“I do the back end!” Scott thunders, his hands balling into fists at his sides.
His gaze is shifting all over the place, and sweat beads up on his temples as I wait for him to explain himself.
“What’s going on?” I ask darkly. I know my brother, and something is very wrong.
He huffs and walks out from behind the desk, giving me a glare that chills my blood.
“Look, Jax, this is my system. It’s not the same as yours?—”
“Damn straight it isn’t. We were never indebtwhen I was in charge. What have you done?”
He blinks at me, sticking out his chin defiantly for a second before his shoulders slump and he squeezes his eyes shut. The bravado and bluster fade away. Suddenly, he’s seventeen again, telling me he totaled dad’s car on a joy ride with his friends and begging me to help him fix it.
I wait for him to explain, but he says nothing. After a minute or so, his eyes flicker to the safe at the edge of the room, and a weight lands in the pit of my stomach.
“Jax, wait—” he attempts as I stalk over to it, jabbing the code into the keypad and opening it, even as Scott tries to wrestle me back.
There’salwaysmoney in the safe, either from the week’s takings, cash tips at the bar, or bonuses for the staff. But when I open it, there are a few solitary bills at the back, and that’s it. I’ve never seen it this bare.
My pulse is thundering in my ears as I turn and face my brother. The sweat that was beading on his temples is now pouring down his face. He removes his jacket, throwing it over a chair as he runs his hands through his hair, muttering every curse word in the book.
“What the fuck have you done, Scott?” I demand, my voice low and menacing.
This is hardly the first time one of my brothers has done something stupid, but usually it’s the younger two, Ben andSeb, who get into the most trouble. Scott is the sensible one who always thinks everything through. He’s dependable and trustworthy, but right now, he looks like our lying bullshitter of a father.
He collapses in a chair, his head in his hands. “I fucked up, Jax,” he says, and his tone is so despairing I feel a shiver skitter across my skin.
“Okay,” I say, sitting down in the chair opposite him. “Tell me what’s happened and we’ll fix it.”
He looks up at me, and the hope in his eyes almost breaks my heart.
“It was just an idea at first. Something fun to pass the time, and now I’m fucked.”
“What happened?”
“It was never meant to snowball into this… It was just a few friends hanging out...”
He trails off, and I swallow, panic spreading through me.
“Scott,” I whisper, “please tell me you haven’t started gambling again,” I plead earnestly, but his expression is all I need to see to know I’m right.
I stand up, then sit down again, not knowing what to do with myself.
“Jesus Christ,” I bite out, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Rage rises in me like a tidal wave, and it takes everything I have not to start screaming at him.
“It was just the boys and me, Jax,” he insists, his voice small. “I’ve known Josh and Cal for years. It was harmless. We would meet up after the club closed, have a game, and go home. It was barely anything, a way to let off some steam. But then, Cal said he knew this guy who wanted in. It wasn’t like I was charging entry or taking a cut; it was all between friends.”
“Who was the guy?” I ask, my heel tapping incessantly against the floor.
Scott scrubs his hand through his hair, tugging at the curling strands hard enough to make me wince.
“His name’s Nick Monroe.”
I frown at him.Why do I know that name?Alarm bells start ringing in the back of my mind just as there’s a knock at the office door.
“Come back later!” Scott shouts, and I hear the person walk away.
“Who is he?” I ask.
