Page 56 of Oathbreaker

Damn.

He really is beating himself up.

“I shouldn’t have walked into the fray. That was dumb.”

“It was,” he says, shoving a hand through his hair. “But I still hit you.”

“You did. But you also hit Colt, who is injured and recovering from being in a Russian prison for four years.”

His face screws up into a scowl. “The bastard deserved it.”

“Dash,” I warn.

“He left us, made us think he was dead”—his scowl deepens—“and he fucked my baby sister.”

Right, I’d breached the gulf, but he’s seriously pissing me off.

“It wasn’t like that,” I snap, “and you know it.”

“What I know is the man who was supposed to be my best friend, betrayed me. Huge. Twice.”

“Can I punch you this time?” I say, and it’s half-sarcastic, but only half. Because the rest of me wants to shake some sense into him.

He rolls his eyes.

I take a deep breath, shove down my temper.

“Look,” I say. “I wasn’t a child when Colt and I got together.”

“You were still too young.”

Breathe. Don’t murder your brother.

“Dash, please.”

He stares at me for a long moment, and I swear to God, I can see him mentally crossing his arms, even if he doesn’t do it on the outside.

Still, I keep trying.

I have to. It’s Dash.

“We fought the attraction for a long time,” I say. “And you know he fought it for longer. I wasn’t very sly about keeping my crush hidden and by the time I was old enough?—”

He snorts, but I ignore it.

“By the time I was old enough to be with Colt in that way, we were on more equal ground. We were close friends and that grew into something deeper, something special.”

“If it was something so special, why’d you hide it?” he asks recalcitrantly.

“Because you’re acting like this.” I sigh. “If he was alive and you found out, we’d be exactly here, but I thought he was gone, honey. And you’re Dash and he was Colt, I didn’t need to do anything to tarnish that memory.”

I pause, waiting for him to reply, to meet me at least part way.

Unfortunately, he just keeps scowling at me.

“So, we’re here,” I say quietly.

A terse nod. “We’re here.”