Page 70 of The Fighter

“Your brother.” I cut her off, and at those two words her entire body jerked, and pain so vivid lanced across her face that I nearly felt it in my own soul. “Your brother is why I’m here.”

Her arms fell limply to her side, and Holden’s little face peeked around her hip. He looked so much like his mom. Like his uncle. Amara blinked. Swallowed. “Tavin?” Her voice was soft, and I couldn’t read her tone.

“Tavin,” I answered.

She shook her head, and her features sharpened again. “Look, I haven’t spoken to my brother in five years, and I don’t know what kind of trouble he’s in, but it has nothing to do with me or my son.”

Oh, it had everything to do with her, but that was Tav’s business to tell her.

I clenched my jaw, feeling anger toward this woman even though it wasn’t justified, not really. She had no idea how many lies she’d been fed. She had no idea that I had a part in setting this entire thing in motion so many years ago. The guilt tasted sour on my tongue. All I could do now was protect Tav. “I need to be very clear about something.” I took a step forward, and she must have sensed the change in the room, because her jaw snapped shut, and she lost some of her bravado. “You are notmysister. You are notmyblood. But you’rehis, and he wants you safe. Since that’s what he wants, I’ll sell my soul to do it. Because your brother meanseverythingto me.”

I took another step closer, close enough that I could hear the rasping of her breath and feel the heat from her flushed skin.

“He’s going to be here soon, and you two will talk.” I held up a finger to make my point crystal. “Do not hurt him. Do not crush him. You will treat him with respect and like the man he is who has riskedeverythingfor his family.”

I wanted to threaten her. I wanted to tell her if she said one wrong word to Tav that I’d throw her out of his apartment so fast that her head would spin. But I didn’t. I held my tongue.

Her eyes were massive green orbs in her pale face. Her long eyelashes blinked once. Twice. And then she did something that nearly sent me to my knees. Just like her brother, her lips moved, and she mouthed the wordfamily.

A knock came at the door. Her eyes darted there, and she stared at it as if Pennywise was about to burst through. I propped my hands on my hips, leaned back to stare at theceiling, and hoped like hell this entire night didn’t break Tav irreparably.

Tav

I stood outside the apartment. Amara was inside. Holden was inside. Con was inside. And I stood at the door as sweat rolled down my back while half a dozen men who I didn’t know lurked in the hallway wearing expensive suits and gun holsters.

I caught a few looking at me out of the corners of their eyes, then quickly looking away when I caught them. Con was their boss, and they were probably trying to figure out what the fuck he was doing with my scruffy ass. After Con had left the apartment to speak to Amara first, I’d spent about ten minutes freaking out before I got a shower, pulled on a decent pair of jeans that Con had ordered for me and a plain T-shirt with a pair of new sneakers—another Con purchase.

I rubbed my damp palms on my jeans and waited for someone to answer the door. It finally swung open. Inside, Nik took one look at me, nodded in a gesture of what I took as support, and swung the door open wider. I stepped inside and stopped. My gaze swept through the apartment, passing over where Con stood, hands on his hips, watching me, past a few men in suits along with Ben, and then to my sister.

She stared at me like I was a ghost. Her eyes were impossibly wide, her mouth open in shock. Holden was at her side, clinging to her leg, his head cocked like he was trying to figure me out. He wore a pair of brown sweatpants and a green dinosaur sweatshirt.

Stegosauruseses ated plants.

“Everyone out,” Con said in a commanding tone.

“But I—” Ben began.

“You too,” Con glared at him before pointing at Nik. “And you.”

Nik’s eyebrows went up, and he pointed at his chest, mouthingme? But Ben was already walking past, and he grabbed Nik’s arm before practically dragging him out the door. It shut behind them and the rest of the men, leaving us in silence.

Amara still hadn’t said a word, still staring at me like she had no idea who I was. I didn’t know what to say. What to do. Where to put my hands. How to fix my face. This was a scenario I hadn’t ever pictured. I figured I’d die in a filthy boxing ring to the cheer of a crowd before I ever had to face my sister again.

Con’s face swam into my vision. I didn’t even notice he’d walked toward me. He palmed the side of my face, thumb brushing my cheekbone. “Do you want me to stay?”

I didn’t know how to answer. Did I want him here to witness my shame? Did I need his support?

His voice was soft and gentle. “How about I take Holden into the bedroom, and we can make a game of folding all the clothes in there?” I didn’t understand what he meant about folding clothes. He glanced over his shoulder at Amara. “Would that be okay with you?” His voice lifted a note as he addressed Holden. “Want some snacks?”

Holden gave a little hop toward Con, easily swayed by the promise of food. Amara snatched at his shoulder, drawing him to a stop. She stared at Con. He stared back. Something passed between them, some sort of agreement, because then her fingers slowly uncurled from Holden’s shoulder one by one. “Go on, baby.” Her voice shook. “Be good.”

I didn’t speak, not as Con retreated to the kitchen and conversed in low tones with Holden. Not as they passed backthrough the living room with an entire bowl of junk food. I didn’t say a word as the bedroom door clicked shut, leaving Amara and I in stunned silence.

I still hadn’t decided what I’d say to her. Not a clue. Right now, all I could do was bask in her presence. Despite her obvious distress right now, she lookedhealthy,like she ate well. Like she exercised. Like she used the same fancy face creams Con did.

Fuck, I was nervous, and so the only thing I managed to say was, “Hello.”

Her eyes shifted over me, from the top of my head, lingering on my face, down my chest, my legs and to my feet before lifting back up. I waited for her to yell, to scream, to tell me what a piece of shit I was, but then her lips trembled. Her eyes glistened, and she said a word I never thought I’d hear from her ever again. “Tavin.”