ric’s POVb: /b

A few minutes ago

I hadn’t expected my brother to show up at the club. When I was heading to my car, another car had parked right across from me. It wasn’t until I heard Nn call my name that I realized that it was him.

And he did not look happy.

My brows drew together in question. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket,ing to a stop a few feet away from me.

And then he turned around, his eyes sweeping over the building.

“Love what you did with the ce.”

“You’d love it better if you went in,” I replied tly, my gaze narrowing at the edges. “Though something

tells me that’s not why you’re here.”

“Did Mutti tell you she was nning a memorial for ourte father?”

Nn’s voice had a certain edge to it. I watched him carefully, taking note of the set in his jaw and the

hard look in his eyes.

It had been a while since I saw that look in his eyes–one that I couldn’t decipher no matter how much I tried to. Nn had loved our father for a long fucking time, and after he saw him for who he was, it seemed as though a part of him broke. But after he died, Nn had that look in his eyes for so long.

He was only eleven.

“I shut it down,” I simply replied, leaning against my car. “The bastard doesn’t deserve a memorial.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t deserve a bullet to his fucking head either.”

Those words came out strong. Maybe a little too strong. And it was then I realized that something else truly was wrong. I pushed away from my car, taking a step toward my brother. “Whatever the hell it is you want to say to me, you should say it now. While I’m still giving you a piece of my time, that is.”

Nn scoffed, a dark smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You know, I was having a hard time yesterday, with our asshole of a father being six feet underground and all. You ever wonder if he’s all bones down there or bones and a rock?” He paused when I gave him a dry look. “His heart, I mean. We

both know it was hard as a fucking rock.”

My nostrils red and I pinched the bridge of my nose, my eyes shifting to the doors to see if Meadow wasing out already. If she wasn’t out in the next ten minutes, I’d go in there and get her out.

I was tired of this damn conversation.

b“/bYou’re here with your wife, thenb?/b” he asked, dusting off invisible lint from his jacket. b“/bMeadow?”

My gaze narrowed into slits. “Who the fuck else would I be here with, Nn?b” /b

He raised his hands in defense, something dark shing in his eyes. “My bad. Anything to keep up the

ruse, right?b” /b

My body stilled. For a moment, I didn’t say anything, or move. And it was at that moment I noticed the victorious, smug smile on his face. A smile that said I’d just confirmed it.

I didn’t tell him that what Meadow and I had was an arrangement, but now he looked like he may have

figured it out.

But of course, I wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

“What are you getting at?” I asked slowly, finally taking a step toward him.

Usually, when my voice went low like that, Nn would either take a step back or try to lighten the

situation. But that wasn’t what he did. Instead, he took a step forward.

“Do you love her?b” /b

What? “Nn-”

“Answer the damn question, Ric. Do you love her?”

My throat tightened. Did I love Meadow? I wouldn’t go as far as that.

But I respected her, adored her like the angel she was. She made me feel things I had never felt before.

Hell, she made me FEEL her.

If I were to answer my brother’s question honestly, I’d say I didn’t know. Because I couldn’t lie. Not about this. I genuinely didn’t know if I loved Meadow.

But this was a different kind of situation, so I just avoided the question. b“/bbNot /byour damn business.”

Nn shoved out a breath, shaking his head. “So you don’t.”

My jaw ticked.

Nn’s voice was still calm. “For a while, I thought she was just a gold digger, because there was no way you’d ever meet someone and marry her in such a short period of time. But then… you reacted to her touch, and it hit me that that was the main reason you married her–you know, apart from stopping our

mother from grilling you about getting a wife or getting back together with rissa.”

bMy /bfists curled, and I shot him a scowl. But before I could speak or deny anything, he continued. “I’m not stupid, Ric. And I am certainly not a fucking kid anymore. I’ve known for a while that your marriage isn’t

a regr one.” He tilted his head. “But I said nothing. Because I saw the way you two behaved around each other. And I saw that she made you happy… or at least fucking tolerable.”

Something tugged at my chest. Nn did know about it.

He really knew, and he kept quiet about it.

“Truthfully, I’m disappointed that you couldn’t trust me enough to tell me, but hey, that one’s my own fault, isn’t it? I was the one who fucked up when I-”

“Don’t fucking finish that sentence!” I growled, stepping close enough to him that our foreheads were nearly touching. Nn pushed at my chest, and I was caught so off guard that I stumbled.

“Or what?” he bit back. “What are you going to do to me if I finish that sentence, Ric?” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “You see, that’s the problem with you. Always thinking you can make the problem go away with threats and fucking fists.”

“You admitting to being the problem?”

His jaw ticked. “No. I’m saying you’re the fucking problem. You think you know what’s best for everyone and you forget to think about what’s best for you.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have tried and tried to make sense of it. To understand why the fuck you would want to be with the daughter of the man who killed our father, and the only reason I’ve been able toe up with is that you’re trying to punish

yourself.”

A tremor shot through me.

Nn’s sentence wasn’t evenpletely out of his mouth before I gripped him by the cor of his shirt and mmed him against the side of my car in one quick movement.

However, Nn didn’t take it like he always did. He pushed back, throwing his arm back beforending a

punch on my jawi. /i

And I…

I felt it.

I felt my brother’s hard punch on my face before my head shot to the side. I hadn’t felt his touch in nearly twenty years. But I felt this.

For a moment, all I could do was cup my jaw and stare at him. I couldn’t feel my own hand on my face but I felt his. I was too stunned to even say anything, until Nn shot me a death te, stepping back.

“This isn’t like other timesb, /bRic. I’m done just sitting there and letting you do whatever the fuck you want.”

My jaw clenched.

Maybe I fucking imagined it. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I answered. “Sucks for you then,

because that’s all I’ve ever fucking wanted from you.”

Nn scoffed. “You know what I’ve always wanted? For you to be happy. bIf /byou wanted to forget what happened to our family and move on from it, I was ready to do that for you. But Meadow Russell? Schei?e,” he gritted out. “What the fuck, Ric?”

“You’re in no position to speak to me like that, Nn,” I growled. I swiped my thumb along my lower lip, and when I pulled it back, I saw blood. I didn’t feel the pain, but I felt Nn’s fist.

I was fucking sure of that.

“Neither are you in any position to scold me after marrying the fucking enemy.”

Something hot shed behind my eyes. He had no fucking right to judge Meadow. “Shut the fuck up,” I

said through my teeth. “You know nothing about Meadow.”

“Oh, I think I know enough, ric.” Nn took a step closer, his fists clenched at his sides. “Her father killed ours, and that’s all I need to fucking know about her.”

The sound was so faint, I would’ve missed it if not for the quiet tension between me and Nn.

A soft gasp. An unmistakable sound from my wife.

Both our heads jerked toward the direction of her voice, and when Meadow stepped out of the darkness,

my heart fell into my stomach.

“ric?”