Page 91 of The Maxwell Brothers

"Tough luck, big boy," Malcolm said with a shit-eating grin. "I'll be the one filing a complaint. And then we'll see how the lawsuit goes."

"You came here to provoke us," Declan said. It always amazed me that he could keep a calm tone even in situations like this, but it was why he was one of the best lawyers in the wholestate. "If you call your lawyer now, he’ll tell you that what you're doing is not going to help your lawsuit. Know what? I'm going to call him right away, as well as the police. And we'll see what they have to say."

I didn't like the smile Malcolm flashed. "No need. I have what I came for."

I didn't have time to dissect his statement. Reese was close to losing her composure. She was a strong person, but even the strongest of us needed a break from time to time.

Tyler was standing unnaturally still. I instinctively knew something was wrong.

But he didn't say anything. We watched Malcolm get back in the car and pull away.

I went to Tyler immediately, and so did Reese. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

At the same time, Declan asked, "What the fuck were you thinking? We knew he might pull something like that. It was exactly what I warned you all about."

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Declan. Just be reckless and stupid like all the rest of us for once.” Tyler spoke through gritted teeth.

"Declan," I said harshly, "we don't have time for this right now."

"Really? Why? What do we have better to do?"

"Well, I, for one, need to get to the hospital," Tyler said, and I was shocked at how strained his voice sounded. "Something's wrong with my shoulder. Let’s get Sam out here, but I’m sure I need a hospital."

At that precise moment, I realized Tyler must have been in a whole lot of pain. Hockey was a brutal game, and I'd seen my brother fall on the ice plenty of times, but he’d never reacted like this before.

CHAPTER 25

TATE

"Well, that was a shit-show,"I said later in the evening when Lexi and I got home. Tyler went to the hospital with Reese, Declan, and Blair, but he insisted the party go on. It was impossible to keep the incident from my family, but we still tried our best to make this day worth it for Travis. We managed to keep the party going for another hour, right until Declan texted that Tyler dislocated his shoulder and there were some complications. He was going to need an intensive recovery program.

There was a real risk he was going to be benched for the upcoming season. That put a big damper on the party, and not even Luke or Sam could put a positive spin on it.

Travis took it all in stride. Predictably, he wasn’t mad that his party was derailed, but he was pissed that we didn’t tell him about Malcolm showing up.

"Yeah, it was," Lexi said.

We had the whole house to ourselves because Paisley was spending the evening with my parents. They were dropping her off tomorrow.

We sat down on the couch, and I pulled Lexi into my lap. She immediately straddled me, her thighs at my sides.

"I'm sorry for the family drama," I said.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm happy you all stick together."

I loved that about her, that she didn't judge, that she understood how much I valued my family. She also seemed to appreciate it. But I couldn't help wondering if it would get to be too much for her at some point.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter. What's with that smile?"

“I just remembered you told me you loved me today and that you were wishing the party was over. And now it is over."

I smirked. “That’s right. I'm going to show you exactly what's going to happen now, and you're going to love it."

"Oh yeah?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"I fucking promise, Lexi. All day long I've been looking forward to this, to being alone with you. I like it when the two of us spend time with Paisley, but I also like it when we’re alone. You ground me. You balance me." I kissed down her neck. "You turn me on."