I pick up a paper at reception, get into the lift, and hit the button for my floor. When the doors open I stroll into my secretary, Eliza’s, office. She looks at me strangely.

“Your brother is here,” she says.

I don’t break my stride. “Dom or Shane?’

“Neither?”

I turn to her. “What?”

She raises her eyebrows. “He says he’s your brother.”

I look at her with a bemused expression. Is she serious? “I only have two brothers.”

“Apparently, his name is Tyson Eden.”

“What?”

“He claims he’s your half-brother.”

I shake my head in wonder. The world is so full of scammers, and some of them are bolshy enough to try and take me on. “Did he show proof of identity?”

“Nope.”

I frown. “Where is he now?”

“In your office.”

My eyebrows rise in surprise. “You let a complete stranger into my office? One that didn’t even bother to identify himself?”

She nods, a funny expression on her face. “Yeah.”

What the fuck is going on? I stride to my door, open it and come to a dead stop. No wonder Eliza let him decide where he should wait. The cocky bastard is sitting in my chair with his ankles crossed, and up on my table. Even in weather cold enough to freeze your bollocks off, he is wearing the gypsy uniform, a string vest. His chest and arms are covered in tattoos. His face … it’s like looking into a fucking mirror.

Dad, you old dog, you!

I lean against the side of the door. “You’re sitting in my chair.”

He doesn’t smile. “Looks like it, doesn’t it?”

“Also looks like you didn’t just discover you’re my half-brother.”

He nods. “True. I remember clearly cursing you and my father and your entire family my whole life.”

“Care to enlighten me as to why?”

He shrugs. “Your father impregnated my mother and left her without any money or support.”

“He was not the most responsible father.”

He looks like he wants to vomit. “I waited outside your house once. I saw him playing happy families with you and your brother.”

I frown. “When did you know about us?”

“When I was six.”

I stare at him curiously. “Why the return now?”

“I need help.”

I chuckle. I’m beginning to like this kid. “See, if I needed help from a man, I wouldn’t go putting my feet on his desk.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You’d just burn his whole building down.”

I’m impressed. He’s done his homework. “That’s more my brother’s style, but I guess I have been known to do that too.”

He drops his feet to the ground and comes towards me. He is the same height as Shane, but with Dom’s build. Dad’s build. He stands in front of me. There are fine wrinkles around his eyes. Those you get from squinting in the sun. He looks me in the eye and instantly I know that we will become good friends one day. Underneath the cocky attitude is a man with a heavy burden.

“Will you help me?” he asks.

I smile. “It’s always dangerous to agree to help someone when you have no idea what they want help with, but yes. We are blood brothers. Of course, I’ll do everything in my power for you. Come sit down and tell me what you need done.”

I close the door, and start walking towards my bar. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Whiskey?”

“Whiskey,” he says, dropping into one of the chairs in front of my desk.

I grab the crystal decanter and pour us both a double even though it is only eight in the morning. I hold his drink out to him, and he takes it from me. His hands are calloused. He is a man who works with his hands. I walk around the desk and sink into my leather chair. It is still warm from his body. What a turn up for the books.

Momentarily, I think of my poor mother. Even from the grave my father reaches out and hurts her. I’ll think about it later when I have solved the problem in front of me. I buzz Eliza and tell her to hold all my calls.

Then I lean back in my chair and gaze into the face that is so similar to mine. We look so much alike it’s uncanny—except his skin is more sun-kissed, and his eyes are full of goodness. He has not lived the life I have. “So …”

“To start with I have to say that I’m dealing with an enemy who might be even more ruthless than you,” he says.

“I doubt it.” I chuckle softly. Relief flits across his face. Poor guy. He’s cut up about something. Must involve a girl.

“To cut a long story short, Tony Jackson is after me because he believes I have taken his girl although the truth is I met her first. A strange twist of fate separated us and we only saw each other again two days ago.”

My eyebrows fly up to my hairline. Well, well, I certainly didn’t see that coming. “You’ve taken Tony Jackson’s woman.”

“She’s not his woman,” he growls, eyes flashing. “She’s mine. He was forcing her to be with him. She doesn’t want him. She’s in love with me. Also, she is the mother of my son.”

I rub my face thoughtfully. Tony Jackson is an ass. He is neither strong nor powerful. Without his father he would have been put away a long time ago. His crew is vicious though. I take a swig of my drink. Whoa, it’s been a long time since I drank so early in the morning. “How about you start by telling me the long version?”

I listen to him tell me about his Izzy and how they met. I see his eyes soften as he talks about her. His sadness from losing his best friend and how he lost track of her as a result. Finding her again, finding out about his son, and knowing the man she was involved with was a gangster protected by a judge.

“Where is your family now?” I ask.

“I’ve hidden them away in Hounslow in a gypsy camp.”

I smile. “Smart move. I would have done the same.”

He leans in, his hands spread on the desk. “I knew Tony would never dare set foot in the village when he knows it’s your territory. Even if Tony knows where they are, he won’t dare set foot in your territory. However, he knows where I live now, and he’s already sent three goons to take care of me.”

“But you took care of them, I’m guessing, judging from how healthy you look,” I murmur.

“Yeah, well, I picked up a few tricks from my misspent youth.” His jaw clenches. “I couldn’t save my horses, though. The bastards slaughtered them before I got there.”

“They killed your horses?” I don’t know why I’m surprised, that is exactly the kind of lowdown thing Tony’s men would do.

“They killed my horses,” he confirms flatly. There is no emotion in his voice, but a muscle is ticking hard in his jaw. I know that look. It only means one thing: he’s hurting for revenge.

“And you want me to take him for you?” I ask softly.

“No, I’ll do the dirty work myself. I want you to make sure that Izzy and Christopher are safe if anything happens to me. If I don’t make it.”