Dean
“Wouldyoulikesomethingto drink, Dr. Adler? Your usual?” Maria, one of the flight attendants for our family’s private plane, asked, interrupting my thoughts of Addison.
I looked up at her with a forced smile, something I felt myself having to do often lately. “A water is fine, thank you, Maria.” She nodded and flashed me a warm smile before turning to my brother and Harper to take their drink orders.
After she walked off, Harper cleared her throat. “So, uh, boys, what are we planning on doing when we get to Noah’s place?”
Archer laid his large hand on her thigh and squeezed. “Don’t worry about it, baby. We’re just going to take care of some family business.”
Harper shook her head. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” She smiled up at my brother. “Just let me know if you need help burying the body. I know of some places.”
A big grin spread across Archer’s face with a look aimed at Harper like she hung the fucking moon. “You scare the shit out of me sometimes, but fuck, do I love you.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips.
After Archer pulled away, Harper turned her attention back to me. “Dean, I may have made some things worse for you with Addi. I didn’t mean to, I swear, but I thought she already knew.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “Already knew what?”
“She, uh, knows about the lesson horses now.” Harper quickly dropped her gaze to her lap, where she was nervously toying with the hem of her skirt.
My heart sank.Fuck me.The last thing I needed was yet another instance where I didn’t disclose the whole truth to Addison. At this point, I knew that it didn’t matter that I’d done it all with good intentions, because if I were her, I wouldn’t trust my ass either.
“Got it. Not your fault, all of this shit is on me. I’ve got my work cut out for me, that’s for damn sure.” Maria placed my water on the tray in front of me and then turned to set down Harper’s and Archer’s drinks in front of them before retreating to the back to grab some snacks.
Harper’s brows pinched together with a look of pure sympathy on her face. “I’m sorry, Dean. Just give her some time. I think she understands that everything you did came from a good place, and that you just went about it the wrong way. She’s struggling to trust herself and her own judgment. And I’d be lying if I said that those texts weren’t a mindfuck for her.”
I nodded with a heavy sigh. “I hate that I’ve made her doubt herself, and I’m fucking struggling to make sense of the texts too.” I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated, turningtoward the window to stare out at the clouds. I needed to think through what to do, how I could prove that those texts were fake.
I could feel Archer’s eyes on me. “We will figure it out, brother.”
After dropping Harper off at her place, Archer and I made the short trek to Noah’s apartment. We thought the doorman, Joe, would be an obstacle, but evidently not when we told him that we were family andtheAdler brothers. Noah should probably get that checked out. We took the elevator up to the penthouse floor, which opened right into his apartment, since Joe was kind enough to swipe his card, allowing us access. A few hundred dollars in a tip didn’t hurt either.
We stepped off the elevator into a very sleek, very modern, very sterile bachelor pad with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Noah clearly heard the chimes from the elevator and came around the corner in only a pair of boxer briefs with a confused look on his face. He clearly wasn’t expecting company. One look at the two of us stopped him in his tracks, the color immediately draining from his face.
“How the fuck did you two get up here?” he hissed.
From somewhere around the corner, a woman’s voice echoed into the space. “Noah, who is it? Come back to bed.”
That was all it took. I saw red. All of this was a fucking game to this piece of shit. I lunged at him, grabbed him by the throat,and slammed him up against the wall, hard. The blow elicited a groan from his chest, his hands clutching at mine to ease the grip that I had on his throat. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I growled in his face.
Archer stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “Easy, Dean, let him go.” With one final squeeze to Noah’s throat, I pushed him into the wall and then released my grip on him.
He dropped to the floor, gasping for air, his hands grabbing at his throat. “What the fuck, Dean?” he tried to rasp out.
Hearing the commotion from the foyer, the woman came around the corner half dressed. She quickly tried to cover herself up when she saw us. Her eyes widened when her gaze dropped to Noah on the floor, holding his throat. “Noah! Are you okay? What the hell is going on? Who are these guys?” She quickly bent down next to him and put her hand on his back.
“I’m okay, baby. These are my cousins. You should probably grab your things and leave. I’ll call you later.” She looked up at us, brows pinched together in concern, and then back at him before nodding and doing as she was told. Noah finally got to his feet and said goodbye to his guest.
Once she left the apartment, Archer spoke. “What the fuck, man? You fly all the way down to Texas to blow shit up with Dean and Addison, and for what? You’re fucking another woman. What was the point of all of this? Even as a grown-ass man, you’re still such a petulant child. Dean has what you think is still yours?” Archer laughed a maniacal laugh, his eyes wild now. “I should have let him beat your ass. You are still such apiece of shit.”
Noah scoffed. “Dean’s the one who lied to her. I just thought she should know the truth. I was with Addison for a long time, not that either of you would know what being in a long-term relationship is like.” He crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
Archer chuckled, shaking his head, and then looked over at me. “Do whatever the fuck you want to him.” He held his hands up. “I’m not pulling you off him this time.”
A nervous look flashed through Noah’s eyes as I fisted my hands at my sides, keeping my anger in check.
“You’re right, Noah, I did lie to her.” Noah’s shoulders relaxed slightly at my concession. “I can’t say I have any right to be pissed at you for telling her that you’re my cousin and about the phone call. That’s fair. She deserved to know that. I take the blame for my fuckup there. But what I won’t tolerate is you showing her fake text messages saying complete and utter bullshit about Margot and my intentions.”
Noah’s mouth tilted up in a slight smirk, and I wanted to knock his fucking face in. Archer must have seen the smug look on Noah’s face too because before I could even react, Archer was on him immediately. He shoved him hard, causing Noah to lose his footing and fall to the ground. Archer straddled him and cranked his arm back, delivering a crushing blow to his nose. I winced at the sound it made. I would be shocked if it wasn’t broken. It was my turn to pull Archer off of him. When I got my brother off, I looked down to see Noah cupping his nose in his hands, blood seeping out between his fingers. Yup,Arch got him good.
