I had too much work to worry about Evers’s phone call. The test would be done when it was done. Staring at the phone wouldn’t speed it up. I told myself that more than once, even though my heart jumped every time a call came through. The morning passed. Lunch came and went. I’d cleaned out Violet’s desk, and her little cactus sat beside my monitor, reminding me of her.

I needed another coffee. We’d stayed up half the night making use of the wide king bed in our hotel suite. Licking chocolate frosting off her smooth skin was just the beginning. Fucking her in Vegas had been one thing. That was a vacation, a few days away from our real lives.

Last night was real. Despite the friction caused by both of our families, nothing felt better than falling asleep with Violet in my arms. Soon enough I’d bring her home to Winters House and everything would be perfect. Soon enough.

I hated to admit she was right. I couldn’t command my family to accept her any more than she could force her brother to like me. They needed time and I’d have to be patient. I didn’t mind being patient if it would get me what I wanted in the end, but I didn’t like waiting for Violet. I wanted her to be mine. Full stop.

I wasn’t going to question it.

Was I moving fast? Absolutely.

Too fast? Hell, no.

Thinking of our suite at the Intercontinental, her promise to meet me there for dinner, our progress felt glacially slow. Once I’d decided Violet was mine, I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want to sneak around.

Staying in a hotel to avoid our families left me feeling like a teenager. Fitting, since Violet gave me the refractory period of one. I was topped up on orgasms, but I could use a little more sleep.

I was about to get another cup of coffee when my phone rang. Squelching the leap in my chest at the sound, I picked it up. “Yes?”

“You sitting down?” Evers.

“Just tell me,” I said, not in the mood for him to yank my chain.

“We don’t have Anna Winters’s DNA, or William Davis’s. But based on the results from Anna’s children it looks like Chase Westbrook is Anna’s son.”

I let out a long breath. I’d had a feeling. I’d been almost positive. But thinking and knowing were two very different things.

“You there?” Evers said.

“I’m here. Just…thinking.”

“It’s a lot to work out,” Evers said, “but just remember, this doesn’t change anything. He’s Anna’s son, but that doesn’t mean you can trust him. Or his sister. Just go slowly—”

“Evers, shut up. I don’t know if I can trust Chase, but I do know I can trust Violet. And you’re wrong, this changes everything. For all of us.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Evers argued and then let out a defeated sigh. “But you’re going to do what you’re going to do. I’ve known you too long to think differently. I’ll send over the paperwork so you and Gage have it. When I’m done I’ll send over my report on the Westbrooks.”

“Anything interesting I don’t know about?” I asked, hating myself for the small niggle of doubt hiding under my question.

“Not yet. The parents are a little weird. Word is they never talk about their children. Cut them off and forgot about them. Cold.”

“That was the impression I got from Violet. They had their children’s futures planned and when Chase, and then Violet, didn’t fall in line they erased them.” I changed the subject. I hated thinking about Violet’s parents. “Have you figured out how they crossed paths with your father?”

“Not yet. I can’t find any trace of paperwork on Chase’s adoption. If you can, if things go well, see if he has it, or knows where to find it. Anything in writing would help.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised. “I’ll keep you posted. Don’t worry about sending the papers over, we’ll swing by and grab the report.”

I hung up and swiveled in my desk chair, staring out the window of my office. What were the chances Anna’s son just happened to own a company we’d acquired? The odds seemed right up there with winning the lottery. The unusual happened every day. This could be a lucky coincidence. Or it might be more.

I wanted to trust Violet. I did trust Violet. At the very least I trusted her motives, if not every decision she’d made, but Chase…he was a wildcard. Picking up my phone I dialed Gage. When he answered I said, “I need you in my office.”

“On my way.”

Gage had barely cleared my door when he caught the look on my face. “Evers called.”

“Just got off the phone with him,” I confirmed.

“And it’s true? He’s ours?”

“He is. Can you take a break? We need to go talk to him.”

“He’s due here in two hours,” Gage said.

“I don’t want to do this here. I’ll call Violet and see if they’re home. Better to do this on their turf, where they’re comfortable.”

“Where they’re comfortable?”

