Nolan
We lay there in silence, just listening to the beating of our own heart.
I’ve never been one for romance, but ever since Stacy fell into our lives...well, let’s just say that I see things differently now. I just never thought that the moment I’d find love, it’d be at the same time as my brothers...and with the same woman.
“We’ll fix this, I know we will,” Carter says, looking at the ceiling, one of his arms draped around Stacy’s naked shoulders. “By the time we’re done with him, Percy will no longer be a part of this family.”
“It won’t be that easy, you know that,” Kieran says, his words fraught with tension. “It’s never easy whenever Percy’s involved.”
“No, it won’t be easy...Percy knows what he’s doing,” Stacy agrees, and I feel my heart tightening up a little as I hear her say it. She’s worried, I can tell—but who wouldn’t be worried in a situation such as hers?
“Babe,” I whisper, turning to her and caressing her face with the back of my hand, “we’re here. We’ll take care of you.”
I say softly, whispering the words against her hair and meaning every single one of them. I don’t know what it is about Stacy, but I can’t help but feel this urgent need to protect her, to shelter from whatever bullshit the world throws at her. I’ll move mountains for this girl, if that’s what’s required of me.
“I know you’ll take care of me,” she whispers back at me, brushing her velvety lips against mine and managing a weak smile. “But who’ll take care of my father?” She continues, lowering her voice and retreating inside her mind. “Percy will ruin him if I don’t do his bidding. He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
“Your father?” I ask her, and the silence coming from Carter and Kieran tells me they already know the details of what’s going on with Stacy.
“My father,” she says, her voice quivering slightly. “Percy, he...he threatened to put my father out of business if I don’t play this stupid game of his. And he’ll do it, I’m sure of it.”
“Yeah, that fucking asshole would do anything to get his hands on father’s money,” Carter agrees, pulling Stacy toward him as if he could protect her just by doing that.
“From what I’ve been reading, Percy has apparently bought a majority stake in your father’s company, Stacy. He did it through some shell corporations a few weeks ago, and I assume he did that the moment he read the will...he has been planning all this for a long time. I hate to say it, but the fucker is more than just evil—he’s smart too.”
Fuck—Percy really thought this through. Just like he did with me, he’s using every person he can as pawns on his personal chessboard, moving them around for his personal benefit.
I feel my blood boiling inside my veins as I imagine what it must’ve been like for Stacy. To see her father threatened, to become the sole person stopping her family’s company from crumbling...that can’t be easy. And Percy doesn’t care. He’d do that a million times over if that meant he’d triumph over his.
Of course, what Percy doesn’t know is that we’re a family. Sure, he knows it on paper. But he doesn’t know the meaning of it. He never saw us as his brothers, thinking of us as lesser members of the family just because we’re not blood-related. But family isn’t about blood, is it?
Family’s about so much more.
I have to do something about this. I’ve spent too much time helping Percy further his plans, leaving my true brothers and Stacy out on the cold...fuck, I hate myself for it. But that’s no use right now. Hating myself for what I did will help no one—what will help is taking action.
Swinging my legs off the bed, I pick up my boxer briefs and get inside them.
“Where are you going?” Stacy asks me, and I can feel her reaching for me. Before she can lay her hand on top of mine, though, I’m already on my feet, jumping inside my pants and getting dressed fast.
“I have some stuff I need to take care of,” I say, offering her a wide smile as I finish buttoning up my shirt. I’m still not sure about what I’ll do, but I just know I can’t remain here in bed while Percy’s long shadow is still cast over us.
I need to do something. Whatever is it. And I won’t stop until Percy’s ruined.
“What’s on your mind?” Carter asks me, sitting up on the bed, the sheets up to his waist. “If there’s something we can do to help…”
“Fuckin’ right. If you have a plan, we want in,” Kieran says, adding his voice to Carter’s. Running one hand through my hair, I let out a sigh and sit on the edge of the bed, resting my hand on top of Stacy’s.
“I don’t know what we can do yet,” I tell the three of them. “There’s only one thing I know for sure: we’ll stop Percy, whatever it takes.”
“Whatever it takes,” Carter and Kieran reply at the same time, and I can see a faint smile taking over Stacy’s lips. She can’t yet see a way out of the maze she’s trapped inside, but I know she trusts us to guide her out.
And I won’t fail her, even if that’s the last thing I do in my life.
Going up to my feet, I look one last time at Stacy and then I leave the room, suddenly feeling more confident about everything.
“I’m coming for you, Percy,” I whisper to myself, and I can’t help but grin at my owns words.
I got a plan.