Chapter 2
2
QUINCY “QUIN” KISKADDEN
The Heartbreaker Red lipstick glided easily across my mouth. It had taken me a minute to clean up the mess Matt had created when he’d mauled me earlier, but I gave myself a smile and the red popped against my even, white teeth. I took the time to unravel my bun and pull a brush through my hair—it reached the top of my butt now. The final touch was a spritz of perfume. After stepping into my shoes, I twirled and headed off downstairs.
It wasn’t exactly convenient that someone had interrupted us, but as often as Matt manhandled me when he was home, it was bound to happen eventually. I chuckled and hustled down the hall because Matt loved it when I played the perfect housewife, bringing guests carefully mixed drinks and homemade snacks, but my good mood evaporated as shouting brought me to a standstill.
“You piece of shit. I can’t believe you have the balls to ask me that!” Matt’s voice was a roar, and I rushed down the steps, gasping when he came into view. He had a man who was almost his size backed up against the front door, and I swallowed hard at the way he had the stranger’s shirt gripped in both hands. His muscles bulged as he gave the man a violent shake. If the stranger had been any smaller, the move would’ve probably knocked him out.
“Matt!” I shouted, but he didn’t look over his shoulder at me, his attention riveted to the man in front of him. It occurred to me all at once that this person could be someone dangerous, and I came to a halt as soon as my red heels hit the floor, hand still lingering on the staircase railing.
“Please. You know I wouldn’t have come here, but my savings ran dry.” The man tried giving Matt a wholesome grin, despite the way Matt still snarled in his face. “I had to sell the house to pay off my credit cards. I even had to sell my car and buy that piece of junk sitting out front. I won’t be any trouble. I just need to get back on my feet. Getting fired was completely unexpected. You’re my only hope of getting this shit under control.”
I inched forward. What in the world is going on? I didn’t know the stranger. I assumed he must be a good friend or family to come to Matt with a request like this, but if he was someone Matt cared about, why was he being treated as an enemy?
“Matt?” I tried again softly. If I had the situation all wrong, I didn’t want to distract him and get him hurt.
“Meet my brother,” he snapped over his shoulder. Instead of moving to let the man in the house, he jerked him to the side, then yanked open the door and shoved him out.
“Your brother?”
The man’s arms pinwheeled, but he still went down on his ass. He hissed and scooted away from Matt as if he was worried he might get kicked in the face, and with the way Matt tensed, maybe he’d been correct in his assumption. The stranger was handsome, and the more I looked at him, the more I was certain he really was related to Matt.
The man’s attention landed on me as I came up behind Matt, and he smiled. “Well, hello, beautiful.”
Matt growled and slammed the door shut. The crack of the wood meeting the frame hurt my ears, and I held up my hands as he stood there breathing deep. When I tried to take his hand, he ripped it away from me, which hurt my feelings, but he shook his head and took my hand in both of his, bringing it up to kiss my engagement ring.
Matt grunted. “That asshole. He’s the one . . . .”
A memory popped into my head, and I groaned. “He’s the brother who slept with?—”
“Bethany. Yes.” Matt glared at the door. His anger didn’t do anything to make him less attractive. His brown eyes were mesmerizing no matter what he was feeling, and even now my fingers itched to comb through his thick brown beard. His lips twitched. “My brother ended my last marriage. Don’t get me wrong. She was the problem as much as him, but any brother who can do something like that?” He shook his head and his nostrils flared.
Oh, this is bad news. Yikes. If the man outside wasn’t related to Matt, he might’ve found a permanent home in the ground.
Guilt churned in my stomach. I still wasn’t over the shooting—I had trouble thinking of it as an accident. Could I stand by and let another life be ruined because of something I was complicit in?
Clearing my throat, I put a hand on Matt’s arm. “He’s your family, though, right? I.... We all know he didn’t operate in a vacuum. And he’s here. Alive. Maybe you want to put things right with him?”
Matt glowered at me in a way I hadn’t seen since we’d first gotten together, and it chilled me a bit, but he was still holding me close. I slipped a hand up to trace the tattoo on his neck, but it didn’t calm him.
“My brother took something that wasn’t his. He stole from me.”
My stomach began to ache with tension. “I get it, but.... He seems as if he needs help. You could be man enough to give it to him and let bygones be.... Well, you could put the past behind you. Show him how to be a better man.”
