The anger warmed Nicholas, loosening his tongue. “Aw, did you fly all the way here to play overprotective brother? How’s that role feel for you? New?”
A flash of something hot and angry moved behind those dark eyes. “The fuck does that mean?”
“It means I know you haven’t seen her since you left town.”
“And you have?”
He faltered. Yeah, actually, he had seen her consistently in the past decade. But no one was supposed to know about that.
“Don’t try to lie. I know you’ve been with her.” Nicholas stiffened, but then Jackson continued. “I saw you dropping her off last night.”
Last night. So he didn’t know about their unconventional arrangement.
Still, Nicholas’s hand clenched into a fist. There was no need for him to feel guilty.Imagine if hermother had seen you. Imagine if your father had seen you.
Would it matter? Would you have changed what you did with her yesterday?
The answer to that was frighteningly clear. Hecouldn’t regret a second of what had come after he’d indulged that one feeling. Not when it had made him feel so good. He met Jackson’s eyes. “Don’t tell her you came to see me. Or that you saw us together last night.”
“So you can keep on fucking with her?”
“No. Because it would stress her out.”
Jackson blinked. “Your concern for her is heartwarming.”
“Don’t presume to know anything about me or my concern for your sister,” Nicholas said coldly. “You don’t know shit about us.”
Jackson crossed massive arms over his chest. Jesus, what had the guy been doing over the past decade, bench-pressing cars? The Kane men had all been big, but this was excessive.
“I know that you think there’s anus. I’m not too keen on there being anuswhen it comes to you and Livvy.”
“And again—it’s none of your business.”
Jackson rubbed his hand over his face, and Nicholas suddenly noticed the bags under the other man’s eyes. Livvy’s twin may have broken in and slept on his couch, but it clearly hadn’t been a restful nap. “I don’t like you, Nicky. I never really have.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” Actually, he’d never given Jackson much thought. He and Paul had been fast friends from the moment they could walk. Before he and Livvy had been lovers, he’d adored her platonically. Jackson... Jackson had been way too distant for anyone to really be close to. Except Livvy. And maybe Sadia.
“After you broke my sister’s heart when you dumped her ass ten years ago, my dislike turned to hate.”
“I didn’t dump her ass, as you so disgustingly put it. It was a mutual breakup.”
Jackson laughed, but the sound was without mirth. “Yeah right. Our father died, our mother checked out, your dad maneuvered a takeover, and you cut her loose.” He sneered. “It was a perfect storm of assholery.”
Ithadbeen mutual, not that Jackson would necessarily know that. Nicholas didn’t much recall the aftermath, but the breakup, that was engraved in his mind. Livvy’s hair had been purple then, fading to lavender because she hadn’t bothered to color it in the two weeks since the accident. Her eyes had been puffy, face scrubbed clean of makeup.
Telling her about his father’s threats was impossible, not when he’d been groomed his whole life to keep their family business private. Besides, if she’d known about the blackmail, she would have tried to tell him they could still be together, because their relationship was so fairy tale perfect, and wasn’t that how fairy tales worked? The prince and princess stood up to the evil wizard and life worked out?
Be realistic, Nicholas.
The truth would have only made things more difficult for both of them. So he’d convinced himself their ending things was the rational, realistic thing to do. He’d rehearsed a speech, suppressed every desire he had to fight for them both.
They couldn’t have survived everything that had gone down. To believe they could would have been the height of fantasy. “Is that why you burned down the store that week? Because you thought I hurt her?”
Anger twisted Jackson’s face, and he took a few giant steps toward him. Nicholas held his ground. He might not have the younger man’s brawn, but he wasn’t about to be pushed around by some... some...criminal.
Alleged criminal.
Whatever.
