Page 84 of Hard Rock Heat

Ian'svoice.

"What the fuck is goingon?"

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ian appearedin the entrance of his building, with my sister beside him. Damon and his father both paused their fight, whirling their heads around as the sound of his voice. Damon let out a shocked, painednoise.

"Ian, go back inside," Damon ordered. He flicked his gaze between his brother and his father. Ian hadn't noticed who Damon was fighting withyet.

"First tell me why you're having an impromptu boxing match in front of my building, and then I might," his brothersaid.

"Ian, please," Damonpleaded.

"What the hell is so—" Ian cut himself off abruptly as his gaze followed Damon's. He saw his father. His eyes widened. He let out a strangled noise and stepped back. Hope laid a hand on his shoulder with a concerned expression. She held her cell phone in onehand.

"Fuck," Damon swore under his breath. "Ian, get backinside."

Ian ignored him "Dad…?" he asked, expression half-confused, half-pained.

His father went silent, a scowl on hisface.

"What are you doing here?" Ian's face was white, as if all the blood had drained out ofhim.

Gareth wiped a streaked of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Just needed a little favor from your brother, that'sall."

"And that's why you're beating each other up?" Ian's wide eyes narrowed, dubious. He turned to his brother. "Why didn't you tell me Dad wasback?"

"You should go back inside," Damon said instead of answering. "Let me handle Dad. You don't need to deal with allthis."

"All this?" Ian began to look incensed. "What exactly is allthis?"

Neither of them said anything. Gareth had just lost his leverage. Damon had just been confronted about hislies.

"Start talking," Ian demanded. "Now."

"Your father's been blackmailing Damon," I spoke up, since Damon and Gareth were clearly not going to answer. "He's been doing it for years. Extorting money. He's been threatening to go to you if Damon didn't do what heasked."

Ian's expression twisted into disbelief. "Are youserious?"

I nodded. I looked to my sister. She had take Ian's hand in hers, squeezing ittight.

"What the fuck, Damon?" Ian blurted. "What— Shit—" Ian ran a frustrated hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. "What the hell were you thinking?" he finallyasked.

"You didn't need to know," Damon insisted. "The last time Dad showed up, you flipped out." Damon looked at his brother with woundedeyes.

"That was years ago," Ian said. "Things were different,then."

"I didn't want to see you lose all the progress you've made," Damonsaid.

I looked to Hope, wanting an explanation. She met my eyes and shook her head no with a slight movement. I supposed whatever Ian's deal was, it wasn't for the world toknow.

"I'm not a kid anymore," Ian said. "You don't need to protect me fromeverything."

"Not everything," Damon insisted. "Justthis."

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Gareth trying to slinkoff.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. "You don't get to run away after causing all thisdrama."