“Speak,” Gray demanded.
His brother gave a disgruntled sigh. “It was not my plan to tell you until after Saturday, and if you win, then after the next game.”
“What are you delaying telling them?” Quinn spoke for the first time. Her dark eyes ran over the tailored suit and the man in it. “You found them,” she said softly.
“I found them, and I have, as a dutiful member of society, turned them and their operation over to the authorities.”
“What?” Jett was white as a sheet.
“Anonymously, of course.”
“You turned them in?” Gray asked, his voice was dangerously low.
“I did.” Onyx swept his gaze over the three of them. How very much he cut the figure of an older, superior brother, I realized. “My brothers, my cousin, myfamilyare not ruining their lives for this. Quinn’s loss is tragic, but—”
“Be very careful of your next words,” Gray warned.
“But they are not directly responsible. Your revenge is on a set of concrete steps. Quinn has told us all that she changed her mind. She toldthem. Your baby was not going to be handed over to anyone who was not you, Gray.” His voice was low, gentle even. “You cannot throw your life away on something that was a horrible, tragic accident.”
“They chased her,” Gray said defiantly. “They harassed her.”
“I acknowledge that. But had Quinn not run, had she gone into the meeting, would you have changed your mind and gone through with it?” he asked her directly.
“No.” Quinn shook her head as she watched Gray with so much pain in her eyes it broke my heart.
“No.” Onyx reached over and grabbed his brother’s shoulder. “It’s over, baby brother. Letthispain go.” He pulled Gray into him, and I saw Gray resist, and Onyx whispered something into his ear. Gray stilled, and then the stern, unmovable Gray let out a sob. His arms reached around his older brother, and Gray broke down. Onyx clutched him tight to his chest, and I had to look away.
Silently, I rose, and grabbing Ava’s hand, we unlocked the door and left them to their pain.
In Ash’s bedroom, Ava looked at me, her eyes filled with sadness, but her look turned quizzical when she saw me frowning.
“What is it?” she asked me quietly.
“Onyx,” I told her.
“He’s intense, isn’t he?” she said as she wiped her eyes.
“Yes, he is.”
“What is it?” Ava asked me again as she saw my frown. “Mia?”
“He knows a lot about me,” I confessed as I met my best friend’s curious look. “Ava, I think he knows who my dad is.”
Chapter 30: Ash
I noticed the girls leaving, but my feet were rooted to the spot. To see my cousin break also broke me. Jett was standing to his side, his head down, staring at his feet, and I knew he was feeling as helpless as I was. Quinn sat immobile on the couch with her eyes closed as silent tears streamed down her face.
Realizing she needed comfort too, I crossed the room quickly and sat beside her. Wordlessly, Queeny leaned into me, and I wrapped my arms around her as she rested her head on my chest.
Onyx didn’t speak, but his eyes were on Jett, and when his brother lifted his head, Onyx waited until Jett nodded once.
After a minute, Gray sniffed and then gave a short, harsh laugh. He eased away from my cousin and wiped his eyes furiously. “Sorry,” he muttered as he kept his gaze averted from us all.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” Jett said as he stepped closer. His hand reached out, but he didn’t make contact with him before his hand dropped to his side. “Gray?” His voice was low, and I watched as Gray turned to look at Jett.
“I’m okay,” he assured him as he reached out, placing his hand on his shoulder. With a curse, he crossed the room, and he was standing over me and Quinn. “Can I?” he asked me softly.
Standing, I swapped places with my cousin. Onyx was talking quietly to Jett, and I moved away from the couch to hear what they were saying.
