I open my mouth to defend him, but Liev is already shifting me behind him, blocking Brady’s path. It’s almost funny—thinking my brother is a threat to me—but the look on Brady’s face chases the smile away.
Brady’s eyes flicker at Liev’s protective move, and he breaks stride for a second.
Callum steps between the two men just before Brady plows into Liev’s chest.
“Easy, Boss.”
“Take a breath,” I snap, moving to the side so I can see Brady. “There’s no reason for you to be banging your fists on your chest. Nothing happened.”
Brady doesn’t even look at me. His chest heaves. “Where the fuck were you?” he snarls, leaning closer, but Callum’s massive body is an effective wall. “You just fucked off and left her there by herself. She could have been hurt—or worse.”
Liev’s body turns to stone. I get why Brady’s upset, but I also know he can’t possibly beat Liev up more than Liev is already doing to himself.
“I don’t have an excuse,” Liev says, voice flat.
“That’s not what I heard,” Brady sneers through his gritted teeth, nostrils flaring. “I heard you had a tummy ache and left. But funny—there was no sign of you in the room later.”
Thanks, Ray.
“Where’d you go? Strip club? Was getting your dick wet more important than watching her back?”
“Stop!” I shout when Liev stays silent. “If we thought there was any danger, he would have been there. He would never put me in jeopardy.”
I take a step toward my brother, blood boiling, but Liev catches my hand, tugging me back. Brady’s eyes drop to our joined hands, and his face turns even redder.
My own breath coming faster, I say, “Originally there was only supposed to be one bodyguard on this job. And when something happened, I handled it.”
“That’s not the point,” Brady hisses. “The point is?—”
“Thepointis you didn’t think I could handle it. Guess what? I did. Even if Ray hadn’t come along, it was under control.”
Brady’s jaw works back and forth, veins bulging in his neck. “This isn’t about you, Sera! It’s about him leaving you with no protection because he couldn’t be bothered to stick around. Did the job get too boring, or did you have better things to do than to protect her?”
At his words my temper fully ignites. I’m tired of being underestimated. And I’m tired of being seen as a victim.
“Iwasthe protection, asshole. In case you forgot. For fuck’s sake, you trained me yourself. If you didn’t think I could do the job, why did you send me?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Brady dismisses me.
The low growl that emanates from the man next to me sounds almost feral—the only warning before he drops my hand and shoves Callum out of the way to tower over Brady.
“Callmy wifestupid again, and brother or not, I will rip your fucking spine out through your mouth and choke you with it.”
The room goes dead silent.
I close my eyes and groan.Notthe way I wanted to tell my brother.
Brady’s face drains of color. His throat bobs as he swallows. He grabs the hand I’ve been gesturing with and stares at my rings.
His mouth opens, closes. He makes a strange choking noise like he’s trying to inflate his lungs.
“Your…what?” Brady’s fingers clamp around my hand, and for a second I wonder if I’m about to be in the middle of an actual tug of war.
“My wife,” Liev repeats, his voice little more than a growl.
Brady releases my hand like it burned him, and Liev pulls me closer, slipping a firm arm around my waist.
My brother’s gaze swings between us, his expression a mixture of disbelief and disappointment.
