Chapter 2
two
Aaron
“Want me to drop you at your cabin?” Adrian asks as he nears the main homestead. I hitched a ride back with him after Andrew and Jaclyn’s wedding at the courthouse in Maple Creek.
“The homestead is good,” I reply just before he takes the turn to head to the cabins.
His side-eye speaks louder than words, and I shrug. It’s the end of the quarter, and I have a shit ton of work to do. It’s not like I’m the one who got married today.
“You’re as bad as Andrew. You do realize that, right?” He pulls the truck to a stop on the driveway in front of the huge cabin-style building. We grew up here, not this house—that had to be rebuilt ten years ago after the fire —but it feels like home.
“Maybe I am. What of it? Someone needs to make sure we stay solvent,” I retort, then I open the passenger door of his truck and step out.
“JNG is more than ‘solvent’. You could take the afternoon off,” he mutters, but I still hear him as he turns off the ignition and gets out of the vehicle.
“Yeah, fine. But why would I? I don’t have a woman waiting for me? If I go to my cabin, I’d end up working there anyway. It’s easier here.”
Adrian nods and follows me up the porch steps and into the house.
When I feel his presence behind me, I sigh. “What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like, bro? If you’re going to be here, I might as well stay, too.
I’m still working with Tristan to track down details about Mercier and what the feds are up to.
Andrew might have married Jaclyn to keep her safe, but no one—not even him—believes that is the only reason.
We know he fell for her as soon as he saw her.
If I can keep the feds from breathing down their necks, I will. ”
Adrian’s reasoning is as valid as mine, but damn. Brothers! I love all of them, but sometimes they annoy the fuck out of me. Like now. I was looking forward to being left alone with my numbers.
Now he’ll be up and down from his office every time he gets the itch to talk to someone.
Normally he’d be bugging Andrew, but with our CEO unavailable as he and Jaclyn celebrate their wedding night, I’ll be the lucky one.
Andrew and I are the only ones with offices on the main level.
The rest of my brothers have offices downstairs in the basement/bunker.
If you don’t know where the entrance is, you’d never find it.
Before we tackled the rebuild of this house and the cabins so we could move back, we went back and forth with the architects.
All the buildings needed to be state-of-the-art for security and safety.
Even though we live off-grid, we made sure we’re protected against hackers, fires, and almost any natural disaster.
The most significant addition was adding an underground bunker and offices for Adam, Aaric, and Adrian. They’re hidden and impenetrable, and double as a bunker where we could all live for months if needed.
Andrew and I are the public faces of the company and sometimes need to meet with board members or clients.
It meant having accessible offices, but we have secondary ones in the bunker, too.
We also compromised and built a high-tech conference room down the hall.
The rest of the first floor is open-concept with the kitchen, dining room, and family room.
The four guest rooms on the second floor have remained unused. We’d all prefer they stay that way, but you never know. In fact, Jaclyn could have been the first. I smirk as I think about Andrew’s reaction when we suggested it. He almost lost his shit.
Asher is the only brother without an actual office, but he also doesn’t work for JNG directly.
He’s made it his life’s work to keep the mountain safe and free from trespassers.
For a while, we worried he’d become a reclusive mountain man and disappear, but finding and marrying Emma has brought him back to life—mostly. He’s still a growly motherfucker.
I’m not surprised when Adrian follows me into the kitchen. The entrance to the bunker is through the pantry door. But when he stops beside the island while I grab a glass out of the cabinet, I raise an eyebrow before grabbing the pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator.
“I thought you were going to work?” Glancing up, I meet his gaze before I fill my glass with sweet tea—one of my guilty pleasures.
“You’re drinking tea? Pussy! I am, but I figured you’d want to know the new info Tristan found. He messaged me during the wedding.”
“Asshole. Bourbon and quarterly reports don’t work well together. If you’re going to be a pain in my ass, you can fuck right off and send me an email.”
“What the hell put that stick up your ass? You’re worse than usual,” he comments as he follows me to my office.
Fuck. He has a point. I’m a little off, maybe a lot. Suddenly, it feels like I’m being strangled. I loosen my gray silk tie, unbutton the top buttons on my white dress shirt, and take a deep breath.
I step into my office, moving behind my desk and place the glass on a coaster. I slide my navy-blue jacket from my shoulders, I hang it over the back of the chair, then drop my tie onto the desk and drop into the chair.
