Page 80 of Her Wicked Hero

“Gah!” She pushed at his chest until he backed up, then she marched the couch and plopped down.

“Zed, aren’t you and Hunter as close as brothers right now?” she asked, looking at him from under her lashes. She watched him carefully as he stood over her. He was clearly agitated.

“Yes.”

“How would you telling him you think or have a voodoo knowing that you’re brothers change things?”

He thrust out his chin. “He deserves to know I failed him.”

Marcia thought her head might explode.

“When did you fail him?”

“He should have come and lived with me and my grandmother. Marcia, you have no idea how bad it was for him as a little kid before a wonderful woman took him in. It’s my fault.”

Everything came crashing together. All the answers cascaded through her mind like when she was working on a complicated equation. The misguided sense of guilt he had about not being in two places at the same time on the beach today. It all stems from this. Zed took responsibility for everything, thinking he should have been able to save a two-year-old when Zed himself had only been eight.

“Honey, please sit down, I’m getting a crick in my neck.”

“I’m sorry,” he said as he sat down and pulled her into his arms.

“So, you wanted my advice, right?”

“Yes,” he said warily. God, she could tell he expected her to berate him.

“Here it is. You should absolutely tell him what you think. You should tell him what you remember. Hunter will be overjoyed at the idea of the two of you possibly sharing the same blood.”

He sighed.

“But if you expect Hunter to berate you for not fighting for him as a toddler, you’re going to be mistaken. This will just be icing on the cake.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

“That was really nice of Marcia to invite Aliana down for the weekend. Since Lottie moved, she’s been missing her girlfriend time.”

The men were seated at the outside bar in a restaurant close to the mall. The ladies were going to be there soon to meet them for lunch. Zed watched as the calamari was put down on their table.

“So, spill,” Hunter said. “Are you looking for some advice on how to propose?”

“I think I’ve got that all covered,” Zed’s lip quirked, “but thanks.”

“Something’s up with you. I would have figured after you came back from Virginia, life would be good. Knowing the ambassador in New York was bombed the next day kind of put the whole Jefferies thing to bed.”

“No,” Zed said. “Knowing the Brockman’s being targeted was part of an overall effort and outside of Jefferies made me feel minimally better. I’m not going to feel completely better until Jefferies is dead. At one point, he had his sights on my woman. He might not be a psychopath like Raymond, but still he’s out there, and I’m not happy.”

“What does Brockman say?” Hunter asked.

“He agreed with Marcia when she called me an over-protective Neanderthal.”

Hunter burst out laughing. “That sums you up nicely.”

Zed took note of the text that came in on his phone and smiled.

“You agree too?” Zed asked.

“Hell yeah. Not that I don’t thank God for it. You saved my ass.”