Fire exploded in Seth’s gut. “What the hell?”
Almost in slow motion, Erik turned his head. Betrayal spread a crimson flush across his sharp cheekbones. “Did you sleep with Ruby?”
Jesus. Things were about to go seriously south. “No.”
“Bullshit.” Ben stood, his body vibrating. “Did you think I didn’t know about your late-night visits with her? The times you spent with her when Erik was working? Did you honestly believe I’d let you roam this town free?”
“You bastard.” Seth let a snarl loose. “You were following me?”
Ben puffed out his chest, his eyes narrowing to pinpoints. “I own this town, son. Don’t you ever forget it.”
“I’m not your son.” Seth drew even closer to the line he’d been edging toward for over a year. “Don’tyouever forget that.”
“Yes, you are.” Erik threw a pillow across the room and struggled to his feet. It appeared as if gravity were kicking the crap out of him. “You were legally adopted. Dad claimed you for his own, and that’s the end of it. Why can’t we all leave it at that?”
The rage and sorrow he’d lived with for too long exploded in Seth’s chest. The only reason Ben had adopted and claimed him was because his mother wouldn’t marry the bastard unless he did—a sad fact that Ben had admitted one night years ago while drunker than shit. “I’m not blood.”
Ben kept silent.
Really…why not? There was nothing to dispute.
Erik headed for the bar in the corner and poured himself three fingers of scotch. Seconds later, he’d downed it. Turning around, his face still red, he glared. “Unfortunately, we have bigger problems to deal with right now than you two stubborn assholes. If Ruby really was pregnant, we just became even stronger suspects.”
Funny. His brother got smarter when he drank. Seth rubbed his jaw. “They won’t find her body.”
“I know.” Erik took a deep breath. His eyes darkened with a rare vulnerability. “I have to know. Did you screw her, Seth?”
“No. You have my word.” How had he gotten to a point where his brother even had to ask a question like that? There was a time, years ago, when they’d been inseparable. Before Erik came of age, and Ben had begun grooming him to take over. There was only one way that could happen—when Seth died.
“Then what were you doing with Ruby?” Erik rested against the bar, his face flushed, his body too still.
“Nothing.” Seth told the lie without blinking. Without feeling anything. A trick he’d learned from Ben when he’d been too young to know he’d spend his life perfecting the art.
“Bullshit.” Ben grimaced as Erik turned back for more scotch. “By the time I caught on, you’d been meeting with her regularly—my bet is her babe was yours. Forget how to keep it in your pants, Seth?”
So Ben didn’t know how long Seth had been meeting up with Ruby. “You’re wrong.” He allowed a slight smirk to curl his upper lip. “What’s up with the wound on Alice’s neck? It looks like you’re the one who forgot how to keep it in his pants, Benjamin.”
Deep brown eyes narrowed to slits as Ben’s shoulders went back. “You’ll refer to me properly, or I’ll kick the absolute shit out of you, boy.”
A need to challenge the older man rose fast and hard up Seth’s spine. A new need…one born of instinct, and something he didn’t want. Mainly because he’d win—without a doubt. Destroying the old man was something he couldn’t face. Yet. “We’re not in public.”
“I don’t care,” Ben snapped.
Was there hurt in those dark depths?
Seth shook his head. No. Ben had never given a shit about him. In fact, the old bastard’s life would be a lot easier if Seth took a dirt nap. Easier than even Ben knew. For now, Seth had a date with the prettiest woman he’d ever met. If he were going to die soon, he would take at least one good memory with him. “I have to go. Ruby’s body will be ready whenever you want it.”
“Saturday night.” Erik tossed back another full glass, pain cascading from him.
“Saturday night, it is.” Seth pivoted and left the remnants of his family behind.
Chapter7
Deep-fat-fried potatoes, burgers, chicken, and even vegetables scented the air like only a hometown diner could. Sparkly blue booths lined the windows, running parallel to the counter sporting several ripped stools that somehow looked comfortable. At noon, the place was about half-full.
A teenage waitress wearing bright blue eyeshadow had dropped a sweating glass of water next to Mia, saying she’d be right back.
What was she doing meeting Seth again?