“Then, he should’ve acted right,” Matt shouted at the door, and I flinched.
“Listen, if you hadn’t helped me, who knows where I would be right now? What awful things might be happening to me? Did you know my mom wanted me to leave and go off and find a man who made more cash than you?”
Matt swung all his attention to my face and his cheeks flushed red. “I’m glad she’s in her grave.”
Closing my eyes, I fought back a couple of tears. “This is your brother. He’s alive. Fix it. I wish I could’ve had a way to fix things.”
Matt’s lips twisted into a terrible scowl and he glared at the floor. Seconds ticked by. He yanked open the door, and the man was on his feet, brushing off his clothing.
“Quin, this is my brother, Jackson. Don’t fucking talk to him. Don’t look at him.” Matt pointed at Jackson. “If you even so much as speak to Quin, I will rip out your tongue and use it to clean up dog shit.” He poked Jackson hard on the chest. “You can stay. For now.”
Jackson smiled and opened his mouth, but Matt shut the door again and turned, stalking to the left in the direction of his den. I rushed after him, but the front door opened behind me, and I whirled around, torn between talking to Matt and getting Jackson settled in.
“Okay, so it’s ridiculous that you can’t talk to me,” I said, flashing him a small smile. “Do you know where the guest room is?”
“Yes, I do,” he said, but then his face flushed a brilliant red, and I didn’t really want to know what that was all about.
Oh, it’s probably something gross to do with his time here as a cheating cheater. Nope, nope, nope. Do not need to know. I sighed. “You can take your things up. I usually have dinner ready by about six. Sometimes sooner or later, depending on Matt’s work schedule and my school stuff. I’m in my senior year of a nursing degree, so sometimes I have to study.”
He gave me a long once-over I didn’t love, then smirked. “I didn’t realize he’d moved on already. Apparently, he got an upgrade.”
Oh, yeah, they’re definitely brothers.
“What did I say!” Matt called from the archway of his den, glaring in our direction with his arms crossed.
“Just get settled in,” I said with a forced smile, then hustled after Matt. He stared me down as I walked toward him, as if I’d been doing something wrong. He grabbed my arm and dragged me into his den, and while it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t the way he usually handled me. My chest tightened.
“What are you doing?” I asked, yanking free.
“I told you who he is, and you know what he did. Why are you talking to him?” Matt snarled, but I noticed he was keeping his voice down, so maybe he’d had a minute to consider the situation.
“Okay? You really think I can have another person in the house and simply what? Ignore them?” I cocked my head and tried not to glare.
“You’re the one who talked me into letting him stay. That’s my rule. Deal with it.” He went around behind his desk, slouching into his chair, a sulking kid.
Fury ate at me and I stomped my foot. “You’re being ridiculous.”
He stood up and slapped his hands on the desk. “All I want to hear out of you is yes , Husband , I’ll do whatever you say , Husband . And then later, I want you ass up on our bed. Learn your role in this house.”
I flopped my hands against my sides and laughed, absolutely shocked at this turn in his attitude. “What the hell, Matt?”
His lips drew away from his teeth in a grimace. “Why do you want him to stay?”
My gut became a stone at his awful tone. “So you can have your family. Not all of us are so lucky! You need to figure this out!”
He stomped around his desk and dragged me against his front. I thought maybe he was going to apologize, but he covered my mouth with his in a brutal kiss. It was good—kissing Matt was always wonderful—but he was stiff when I caressed his chest, and there was a strange gleam in his eyes when he leaned back to stare down into my face.
“You’re sure that’s the only reason you want him here?” he asked, top lip curled.
My stomach vanished completely and my heart nearly stopped. I couldn’t stand the way he was looking at me. Cold. Dead. Almost worse than when he’d first put me on my knees for him.
I shoved out of his arms and blind fury powered through me. “I’ve never once given you a reason not to trust me. I was trying to do a good thing here.”
He crossed his arms and tilted his head back, glaring down his nose like he was suspicious.
“You know what? You can go fuck yourself.” I’d never sworn at him, but I was livid. I whirled around and stalked away, then kept right on going. I grabbed my little red purse from where I’d slung it on a half-moon table near the front door, took out my keys, and was already dialing my best friend, Morgan, before I got into my rose-gold Porsche. I’d never been this mad at Matt—and that was saying something.