’s hands off him, River grunted. “We should have eaten you when your bones were still soft.” He looked to his older brother for backup only to find him smirking at him. “What?”

“Who is she?”

He tried to pretend he had no idea what Birch was talking about, but there was a reason his acting gigs were few and far between, limited to walk-ons with no lines.

“No one. There’s no one. Shit, guys, I’m in the middle of a divorce.

” He gestured to Grey, who’d grabbed a bottle of air freshener and was spraying it liberally around the room.

“And he’s a moron. Why didn’t you trade him for beans or something when he was still little and cute? ”

Birch grinned and sprawled back in his seat. “Who. Is. She?”

His nose wrinkled with the overpowering fake smell of clean linen. “It’s not serious. Just a woman I met when I got back here.”

His older brother crossed his arms. “A woman you’ve been spending every night with and it isn’t serious? Yeah, I know you haven’t been sleeping at home, Riv. So fess up. Where have you been?”

“Here,” he grumbled under his breath. It was either admit he had been hiding in the shop or own up to his unrequited crush with a woman who had clearly friend-zoned him.

“I come here at night. It’s just a lot right now, you know, with the whole divorce and the photos and being back in the house again. ”

Any and all traces of levity left the shop.

Grey righted his chair and sat while Birch stared him down for a minute before running his hand through his hair.

“Why didn’t you say something? I mean fuck, River.

If you need some time to deal with this divorce thing, I get it.

Hell, I’m kind of surprised you’re holding up this well as it is, considering all the shit you told me about the online junk going down.

We could’ve gotten you a hotel room or something so you could have a little space. ”

He hooked his thumb in the gray bracelet, a simple weave of three shades. “It’s not a big deal. It’ll pass soon enough.” Nodding at the appointment book, he cleared his throat. “What’s my schedule today?”

Birch held his gaze a moment longer before breaking it.

“All right. Discussion’s over.” He glanced at Grey.

“Hear that? Over. We have a group of five coming in from Furnas County. Grey, I’m giving you whoever wants the flag design I did up last night.

I’ll take the two stamps, and we’ll divide the gator tat.

River, we have two nose piercings and one tongue, plus a couple ears.

Good?” When Grey nodded and went to the back of the shop to wash up, he looked to River.

“You and I are going to have a sit-down. Soon. Go prep.”

*

River managed to avoid Birch’s threat of a sit-down until he snuck down the stairs with his backpack slung over his shoulder at midnight Saturday night. His brother’s unexpected presence on the front porch scared the hell out of him as he eased the door closed.

“Jesus, Birch,” he growled, adrenaline shooting through his veins. “What are you doing out here?”

Looking up from his position on the top step, Birch shrugged. “Waiting to tell you I get it.”

His heart was pounding, his body refusing to believe there was no imminent threat as he sat down. “Get what?”

“Why you leave. Why you stay at the shop until I close up even if your last appointment ends hours earlier. Why you hole up in your car unless Jocelyn drags you inside. Why you sneak out every night to sleep at the shop.” Leaning back on his hands, he looked to the dark sky. “I get it.”

River refused to respond, his grip on his keys tight.

“I didn’t sleep right for months after Winter was put away,” his brother continued.

“I kept waiting for Dad to come back. Kept thinking he’d somehow survived, that it wasn’t him who was cremated and he was going to bust through that door and kill one of you.

” He chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice.

“Do you remember finding me sleeping on the stairs back then?”

He nodded, and his throat tightened as he thought back to those first months when the threat of their father’s rage was no longer hanging over their heads. “You used to tell me the bat you carried everywhere was for baseball practice. I was too dumb to realize you didn’t play.”

“Yeah, well, it took a long time for me to sleep in my own room. Even longer to stop flinching when you or Grey came into a room too fast. But I had it easier than you did. When I took that prison term and left you two here, I got away from all the memories of Dad in this place and was able to focus on the ones I had with you and Grey.” Birch leaned forward and draped his arms over his knees.

“And then I came back and had the chance to make it our house. Not his. But I get it, River.” He slapped hands on his legs and stood.

“You don’t have any bookings tomorrow. If you’re going to insist on sleeping in the shop, at least pick yourself up an air mattress. ”

His brother went inside, leaving him alone on the porch to collect his thoughts before he took off toward Serpent’s Tongue to see what treat Angelina had left him tonight.