Page 34 of The Bad Brother

I PICKED RIVER UP FOR HER SHIFT AND took her to June’s for lunch, as promised.

“You’re okay?” she says, eyeing me suspiciously over the top of her menu. “For real?”

“For real,” I say, shaking my head on a laugh.

“Sloane stitched me up—she said it wasn’t even that serious.

” The last part is a lie but I don’t feel bad about telling it.

River is a lot more fragile than she lets on.

She has nearly five years sober and I won’t let the shit that’s going on with Ethan be the reason she backslides.

When I say it, River folds her menu and sets it on the table before sitting back in her seat to arch a slim, sandy-colored brow in my direction. “I told you she was a doctor.”

“Yes, you did,” I say after swallowing another laugh. “I regret doubting you—and her.”

“You should.” Reaching for her diet Coke, she eyes me while taking a drink. Setting it down with a frown, she sighs. “You owe her an apology.”

“Already done,” I say with a nod, remembering that I was practically on my knees, begging her not to move out, only a few hours ago. “Apology has been given, along with a solemn promise to stop being a dick.”

“Good,” she sniffs at me on a little huff before her mouth quirks to the side. “And you’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, River,” I say, flattening out the sharp edge of impatience in my tone as best as I can. “I’m sure I’m okay.”

“Do you know who did it?” It’s the same question Colt asked me this morning but for him it was rhetorical. He knew, even without asking that Ethan was responsible. All River knows about my brother is that he’s an asshole who slept with my fiancé.

“I’m sure it was someone who lost a pile of money, betting on the fights.” Again, I lie without guilt. The less River knows about my psychotic little brother, the better. “Colt’s looking into it.”

When I mention Colt, River visibly relaxes. “Good.” Giving me a decisive nod, she digs through the basket of onion rings between us, looking for the biggest one. “Then can we talk about Mindy?”

“Mindy?” Confused, I shake my head. “Who’s Mindy?”

Finding an onion ring that passes inspection, River looks up to scrunch her nose at me. “ Mindy —” She says the name like I should know who she’s talking about while she drowns her onion ring in a soup bowl full of ranch dressing. “Teresa’s sister. You said you’d go out with her, remember?”

Shit .

Yeah, I remember.

I also remember that I agreed to it before she dragged Sloane home and rented her my loft. And it was definitely before I lost my mind and started wondering what her pussy tastes like.

Seeing the look on my face, River’s scrunch turns into a frown. “You promised, Jen.”

I didn’t promise anything—but I said yes.

To River, it’s the same thing.

“I’m not sure this is the right time, Riv,” I say cautiously. “After last night?—”

“You said Colt was looking into it,” she reminds me, her tone sharpening slightly, accusation dancing on its edge. “You said that?—”

“He is,” I tell her firmly. “But?—”

“Then there’s no reason you can’t at least meet Mindy.” When I don’t argue, River keeps pushing. “I can call her. Have her come to the Mill tonight for?—”

“No.” It comes out too hard. Too sharp and River jerks back, her eyes widening slightly like I just slapped her in the face.

“Just…” Swiping my hand across my mouth on a sigh, I shake my head.

“Let me look at my calendar, okay?” It’s a stupid thing to say.

I don’t keep a calendar. I don’t have important meetings or appointments that I have to keep straight.

I own a fucking dive bar and day trade on my phone for fun.

The most important thing I do all day is turn on the fryers in the kitchen and keep drunk tow-truck drivers and cowboys from killing each other between George Strait songs.

“I’ll find a day when I’m free and let you know, okay? ”

Why aren’t you telling her about Sloane?

That would be the easiest, quickest way out of this mess.

Tell her about Sloane—that the two of you are seeing each other.

River is almost as crazy about her as you are.

If you told her, she’d be over the moon.

Cade knows, and if Cade knows, you can bet that Sera and Colt do too—so, why aren’t you telling River?

Because all Colt knows is that Sloane and I hooked up last night. He doesn’t know that it happened before and he sure as fuck doesn’t know that there are actual feelings involved—at least on my end.

And that’s the real reason, isn’t it?

Because even though I’m picking flowers for her and buying her shampoo, Sloane and I aren’t seeing each other.

We fucked a few times and no matter how I feel about it or what I want, that’s all it is.

She just got out of a shitty relationship and I highly doubt she’s ready to jump back into another one, especially with a guy like me.

“I’m not saying no, Riv,” I say, even though no is the only answer I want to give her. “Just… give me a day or two to get used to the idea, okay?”

“Okay.” Giving me a nod, River offers me a smile. “I’ll give you a day… or two.”

PULLING INTO THE MILL’S PARKING LOT with River, after lunch, I see him right away.

Ethan, leaning against the hood of his black BMW coupe, arms crossed casually over his chest, expensive sunglasses shielding a gaze that’s aimed at the building in front of me. He’s not really looking at the building though.

He’s looking at Cade .

Standing in the open doorway of the bar, there’s nothing casual about the way Cade looks.

