Chapter 18

BRYCE

There were no easy answers. There were no obvious solutions. And I couldn’t sit back any longer and let the situation play out.

Uriah had done everything he could for me. Cade was determined to go through with this. I knew him long enough to know how stubborn he was. I had to settle this for myself.

I woke up and got ready to head back to Brickstone, more focused than I’d ever been. Uriah was nowhere to be found. I got used to him not being in bed because of his work but there was always a message telling me that he was all right. It gave me more of the confidence I knew I was going to need.

When I got inside my bar, the place was as empty as it usually was during the day. Most of the workers from the docks who visited on break were still at it. Cade had probably shooed away all of the other people trying to scrounge for a free drink.

The only other people in the place was Cade’s gang. The Chargers were scattered throughout the room. A couple of them were playing pool like I was used to seeing. The rest of them were lounging around without a care in the world.

“Where’s Cade?” I said.

They all looked up at me then went back to what they were doing.

“Office,” one man said.

I made a beeline straight to the small office in the bank. As soon as I put my hand on the doorknob, it moved forward. Cade opened the door on the other side.

Blue jeans. Messy shirt and hair just the same. Face unshaven. He looked a little more unkempt than he usually did.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Bryce. What are you doing here—”

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, sure. Just let me get a drink—”

“No. We need to talk about this now. Please.”

From the look on his face, Cade wasn’t in the mood. But we both knew there was no getting around this. The situation wasn’t going to solve itself.

“Fine,” he sighed.

He stepped back into the office and collapsed in his seat. I looked around and noticed the messy stack of papers on my desk.

“What’s this?” I said.

“What’s what?”

“All of this paperwork. Did you move things?”

“I was just making sure all of the paperwork is in order. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here to run this place.”

“You’re always welcome to work here. You know that.”

“Brickstone has always served us well. But I think there’s something more for us out there, bro.”

He sat on the edge of the desk and crossed his arms. Cade shifted his eyes down my body and stared at my stomach.

“Man,” he said as he shook his head. “You just had to get with a cop…”

“It wasn’t much of a choice. Neither one of us had much control. I barely knew the guy and I wanted him more than anything. That’s just what happens when an Omega is in heat. You should know that. We learned that when we were kids.”

“I know, I know. I’ve been around Omegas. Some of the hottest guys and girls you’ll ever meet. They’ve tempted me. Sometimes I gave in to that temptation. But I was able to hold back.”

“You’ve never been around an Omega in heat. It’s different, Cade. It’s…”

I searched for the words to explain it to him. But with the blank expression on his face, there was nothing I could do to make him understand.

“…Maybe you’ll understand one day,” I said. “When you meet the right Omega.”

“No chance. I like being an Alpha all to myself.”

“The sex is amazing. It’s a lot better than just hooking up.”

“I doubt that.”

He smiled at me but it only lasted for a moment. It was a bit of a relief to see that he was thinking straight though.

“You have to let this go,” I said.

“You know I can’t do that. This deal with Rivera will put us over the top. I’m sorry that you’re dating a cop—”

“Dammit, Cade! This isn’t about Uriah. This is about you! Do you know what kind of danger you’re putting yourself in? The entire police department is gunning for Rivera. When he goes down, you’ll go down with him.”

“If he goes down, I won’t be anywhere around him. I told you, bro. I make a few deals with him then I’m out.”

I put my hand to my forehead and closed my eyes. A soft, frustrated breath came out of my nose to keep me as calm as possible.

How do I get through to him?

There was only one thing left to say.

“Cade… You know I love you. I’ll always love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Then don’t do this. Don’t do it for the money. Don’t do it for Brickstone. Don’t do it for Uriah. Don’t even do it for my baby. Do this for me. Back out of the deal with Rivera.”

I stared into his eyes. I would never get on my knees for anybody else but I was tempted to do everything I could to make my brother understand.

Come on.

He got up from his seat and straightened up. It was hard to tell what he was thinking from the look on his face.

“I know you’re only saying that because you’re looking out for me,” he said.

“That’s exactly why I’m saying it.”

“And I’m looking out for you. You’ve got a baby on the way. This deal means that child will have everything he needs.”

“Cade—”

“It’s over, Bryce. There’s nothing more to talk about.”

He turned around and stepped out of the office.

“Cade!”

I called out to him but he ignored me. We walked back into the bar and I noticed that all of the Chargers were standing up. They were all gathered around in a circle. Cade and I were both confused as we walked up to his gang.

“What’s this?” Cade said. “What’s going on?”

“This guy says he wanted to talk to you,” one of his men said.

The Chargers parted and Uriah stood between them.

“Uriah!” I said.

“I couldn’t let you talk to your brother alone,” he said.

“This is family business,” Cade said. “Stay out of it, cop.”

“I don’t know if you noticed this but Bryce is my family. That’s my child he’s carrying in his stomach.”

Uriah moved forward and pointed at me. He had such a fierce look of determination on his face.

Cade didn’t back down. He just smirked at Uriah and held his hands out.

“My brother and I have gotten by all our lives by ourselves,” he said. “We don’t need a cop like you to help us. I don’t care if you’re the father of his child. No pig is gonna tell me what to do. You hear me?”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Uriah said. “Rivera—”

“Rivera is gonna get what’s coming to him. Maybe he’ll get away with it. Maybe he won’t. All I know is I’m gonna get paid. Stay out of the way, cop. I’m warning you.”

Uriah took another step forward and Cade was quick to meet him. The two of them toe-to-toe with one another, their faces close enough to breathe on each other.

Cade clenched his fists. The rest of the Chargers were all ready to pounce. Uriah stood defiantly.

I watched helplessly from the sidelines, desperately searching for a way to stop this. My heart was pounding inside my chest. All of the anxiety building in my stomach made my head start to spin.

“Guys… Please…”

I stepped in between them and tried to push them apart but they kept advancing toward one another.

“Stay away from my brother!” Cade shouted.

“You’re making a mistake,” Uriah responded.

“Nah, you’re the one making a mistake. This is Charger territory. You best get out of here while you still can.”

The other Chargers moved closer to Uriah. Uriah looked at all of them then shook his head. The entire time, I kept trying to push the two of them away.

“I’m not leaving here until you get out of the deal with Rivera,” Uriah said.

“Oh, you’re leaving here whether you like it or not.”

Two of Cade’s men suddenly grabbed Uriah by his shoulders. I stumbled back and shouted.

“Wait! Stop!”

The rest of the Chargers joined in and started piling on Uriah. He struggled with them as they tried to wrestle him to the ground. Uriah managed to remain standing on his feet. He was using every ounce of strength to free himself from their grip.

The sight of it made me feel more light-headed. It felt like the entire room was starting to spin around me. I moved back and fell into the seat behind me.

“I told you to leave,” Cade said. “Now you’re gonna regret it—”

“Bryce!” Uriah shouted.

Everybody suddenly turned their attention toward me. The struggling ended as quickly as it began.

Cade and Uriah both rushed up to me.

“Bryce,” Uriah said. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I just feel… I don’t know.”

“Come on,” Cade said. “Let me get you to a doctor.”

“No,” I said to him. “Uriah… Please… Take me to the hospital.”

Uriah gave me a nod and helped me back up to my feet. I wasn’t paying much attention to what was happening between them. All of the worry and concern I had just a few moments ago, replaced by a strange feeling I couldn’t shake.