Page 50 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Levi

I walk into my house after a week away and find my brothers in the dining room, eating a home-cooked meal of lasagna, salad, and breadsticks.

“Holy shit,” I say. “Cash made dinner?” Most of my brothers can cook, but Cash is the best. He probably could have been a chef if he’d wanted to.

Cash snorts. “This is way too boring. If I’d cooked, you’d know it.”

“I cooked,” Sebastian says. “Grab a plate and join us.”

I drop my bag in the hall and do what he says.

“So what’s the deal?” I ask as I set my plate on the table and take a seat.

“Is it someone’s birthday or something?” It’s no one’s birthday, but I can’t imagine another reason for this family meal.

Since my brothers moved in, we’ve done our own thing for dinner most nights.

We aren’t on the same schedule, and we see way too much of each other as it is.

“Deacon suggested we start a family dinner night every Sunday, and I agreed,” Sebastian says.

“Mom and Dad will be moving here soon, and Dad will probably want to take over the cooking, but I think it’s good we get in the habit before they get here.

We need to remember we’re friends and brothers, not just colleagues. ”

I stare at my older brother, confused. “You’ve always said business comes first.”

Sebastian scoops lasagna onto my plate and tosses me a slice of garlic bread. “And when you had something major going on with your woman, you tried to sneak out of the house to deal with it on your own instead of coming to your family.”

My chin is practically on my chest. “Are you admitting you were wrong?”

He glares at me. “No. The business comes first in the sense that we don’t let pride or petty arguments interfere, but family is most important.”

I look around at my brothers, who are all stuffing their faces like this is normal. “That’s the same thing as he was wrong, right?”

Deacon catches my eye and gives his head a small shake. He clearly knows more than I do. I should let it go, but I’ve had a shit week, I’m missing Gentry, and I feel like causing a little trouble.

“I mean, isn’t admitting you’re wrong the first step to letting go of your pride, Sebastian?”

If I’m looking for a fight, I’m out of luck. Sebastian straightens in his seat and looks down at me in a way I know means I’m in for a lecture.

“Now you’ve fucking done it,” Ryland mutters.

Sebastian drops his fork onto his plate and folds his hands on the table. “The business is the lifeblood of this family. It puts food on the table and gives us the freedom to direct our own lives as we see fit. Do you disagree?”

Oh, no. I’ve completely misread the room . If there’s going to be any fighting, it’s going to be my brothers kicking my ass after this lecture. A lecture they’ve almost certainly already heard. “Nope. I’m totally on board, Sebastian. You don’t need to—”

“We are descended from a long line of men and women who made their way in the world by focusing on what put money in their pockets and a roof over their heads. That was the focus for generations, and it’s our focus.

But none of it means anything if we don’t have a strong support system as a family. Get it?”

“I’ve got it, Sebastian. Seriously. You can stop.”

“Like our great-great-great-grandfather, Humphrey Sullivan, who built a business in a town that wasn’t even a town yet, working as a blacksmith and making a place for his brothers and their families to live, we build to share and we share to support.”

He goes on and on, but I tune him out. He’s the self-appointed family historian, and I’ve heard most of our family stories more times than I’d like. The truth is, even with his focus on the business and his hard-ass attitude, I’ve never doubted that Sebastian cares about me and our family.

By the time Sebastian is done, I’ve finished my salad and half my lasagna.

“And that’s why we’re having family dinner,” Sebastian says. “Where there will be no talk of business. We will discuss our personal lives and family so that we can find the best ways to support each other.”

I fully doubt this is the way to get any of our brothers to open up about their lives, but I’ve learned my lesson and I’m not going to share that sentiment with him.

“Now,” Sebastian says. “How did things go in Cheyenne?”

“Frustrating,” I say. “I don’t have anything we can use to convince Harley to give up on selling the house.

But what I did find makes me suspect he desperately needs cash in hand.

” The handful of people Harley lent money to and who were willing to talk to me, told me he’d forgiven their loans as soon as the police were involved.

There’s no way of knowing how much money he loaned out in total, but it was more than a hundred grand to those five people.

I don’t know where Harley got the money to loan that much out, but he definitely owes someone, either a partner, another loan shark, or a credit card.

Which is the only reason to sell a house that’s entirely paid for.

With the price of real estate around here, it’ll take nearly every bit of profit he makes to pay back what he owes.

“We have to make sure he doesn’t sell that house,” I say. “How’s the plan going?”

“That hermit author is a hell of an actress,” Ryland says.

“Her name is Lennox,” Cash says, glaring at our brother. He shifts to look at me. “She did great. So did Hailey and Ellery. Harley ought to be feeling like there’s no way he’s selling that house without first spending a lot of money to get it in shape.”

“But he hasn’t taken it off the market,” I say. “Is Jamie still insisting he can only fuck around with the sale for a week?”

“That’s what he says,” Ryland says. “But we still have the bargaining chip of not just the next six months of our builds and flips, but a full year.”

“He won’t go longer than a week,” Sebastian says. “We push this too hard and Harley might make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. If Jamie goes down, he’s taking us with him.”

“We need to do something.” I run a hand through my hair and pull, the hint of pain a welcome outlet for my frustration.

It’s too bad none of my brothers is in a fighting mood.

“If Harley sells that house, he’s taking the money and getting the hell out of town.

Gentry and her sisters are going to be homeless. ”

The room goes so quiet, I swear my brothers aren’t breathing. “He wouldn’t do that,” Deacon finally says, his tone a level of angry I almost never hear from him.

To our family, the idea of stealing from blood is capital punishment worthy.

“He loaned money to a single-mother living in a one-room apartment and charged her fifty percent interest. She needed the money for a sick kid and, when she couldn’t make her payment, Harley threatened to tell the police her oldest child had been the one spray painting buildings downtown. ”

“Holy shit,” Cash breathes. “He really is a sociopath.”

I nod. “That’s my take. I’m no shrink, but I think he’s also a narcissist.”

“What happened to the woman and her kids?” Deacon asks, his eyes glassy. He is so fucking empathetic it’s painful.

“The cops got wise to what Harley was doing. Someone must have tipped off Harley, because he and Trisha got out of town without collecting on the money owed to them. Once they were gone, the people Harley loaned the money to were suddenly unwilling to testify against him.”

“But they talked to you,” Sebastian says, leaning toward me.

I wink. “People love me.”

“Hmm.” I don’t like the look on Sebastian’s face. “Maybe we should use you for sales.”

I hold up my hands. “That’s Cash’s department. Not mine. I want no part of it. I’m strictly the electrician.”

Sebastian studies me way too intently, but he doesn’t say anything else.

“What can we do to step up the pressure on Harley not to sell the house?” Deacon asks.

Luckily, I’ve had hours of travel time to come up with a few ideas.