At two o’clock, Keagan’s door was ajar, so I went in without knocking. Everyone was already there except Shane. Mac was perched on the back of the sofa, feet on the cushions, watching Dillon play some kind of video game, and Keagan was piling slices of ham onto what was already an inch-high sandwich.

“Hey, Brute Squad!” Keagan called out. “Hungry?”

“Always.” I walked past Mac and Dillon, heading straight for the food. It had been less than ten hours since I’d left Jade in her apartment, and even after jerking off—twice—it had been hard to get any sleep.

That woman. Shit. There was something about her that drove me fucking crazy. And it wasn’t just because she’d fed me.

It had taken every ounce of my strength to leave her place last night. I’d never wanted a woman so badly, but the thing was, I was pretty sure I couldn’t just fuck her once. I was certain once I got a taste, I’d want to fuck her again—and again and again—and it didn’t feel right to start something with this lie between us.

The first day, I’d been able to argue that it was a simple misunderstanding, or payback for her rudeness, but at this point there was no way to claim I hadn’t misled her. I wasn’t the Nick she thought I was.

Mac and Dillon cheered as something exploded on the screen, then Mac jumped off the sofa to join me at the table, clapping me on the back. “So, I hear you’ve been holding out on us, little brother.”

“How’s that?” I slathered a thick slice of sourdough with bright yellow mustard.

“Your sex slave?” Mac grabbed a plate.

I glared at Keagan as I piled roast beef, sliced cheese, and tomatoes onto my bread. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, sure.” Mac tossed two slices of bread onto his plate. “Be like that. Keep your sex slave all to yourself.”

“She’s not— It’s not like that.”

Keagan chuckled, then took a huge bite of his sandwich.

“Then tell me. How is it?” Mac set his plate down. “Pass the mayo?” He grabbed it from me. “What is it like having a sex slave?”

I took a huge bite of my sandwich. I didn’t want to dignify his question with a response.

“What’s she like?” Mac kept prodding. “Seriously. What’s the deal, Brute Squad?”

I dropped my plate onto the counter and got the three of us beers from Keagan’s fridge.

“She’s the new girl in 311.” I handed out the beers. “She thinks she owes me for setting up some deal.”

“She thinks she owes you?” Almost choking on his sandwich, Keagan opened his beer.

“Yeah. And she thinks if she doesn’t show me gratitude, I’ll ruin both her and her family, or some shit.”

“Wow.” Mac looked up from his partially built sandwich. “What did you do for this chick? Or are all women this grateful after a taste of your fat salami?” With a grin, he waggled a slice of meat at me before slapping it onto his sandwich.

“Fuck off!” I finished chewing another bite, already planning what I’d pile on sandwich number two. “She thought she owed me something before we even met. Or, I think it’s more like her dad owes me something?” I shook my head. “I don’t even know who her dad is, but among other things, she thinks I arranged for her to live here.”

Keagan started laughing, almost spitting out a mouthful of beer. “Wait. You didn’t tell me that part.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Don’t you get it?”

“Get what?” I swallowed some beer.

“Little brother, she thinks you’re that Nick. The other Nick.” He took a bite of sandwich, and Mac started chuckling too.

“What other Nick? What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know,” Mac said. “The one who decides who lives here, how much they pay, when they have to leave. You know, the woman who collects your rent? Nicola.”

Chewing another bite of sandwich, I shook my head. I had absolutely no idea what seemed so freaking obvious to my brothers. “You guys got me this place when I was released from juvie, remember? And my rent? Every month I put it through that slot near the gate. How should I fucking know who collects it from there?”

“This is hilarious,” Mac said, laughing with Keagan. “What else did Nicola do for this girl? I mean, the apartment’s not that great.”

“There’s other stuff.” I grabbed a dill pickle and chomped a huge bite.

“Like what?” Mac asked. “I wanna know what it takes to make a girl grateful.”

I started laughing with my brothers. Just thinking of Jade made me grin. “Based on the bits and pieces, her dad brokered a deal for Jade and her sister.”

“Dibs on the sister!” Mac tipped this beer bottle toward me. “I want a sex slave, too.”

“I fucking told you. She’s not—” I realized Cormac was joking.

Dillon turned off his video game and headed for the food. “Can you make your sex slave do stuff for us, too?”

“Shut up.” I tried to focus on the food and ignore my immature older brothers.

“Careful with the sex slave talk,” Mac said. “Nicky prefers the term sex servant. It’s more PC.”

“Potato, potawto,” Dillon turned to me, eyebrows raised. “But seriously. Can you get your sex servant to suck my cock?”

“Suck your own cock, asshole.”

“Now, don’t be greedy, Nick,” Keagan said. “Don’t we Downey brothers always share? Where’s your loyalty? Seems to me, the least you could do is ask her—”

“Fuck off,” I said. “All of you.”

“Okay, chill.” Keagan held up a hand in surrender. “Keep her all to yourself then, but please tell me you’re at least taking advantage of the situation.” Keagan’s dimples deepened. “I mean, the chick thinks she has to keep you happy. She’s a little on the tough-girl side for me, too many muscles, too much snarly attitude, but the way you were eyeing her last night… Tell me you at least fucked her.”

I kept my gaze down, willing my cheeks not to heat.

“Just blow jobs then?” Keagan and Mac chuckled.

My dick twitched, and I stuffed the final bites of my sandwich into my mouth, so much I could barely chew.

“Come on, Brute Squad,” Keagan said. “Don’t be a pussy.”

Shane walked through the door, slamming it behind him. “Nicky was born a pussy.” He bounded over, caught me off guard with my head down, and put me into a chokehold. The others laughed.

