Michael

I ignored Eden and focused on Kevin and the way he stood so close to her and the way he touched her like he had every right to.

Eden didn’t seem eager to pull away, something I would address with her later. After I handled him.

Kevin looked at Eden, the emotion clear on his face. Then he looked at me, daring, the challenge clear.

“Kevin and I were—”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Eden.”

The tone of my voice left no doubt as to my seriousness, but to my surprise, Eden stayed quiet. I could only imagine what I must look like, the energy I had to be giving off for her to say nothing.

Then I realized it must have been much worse when Kevin shifted to put himself between her and me. My rage, already blinding, went up yet another notch.

“Eden and I were having a conversation,” he said, looking into my eyes without blinking.

“You and Eden have nothing to discuss,” I said, my voice certain, not giving any hint about the fact that I wasn’t.

“Doesn’t she get to decide that?” he asked.

“No,” I replied flatly.

“Wait just a damn minute,” Eden interrupted.

“I told you I wasn’t talking to you, Eden,” I said without looking at her, “so shut up.”

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Kevin said.

The rage that had been cooking boiled over. I moved without thinking, my fist connecting with his face.

I hit him so hard, I could feel sharp pains in my wrist.

To his credit, Kevin didn’t drop.

Instead, he stood for a moment, stunned, and then charged, leveling his shoulder into my chest and driving me backward.

I reacted instantly, landing as many blows to his body as I could, not even stopping when I landed against the solid wall.

I heard Eden scream, but didn’t spare a moment to look at her. I was too focused on this, happy to have some outlet for the anger nearly blinding me.

This, this I understood, could handle. What Eden made me feel, feelings at all, were something I didn’t want, something I had no desire to try to understand.

But this…

I hit Kevin as hard as I could, a blow he returned in kind, his fist connecting with my ribs.

That would hurt like hell tomorrow, but I didn’t care. The pain was worth it if only for the solace that the physical combat brought.

“What the fuck!”

I looked up when I heard the familiar voice, looked away when I heard Kevin swing. I ducked and then threw another punch, landing against Kevin’s jaw and following up with a left that landed on his side.

We were on the ground grappling, and I could only imagine how we must look, but I didn’t care. Kevin slipped away, so I got up and went for him. I continued to swing, was stopped by Declan’s iron grip on my hand.

I tried to shake him off, keep moving, but he twisted my arm behind my back.

I could have kept going, but at this angle, Declan’s hold would have broken my arm, and he probably wouldn’t give a shit.

So I stayed still, looked at Kevin as he started to charge.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Declan said.

The lethal calmness of his voice seemed to penetrate the rage I could see on Kevin’s face.

He slowed, then came to a stop, bending over and breathing hard, blood dripping from his nose.

“I don’t know who you are, but you need to get the fuck out of here,” Declan said.

“We have unfinished business,” Kevin said around a heavily exhaled breath.

“Do you want me to finish it?” Declan said.

He went silent then, staring at Kevin, who stared at me with malice in his eyes. “Later, Murphy,” he said.

“Fuck you,” I replied.

Declan added a little twist to his hold, one that cut my words off with a sharp sting of pain. He didn’t release it as Kevin left, the elevator doors swishing shut with finality.

“I should break your fucking arm,” Declan said through clenched teeth.

“Do it or don’t, but let me go,” I said.

He twisted a little bit more and then released me.

I stood, took a few moments to adjust my shirt and jacket, and then looked at Eden.

The scorn in her eyes was apparent, stony with its intensity.

I waited for her to speak. She didn’t though. Instead she looked at me, her eyes alight with something like hate.

She looked at Declan. “Thank you,” she said.

Then, she turned, rounded the corner without looking back.

The few seconds of comfort I’d found in beating up Kevin were gone in an instant.

Now, all I had was a faint hint of sadness because Eden was gone. I was left with a brother who looked like he wanted to finish the job Kevin had started.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Michael?”

“Not now, Declan.”

“Now,” he said, slamming me in the shoulder.

I looked at him, eyes clashing with his, and was again reminded of how much like Patrick he looked.

And much like Patrick did most of the time, he looked like he wanted to kick my face in.

That was unusual for Declan. He never took sides in whatever squabbles between us there might be. He was also slow to anger, but right now, he was pissed.

“This is what you call running the hotel?” he said.

“I told you I’m in no mood,” I said, waving him off, torn between frustration that he had interrupted and shame that Eden had seen me lose control so completely.

“And I told you I don’t give a fuck. Go change and get to the garage. I will make sure that none of your employees saw you acting like a fucking idiot in the middle of our business,” he said.

“What do you want, Declan?” I said, glaring at him.

“Garage in ten minutes, Michael. Don’t make me come look for you,” he said.

Then he turned, stormed off, no doubt in search of Eden, ready to do the damage control that was my responsibility.

I knew how messed up that was, but Declan needed to see my point. That asshole had no business being in my hotel like he had a right to be there, touching Eden like he had the right to.

He didn’t, and if he hadn’t grasped that yet, I’d be happy to explain it again.