“This is going to come as a shock,” I said, thinking of Violet. “After their parents kicked them out, all they’ve had is each other. Now, all of a sudden, Chase is going to have a whole new family. And Violet still only has Chase. I don’t want to throw this at her in my office. I want her to feel safe.”

Gage hitched up his shoulder with impatience. “This isn’t about your girlfriend.”

“It’s not only about her,” I agreed. “It’s about all of us.”

“Call her. I’ll rearrange my schedule. Meet you at the elevators.”

Violet answered her phone with a relaxed, “Hey, how’s your day?”

When I asked if we could move our meeting from Gage’s office in two hours to their condo now, she agreed but her relaxed tone shifted to cautious curiosity.

We needed to get this out in the open. Chase had a right to know who he was. I still felt like I was holding a grenade and someone had pulled the pin before I was ready to throw.

We stopped by the Sinclair Security offices to grab a copy of the file with the DNA results. Nothing much in the report made sense to me. I was a businessman, not a geneticist, but I understood the summary on the first page. 98% chance subject A is a sibling to sample subjects.

Violet opened the door when we knocked and immediately looked past me to Gage. I didn’t need eyes in the back of my head to know Gage was glaring at her. Again. The moment her eyes met his, her periwinkle gaze shifted to a chilly lavender and her chin went up half an inch.

She led us to the living room where Chase waited on a couch. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Arsenic?” This last she directed at Gage. Chase watched the interplay and smirked.

“Nothing for me, thanks,” Gage said.

The second he laid eyes on Chase Westbrook, he forgot his animosity toward Violet. He couldn’t stop staring at the half-brother he’d never met. Violet looked between Gage and her brother, concern clouding her expression.

“Why did we move the meeting here?” she asked me. “Wouldn’t it be easier to talk about CD4 at the office?”

“It would,” I agreed, “but this isn’t about the company. This is personal.”

“I don’t understand,” Violet said, taking a seat beside Chase. Chase rested his ankle on his knee and looked from me to Gage.

“I do,” he said. “When did you figure it out? Before or after you stole my company?” His fingers tapped on the top of his thigh, and he watched us with cool, assessing eyes.

Vance’s eyes. Anna’s eyes.

I said, “We didn’t steal your company,” at the same time Gage said, “After.”

I shot a quelling look at Gage, and as usual, he ignored me. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and said, “We didn’t steal your company. I thought Aiden covered that yesterday.”

“That’s the story he’s selling,” Chase said.

“It’s the truth,” Gage shot back. “What I want to know is, how long have you known? Did you know when you relocated to Atlanta?”

“I’ve known since I was seventeen,” Chase said evenly.

Violet swiveled on the couch to face him. “Will someone please tell me what you’re talking about? Know what?”

Chase looked at her and his face softened. Reaching out, he closed his fingers over her forearm. “Vivi, it’s complicated.”

“It’s not that complicated,” Gage cut in. “My mother got pregnant in college. She gave up the baby for adoption. That baby is your brother. We didn’t know until a few months ago and we’ve been looking for him ever since.”

“That’s not possible. Chase isn’t adopted.” Violet scowled at Gage, clearly suspecting he was up to something. Her angry gaze faltered as she looked to me, waiting for me to set him straight. I handed her the file.

With trembling hands, she opened it, her eye skimming the first page. Gently, I said, “Chase is subject A. I stole his comb yesterday and we tested his DNA.”

“Yesterday?” Her voice was faint. “But that’s too fast. You can’t have a DNA test done that quickly. There must be a mistake.”

“There’s no mistake,” Gage said, leaning forward to pull the file from her hands. “We’ll get you a copy of the test results, but there’s no question. Chase is my brother.”

“Half-brother,” Chase shot back, resting his hand on Violet’s back.

She shrugged it off. “You knew?” Violet whispered, staring at Chase, her eyes shadowed, wounded. “You never said anything. Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Vivi, it’s not a big deal.” He tried to take her hand, but she pulled back.

“How can you say that? Of course, it’s a big deal. Is that why we moved here?”

Chase shrugged a shoulder and finally started to look uncomfortable. “Maybe. I was curious, okay? And we were done with St. Louis. I never planned to contact them.” Looking at us he said again, “I never planned to contact you.”