“Did Uncle Finn get in trouble again?” Andie asked as she rose from her little table.
“Hey now!” Finn snagged Andie around the waist and flipped her upside down as she squealed with delight. “Why amIthe one you say is always in trouble?”
“Dammit, Finn, she just ate,” Axel grumbled. “She pukes, you’re cleaning that shit up.”
“Because you’re the naughty uncle!” Josie exclaimed, jumping on Finn. When she was also upside down, she pointed at Axel. “Daddy, you saidtwobad words!”
“That’s two quarters!” Andie cackled.
Freya’s chest squeezed. God, she missed this. Her brothers drove her crazy, but she missed them.
Xander wrapped his arm over her shoulders. She leaned into him as her nerves built. If it weren’t for the man beside her, for his quiet support, she’d probably never have the courage to tell her brothers about what was going on. But as she was coming to learn—first by sharing with Xander and then with his team—the more people who knew what was going on, the more people looking out for her, the better.
“Alright, girls,” Freya called out, clapping her hands. “Upstairs you go. Go watch an episode ofBluey, and we’ll have dessert after!”
The girls cheered and ran out of the room.
Once she heard their feet stomping upstairs, she turned to her brothers. They all looked at her in concern.
“Everything okay, Frey?” Oscar asked.
Xander took her hand in his and squeezed. She clung to him like a lifeline and exhaled.
“Holy shit,” Finn said. “Are you pregnant?”
“What? No!” She glared at her brother, and he held his hands up.
Xander coughed, and when she looked at him with narrowed eyes, he smothered his snicker. Wise man. “Sorry, baby.”
She cleared her throat. Loudly. “As I wasgoingto say, since we’re all together, I wanted to talk to you guys about some stuff... some trouble that’s come up.”
For the next few minutes, she opened up to her brothers. About the photos she’d received on Sarah’s birthdays and death anniversaries, about her car getting vandalized, about getting pushed down at the parade, and the photos that had been delivered to her apartment door.
All the while, her brothers sat in stunned silence.
Until Axel surged out of his chair. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything, Freya?”
She bit back a groan.Typical, Axel. Typical.She readied her reply, but Xander cleared his throat.
His body had gone tense beside her, but his voice remained calm when he said, “I don’t have siblings, so I’m not claiming I’m an expert on family dynamics, but I’m assuming this”—he waved his hand at Axel—“is exactly why she didn’t say anything.”
“I asked you a question, Freya,” Axel said, ignoring Xander.
She was going to kill her brother.
“Uh-uh,” Xander said. “You don’t get to give Freya shit for not talking to you.”
“Stay out of this,” Axel spat.
“No way in hell. If she hasn’t said anything, it’s onyou, becauseyoumake her uncomfortable. And after spending time with you—limited as it’s been—I can see why.”
Axel crossed his arms over his chest, and that smarmy look she’d always wanted to smack off his face bloomed. “Enlighten me.”
“You’re a condescending prick. As your brothers pointed out earlier, you’re also an asshole.”
The corners of her lips twitched, and her other brothers snorted. Xander wasn’t wrong. But she was pretty sure the only people who ever called Axel out were sitting in this room.
“You look down on her,” Xander continued. “A woman who’s worked her way up to be at one of the most sought-after resorts in the fucking world. You know nothing about what she does or even who she is, and that pisses you off. But again, that’s onyou.”
