12. Dax
DAX
C orbin was up to something. He only got calculating when he had an agenda.
My cousin studied the cleared counter and the mess on the floor. “What really happened, Dax?”
I shrugged. “You know my temper.”
“I know you being angry didn’t make Travis’s boxers fall onto the floor.”
“No. You’ll have to ask Travis about that.”
“Will I?”
I scowled at him. “Yes.”
“What are you doing, Dax?”
“Don’t start in on me.” I ignored him as I picked up tools from the floor and laid them on the counter.
“You think Beau will consider that cleaned up?”
“Do I fucking care?”
“Since you’re fucking his little brother, you probably should.”
Dax glared at him. “It’s not like that.”
“Oh, I see. Was he modeling for you or?—”
“That’s enough, Corbin. I’m not fucking kidding.”
Corbin smiled then, and I knew I’d made a misstep.
That calculating bastard. I was used to dealing with men who had straightforward goals.
Usually their primary focus was surviving an encounter with me, begging for mercy, or staying silent while I went to work on them.
The latter two were pointless. I didn’t believe in mercy once you crossed my family.
“So you do care for him?”
I was not ready to start making fucking confessions. “Let’s just clean up the damn tools.” I made a pile on the counter, then began moving them to the hooks where they belonged. Corbin worked silently with me for several minutes before he spoke again.
“Beau’s not going to like it.”
“Beau abandoned him, so?—”
“That’s my fiancé you’re talking about. Maybe you should think before you say anything else.”
“Fuck, Corbin. Travis was a kid. He was seventeen when Rob started fucking him, and Rob was twenty-six. No matter what hell Travis had been through, he was also sheltered. He grew up seeing few others, and everyone in the racing crew tried to protect him.”
“Beau sacrificed a hell of a lot for Travis.”
I let out a long breath. Corbin was right. “There are things you and Beau aren’t aware of. I want to share them, but it’s Travis’s story, and he doesn’t want to tell it. I think Beau suspects some things. Maybe he should ask his brother about what really happened with Rob?”
Corbin’s eyes widened. “Dax, you can’t say that and leave me hanging.”
“Yes, I can. I’ve already said”—and done—“too much.”
“Go on,” Corbin said. “I’ll finish here, and I’ll talk to Beau, okay?”
“Just keep Travis safe. He thinks he can handle this, but he shouldn’t be trying to fight this on his own.”
“I know. Beau and I will protect him.”