Jaxon snarled when he struggled to his feet, even hissing at me since I’d split his bottom lip. He pressed his fingers against it and when he pulled them away, blood covered the tips.
Mine wasn’t any better. Hell, my eye might swell shut.
“You’re my brother and I love you,” she told Jaxon as she got in his face. “But that’s my husband and I love him. And you’re just going to need to deal with it.”
Jaxon didn’t act like he was ready to back down but finally took a step away.
So did I or we’d be here fighting each other until one of us was unconscious.
“How the hell did this happen in a couple days?” Jaxon literally spit blood. “Let me guess. It didn’t. You’ve been fucking each other for a long time. Haven’t you?”
Alexander still had his hands in his trouser pockets and when he moved directly in front of his brother, I could tell he was finished with either one of us throwing a tantrum. “Emmeline is your sister. Donatello is not only your friend, he is also part of the family. Not just because he is married to Emmeline, but also because since the day he was invited into our home, our father ensured we knew that he was to be treated like our brother. Like family.”
“That’s my point,” Jaxon threw out. “We trusted him like family and he broke that trust.”
“How so?” Alexander pressed, yanking off his sunglasses. “By risking his life to save hers on several occasions through the years, including many of which Emmeline isn’t privy to but should have been told about?” He turned so he could look her in the eye. “By loving her from afar, keeping a distance only because of this unwritten, Neanderthal rule about soldiers being unable to date a Prince family member?”
“Well…” Jaxon was clearly confused, his eyes narrowing. “Hold on. You’re not angry with either one of them at all. Are you?”
I dropped my head, rubbing my eyes as I laughed. “You called Alexander after all, even after all your posturing that you wouldn’t. Didn’t you?” Being the little brat that she was,Emmeline didn’t want to admit I’d caught her. I lifted my head toward her.
Her shrug was all the admittance I needed, but she continued. “I did. I wanted to tell him we were getting married and I wanted but didn’t need his blessing.”
“And I gave it to her. In fact, what did I say, sister of mine?” Alexander kept his harsh gaze on his brother.
“That it was about time.” She could barely contain the laughter, especially when I took a sideways step, yanking her into my arms.
“When did you call him?” I needed to know.
“This morning while you were gone. And no, you can’t hide anything from me.” Her laugh had returned, something I wasn’t certain I’d hear again for a long time.
“You’ll soon learn that women are the true backbone of any relationship, Donatello,” Alexander offered by way of advice. “The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be.” He took a step away, turning so all that he needed to do was to glance from one side to the other. “Shake it off. Now. We have a flight to catch and business to attend to.”
“Yes, sir,” I answered, although I wasn’t entirely certain Jaxon was ready to shake off his anger and disgust.
“And I’m certain you have the information provided by Francoise Barnett?”
Laughing softly, I pulled out what Francoise had provided. “We were in a bit of a hurry, but he did give me this.” I handed him the photographs.
“How did you know?” Emmeline asked, as surprised as I was.
Alexander finally broke into a grin. “The sooner you accept there is very little that goes on inside my world that I’d not aware of, the better. Congratulations, sis. I’m so happy for you.”
When he pulled her into a hug, Jaxon and I took the opportunity to glare at each other, neither one prepared to extend an olive branch just yet.
“Um, boss. I think we need to get out of here.” One of the soldiers approached, a handheld computer in his hand. “We have a serious number of fast approaching vehicles.”
I moved toward the man, getting there first. The new application was already worth its weight in gold.
“He’s right. We need to get the hell out of here.” Lifting my head, I studied the road.
Just as a brigade of vehicles rushed around the corner.
CHAPTER 28
Emmeline
“Get on the plane.”