My relief is palpable, and I take a deep breath for the first time in days. Still, the underlying sense that something is wrong remains. Maybe it’s all the shit with the feds. I hate to say it, but thank God for Jaclyn finding that anomaly in the contract.
Leaning back in my chair, I pull my glasses off and toss them on the desk blotter, then grab the tea and take a long swallow. My first instinct is to boot up my laptop, but I won’t get any work done until Adrian leaves.
With a heavy sigh, I watch as he pours two bourbons from the bar in the corner of my office. The man refuses to listen. Actually, none of my brothers do, except to their wives. How the hell did four of them get married in such a brief span? We’ve only been back on the mountain a few months.
I’m still ruminating about it when Adrian puts a glass in front of me.
“Drink it. One bourbon won’t hurt. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise. You’re just being ornery. You taking lessons from Asher?”
Damn. I’d love to wipe that smirk off his face, but it wouldn’t do me any good.
Pinching the bridge of my nose to head off the headache that’s been building since before the wedding, I lift the crystal glass and take a sip.
The golden liquid burns a path down my throat.
The warmth spreads through me and eases the tension in my shoulders. Not that I’d admit it to Adrian.
After setting the glass on my desk, I tip my head toward Adrian. “You happy now?”
“Maybe?” Adrian grins. “Seriously, Aaron, would it kill you to lighten up? What the fuck is going on with you? You’re the quiet one, not the ornery one. That’s Asher’s job.”
I huff out a breath and leaning back in my leather chair, I meet his gaze. “Honestly, I don’t have a freaking clue. I’ve been blaming it on the issues within JNG, but it started before that.”
At the knowing look on Adrian’s face, I know I won’t like what he says next, but I don’t back down. Maintaining eye contact, I gesture for him to go ahead.
“I think you’re jealous.”
Preposterous. Me? “Jealous? That’s the last thing I expected you to say. Seriously, what do I have to be jealous about?” My gut is churning, reminding me why I shouldn’t drink bourbon on an empty stomach. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself.
“Okay,” he acknowledges. “Maybe jealous isn’t the right word. But I think you see our brothers settling down—happy—starting families, and you’re alone. We both are. I’m fine with it; I don’t think you are anymore, even if you claim you’ll be the last one to find a woman.”
My first instinct is to deny everything. But when I search his expression, there’s only honesty reflected there. He means what he’s saying. We may give each other a lot of shit, but when it comes down to it, I know my brothers have my back as much as I have theirs.
Blowing out a breath, I nod. “Maybe. I don’t know. After Deana…” I can’t believe how badly I fucked up, almost marrying someone who only wanted me for my money. She had me fooled for a while, pretending to be everything I needed—craved—from a woman. Thank God Adrian figured her out in time.
“She was the exception. You know that, right? Our brothers found four women who couldn’t care less if we had a dime to our names.
There’s someone for you, too… Fuck, probably me as well—not that I want anyone.
I really am perfectly content just having a bunch of sisters and future nieces or nephews. ”
Adrian might be right. Or not. Either way, I don’t have the time to get bogged down by these thoughts—not with hours of work ahead of me. I’ll never get any of it done if he doesn’t shut up and get out of my office.
“Whatever, none of this matters right now. Someone’s trying to sabotage JNG, because there’s no fucking way Mercier is smart enough to think of any of this on his own.
So, are you going to fill me in with what Tristan found?
” I quirk an eyebrow at him, then continue, “Because I have shit to do today, so start talking or get out.” I push the glass of bourbon to the side and reach for the iced tea.
As I take a long drink, the sweetness coats my tongue and lifts the corners of my mouth.
Rebekah must have made this batch; hers is always the sweetest.
Adrian shakes his head and grunts. “See, this is what I mean. Usually, you’d just sit there with a scowl but let me linger.”
When I glare at him, giving him the scowl he mentioned, he smirks.
“Fine.” He holds up his hands, signaling defeat. “I’m just saying, take it however you want. And it isn’t a bullshit excuse. Tristan dug up a ton of intel on Mercier and his involvement with Enki.”
As I shake my head in disbelief, I sip my tea. “Fucking snake in the grass. He’s a fucking asshole, but he has to have had help. Someone put him up to this. Enki, maybe? A competitor?”