I was transported to childhood—for about a second—until I remembered that the days of my brothers picking on the smallest Downey had passed years ago. By age fifteen I’d outgrown every one of them, in height and muscle, and since then it’d been easy to turn the tables on my four older brothers. At least when I was facing one at a time. If Shane hadn’t caught me off guard, he wouldn’t have gotten the jump on me.

Straightening, I pulled his arm off my neck and twisted it behind his back.

“Ow!” he yelled. “Shit, Brute Squad. You’re breaking my fucking arm.”

I let him go.

He rubbed his shoulder. “Can’t you take a joke?”

“I’m a pussy. Great joke. I’m laughing my ass off.” I moved toward him, chest out, chin up. Of all my brothers, Shane was the only one who could instantly piss me off, even though he’d been my best friend when we were kids and he was also the one I owed the most to.

I owed them all, but Shane the most. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to pound his face at the moment.

I turned to my brothers. “Anyone else think Shane is funny?”

Mac the peacemaker stepped in between us. “Shane thinking he could put Brute Squad in a choke hold was hilarious.” He grinned at Shane. “Feeling nostalgic, are you? Or maybe suicidal?”

“We all good here?” Keagan asked. “’Cause if you girls are gonna have a catfight, at least let me clear the furniture out of the way. Maybe crack open another beer.”

“And popcorn!” Mac added, a grin on his face. “Can’t have a show without popcorn.”

“Maybe Jesse can arrange a proper venue for the fight,” Keagan said, referring to the big guy with a dark past who lived in the corner of the downstairs hall.

I took a step back. “Ha, ha, very funny.” Relaxing, I realized I’d had my fists clenched since Shane’s sneak attack. Maybe even before that. I hadn’t struck one of my brothers since I was a kid, but it was crazy how easily Shane could take me there.

I stepped to the table to make another sandwich. Maybe I was just hangry.

“So, Shane.” Keagan grabbed a beer for him. “What did you want to talk about?”

Taking the beer, Shane walked over to the love seat, and the other three followed. Keagan and Mac plopped down in the two chairs, and Dillon stretched out on the sofa, leaving no place for me. Unless I squished into the love seat with Shane, and there was no way.

I stared down at Dillon. “You mind?”

“Mind what?” He grinned up at me.

“Mind if I use you as a cushion?” As I sat, he quickly pulled up his legs and nudged my ass away with his foot. We settled into opposite ends of the sofa.

Shane’s leg was bouncing like usual, and I took a closer look at his eyes. Was he high?

“So my connect down at the docks…” Shane leaned forward sharply, then back again, his fingers digging into his knees. “You aren’t going to believe how great this is. When the container comes in, we might have to move on it right away, though. I mean, like, lightning fast.”

“How great what is?” Keagan asked. “What’s in this container? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Shane’s gaze darted around the room, and the leg bouncing accelerated. “I can’t share all the deets. Not yet. I won’t even know them all until I confirm we’re in, but I know the most important thing—the payoff’s gonna be huge.”

Mac shook his head. “How the hell am I supposed to find buyers if I don’t know what’s in it?”

“And I need to develop a plan,” Keagan added.

Like a rock from a slingshot, Shane bounced out of the love seat. “I’ll take care of the plan, Keag. Don’t worry so much.” He paced across the room and back. “Unloading this stuff won’t be a problem, Mac. Trust me. This is going to be huge. Like a hundred grand for each of us.”

Dillon’s head popped up from where it had been buried in his phone. “That much? Really?” He whistled softly. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” Shane started pacing again. “I keep telling you guys. You need to believe me. This is going to be huge. Our chance at the big time.”

“I don’t like it,” Keagan said.

Shane stopped in front of our oldest brother’s chair and frowned. “Don’t shoot this down just because it’s my deal. Everything isn’t always about you. Other people have good ideas too, you know. We’ve got to do this. All the details are worked out. We’d be nuts to say no. It’ll be a snap.” He turned toward me.

I shook my head.

Keagan crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s nuts is agreeing to do this job without knowing the contents or lining up a buyer. Or knowing who fucking arranged all these supposed details.”

“Trust me,” Shane said. “My connect will give me more deets. All of them. I promise. I just need to know you’re all in.”

“Is it really that much money?” Dillon asked. “Like half a mil?”

“Yes.” Shane bounced toward the fireplace, then back toward us. “I tell you, this is the best fucking job we’ve ever had. I’ve been working this connect since I got out of San Quentin, and he’s finally paying off.”

“I need to know more.” Dillon leaned forward. “But sounds interesting so far.”

I stared at Dillon. Was he shitting me? “You hard up for money or something?”

He shrugged. “Just want to hear more, that’s all.”

“Well, I’ve heard all I need.” I carried my empty plate and bottle to the sink. “I only came for the food. I can’t believe you guys are considering this.”

“Come on, now,” Mac said. “Let’s not make a snap judgment.”

“Shane,” Keagan stood. “Nick’s right. If there’s a half-million payoff, this is way too hot for the Downeys. Sorry. We pass.”

Shane shot over to Keagan. “Too hot? Do you want to stay small potatoes forever? And who made you king over us anyway? What would Da say—”

“Guess you’ll have plenty of time to ask him when you end up back inside.” Keagan went to the kitchen and ran the tap over the dishes at the bottom of the sink.

At least Keagan was thinking clearly. He’d put the brakes on this scheme of Shane’s. Our eldest brother pretended to run the family business like a democracy, but he made the big calls.

“Okay, okay.” Shane shook his head. “I get it. You want more details. I’ll get them. Soon. But before I can take this to the next stage, I need to know you’re all in.”

Shane looked directly at me, as if there was any doubt who he was talking to.

I stood up. “Have you heard a word I’ve said? I’m done with this shit.”

“Come on, Nick,” Mac said. “Don’t say no until we find out more.”

I strode toward the door. “No fucking way.”