He’s staring at Ethan with a single-minded intensity that would’ve driven someone smarter and less arrogant than my brother into his car and back over the bridge.

And if the look on his face didn’t do it, then the Louisville Slugger in his grip sure as shit would’ve done the trick.

“Who’s that?” River asks from the seat next me, her tone full of trepidation because after last night, nothing is safe. Everyone is suspect.

When he spots me, Ethan turns away from Cade and smiles while lifting his hand in a friendly wave. “That’s my brother.”

“What’s he doing here?” she says, the trepidation in her tone turning to distaste. While she knows about Ethan’s part in breaking up my engagement to Hanna, she doesn’t know about the nastier things that he’s done and she’s never seen him until now.

“I don’t know.” Parking my shitty hatchback next to River’s jeep, I cut the engine. “Go inside with Cade while I find out.”

“But—”

“Now, River,” I tell her, the hard clip of my words leaving no room for argument.

“Okay.” Giving me a single head bob, River opens her car door, climbing out of the passenger seat to shoot Ethan some wary side-eye on her way across the parking lot. As soon as she gains the porch steps and is within Cade’s reach, he shoots me a quick look— what are we doing here?

Giving him a quick chin jerk aimed at the building behind him, I watch Cade’s gaze narrow down to a glare, his grip tightening around the bat for a second before he does what I’m asking and turns to follow River inside the bar.

I can hear Ethan laughing on my approach. “You’ve got him trained. Can you get him to sit up and beg too?”

Stopping a safe distance away from him, I keep my arms loose while I watch the surrounding parking lot in my peripheral.

“He killed someone with a bat just like that, not too long ago,” I remind my brother in a neutral tone.

“He goes to work on you, I can promise he’s not the one who’ll be begging.

” When I say it, I have the distinct pleasure of watching that insolent grin die on his face. “What do you want, Ethan?”

“Is that what you’re driving these days?” he asks, ignoring my question to tip his chin at my shitty little hatchback. “I thought that old hillbilly you latched onto after you got out of prison left you a truck when he died.”

“Tank wasn’t a hillbilly,” I tell him, forcing casual indifference into my tone. “He was a redneck and he did. Someone put it in the Barrett a few weeks ago.”

Ethan gives me a look of mock confusion that barely covers up the psychotic glee that flits across his face. “Now, who’d go and do a nasty thing like that?”

“Someone who’s too stupid to leave well enough alone,” I tell him, my tone heavy with warning. “You gonna tell me what you’re doing here?”

“I heard about what happened last night,” he tells me, his expression folding into the perfect caricature of concern. “I just wanted to make sure my big brother was okay.”

Just wanted to assess the damage you caused and gloat, is more like it .

“No need to worry about me, little brother.” I give him a shrug that pulls at the stitches holding my back together. “Wasn’t even worth a trip to the hospital.”

“That’s good to know,” he says, the expression on his face saying something else entirely. “But you should be careful, just the same. Sounds to me like you’ve pissed the wrong person off. There’s no telling what they might do next.”

“Is that more of your brotherly concern ?” I know it isn’t. It’s a threat. He’s not done with me. He’s just getting started.

“Pretty girl.” Ignoring my question again, Ethan cocks his head to the side, indicating the bar we’re standing in front of. “Young too—she even old enough to drink?”

River’s twenty-four and five years sober but instead of answering his question, I just give him another shrug because I know what this is. It’s another threat. “I don’t really know,” I tell him, my tone laced with indifference. “She’s just a waitress who needed a ride in for her shift.”

The grin on his face sharpens. “You fuckin’ her?”

Disgust curdles my gut and I have to fight tooth and nail to keep it from showing on my face. “Like I said, she’s just a waitress.”

For a long moment, all we do is stare at each other before Ethan smiles again. “I bet this place gets crowded on the weekends, huh? Hard to tell who’s coming in and out. Can’t really tell who’s doing what. Bet it gets pretty dangerous around here.”

“See that camera?” Lifting a hand, I point at one of about fifty exterior security cameras I had installed this morning.

“For every one you see, there are ten more just like it that you can’t—inside and out,” I tell him, issuing a warning of my own.

“You might’ve gotten the jump on me once, but it’s not going to happen again. Next time, I’ll see you coming.”

Ethan’s face splits into a wide grin. “Pretty sure it was more than once.” Before I can answer him or maybe just finally snap and break his fucking neck, he drops his arms away from his chest while levering himself off the hood of his car.

“See you around, brother,” he says before turning to open up his car door.

“Oh—almost forgot.” Door open, he turns back to look at me.

“Found this in the dirt,” he says before tossing something small and flat in my direction.

Instinct has me lifting my arm to snatch it out of mid-air.

Closing my hand around it, I feel the bite of something sharp.

Opening it, I look down to see a razor blade in my palm, smudges of something rusty along its edge that looks a hell of a lot like blood.

My blood.

“You might want to properly dispose of that.” He gives me another psychotic grin. “Those things are dangerous. Someone could get hurt.”

Before I can react, Ethan slams his car door between us and drives away.