I headed toward my office, my face tight, expression, I knew, fierce. I’d never asked Eden about the nature of her relationship with Kevin, but those few seconds had been enough for me to see what Kevin wanted from Eden, and it had nothing to do with catching up on old times.

My stomach churned with anger as I remembered those seconds, the way Eden had seemed to be enjoying his attention.

I had no doubt that was what had me so on edge.

Eden liked fucking me, maybe almost as much as I liked fucking her. I had no doubt about that, but it went no further than that. I’d gone to Patrick, considered how to invite Eden into parts of my life I shared with no one.

For nothing.

She never looked at me with softness in her eyes, didn’t seem happy to see me in the way she had him.

That fucking hurt. And I fucking hated it.

Hated that she felt, or rather, didn’t feel that way about me.

Hated that I cared, that I was powerless not to.

Hated knowing that if forced to choose, she wouldn’t choose me.

I had no claim on her, had no right to want such a thing, but I didn’t care. Because I did want her. I might not be able to keep her, but there was no fucking way I would let that dick Kevin be the reason.

Yeah, Michael, you can get rid of her yourself. Push her away. You’ve done it before.

I ignored that thought and the truth that was attached to it, and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, then tossed my suit in the garbage. It was ripped, and I didn’t want the hassle of having it repaired or the memory of what had damaged it in the first place.

I was in the garage in eight minutes, and Declan was waiting for me. He was still tense but seemed a little bit calmer than he had before, his massive arms crossed over his chest but his face was blank, impassive.

“Get in,” he said.

My first instinct was to ask why, but I ignored it, and instead rounded the vehicle and got into the passenger side.

I didn’t say a word as Declan drove off, knew that doing so would be the first sign of defeat in this little battle of wills.

Besides, I could guess at what he would say. Probably have some bullshit lecture about how I needed to listen to Patrick, be more laid-back, do as I was told.

All shit I’d heard a million times, all shit I had no interest in.

Declan drove for about twenty minutes, the silence in the interior of the car an almost tangible thing.

He slowed to a stop in front of an abandoned warehouse, then turned to look at me.

I looked back at him, waiting.

“You really are that fucking stupid?” he said.

“Probably, since I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said truthfully.

“No, you don’t. Always going on and on about your rightful place in the family, and you can’t control yourself long enough not to fight in the fucking hallway in front of security cameras.”

He shook his head and I scowled.

“I don’t get what the big fucking deal is.”

“Of course not, Michael. You don’t get it because you’re an idiot and a baby,” Declan said, his voice raised as high as I had heard it in years. He glared at me, his breath coming out on hard exhales.

“Do you know why I brought you here?”

“I assume to insult me,” I replied.

“Very fucking funny. I went to Patrick and talked to him.”

“About what?” I said.

“The weather,” he spat, glaring hard. “What the fuck do you think?”

“Declan, get to the point,” I said, too distracted to think about what Declan was saying when my mind was on Eden.

“The point is, Michael, I convinced Patrick, against his better judgment, he needed to cut you a break and start giving you some real responsibility. And what do I find after I do that? You, acting like a jerk-off for the whole world to see. What did that guy do anyway?”

“Why does it matter?” I said, annoyed that Declan was questioning me, even more pissed at myself for the answer.

Declan glared at me, his jaw ticking now.

“He was getting a little too familiar with Eden,” I said.

Declan lifted a brow. “Did he touch her?”

“No. Not exactly. It…”

I trailed off, looked at Declan as I saw the dawning realization.

He gave me something akin to a smile and then shook his head.

“I should have known,” he said.

His voice still held a measure of disgust but it was dampened by amusement.

I didn’t share the feeling, not when I was once again proving to someone else what I had so long denied to myself.

“It’s not important. Why am I here?”

“I guess I can appreciate the situation,” Declan said. “But next time, try talking to the woman and not attacking someone who just so happens to be standing in the same room with her.”

“He was trying to do more than that,” I said, only hearing my own tone of voice after I spoke the words.

“Whatever it was,” Declan said, serious again, “you have responsibilities, a reputation to maintain at the hotel and elsewhere. I don’t care how pissed off you are. You just can’t go around knocking out whoever the fuck you feel like.”

“It worked for Aengus,” I said.

“Did it?” Declan replied.

I said nothing, knowing I didn’t have a leg to stand on. As far as I could see, Aengus lived a shitty life, one no one should be jealous of.

Declan knew it. I did too.

“So why am I here?” I asked yet again.

“Patrick wants to give you a chance—there’s a matter inside that needs to be taken care of,” he said.

I looked at him, my mind going back to that day all those years ago.

“What is it?” I said.

“A former employee who likes to take things that don’t belong to him,” Declan said.

“What am I supposed to do about it?” I asked, excited but also wondering what the catch was.

Declan locked eyes with me. “That’s for you to decide.”

He unlocked the door, and even though he didn’t speak, I knew it was my sign to get out.

I did and walked slowly toward the warehouse, considering.

As I got further away from the SUV, I looked back for a moment and watched as Declan reversed and then drove away.

This was a test.

Even before Declan had left, I knew that.

The question was, would I fail it?