Kane: Braxton Brothers Series (The Braxton Brothers Series)

1. Kane

Life of the party and always up for a good time. ”Seriously brother, can’t you do something else worthwhile to make the front page for a change?” Ethan asked, swiping through his phone. He nudged Kane in the stomach, hearing a grunt as the boot hit him in the ribs. “At least you’re alive.”

Kane groaned as he shielded his eyes from the blaring sun. “Go back to your own place,” he groaned as he rolled his body forward, sitting up. He wiped his hands on the suit pants, remembering how his knuckles got so bloodied.

“I would, except all I see is your inert body and the smell of sour whisky wafting off your body. “Christ man, you stink. It must have been a hell of a night. You didn’t even make it inside before you passed out.”

Kane grinned. “From what I remember it was great.” Kane groaned as he saw two more of his brothers walk towards him. “I know,” he said as they got closer. “Don’t give me the lecture again.”

Alex and Luke put their hands out, ready to help him up. They grunted as they lifted Kane’s large six foot frame, Kane wobbling slightly as he peered at his brothers. He ran a hand through his short dark hair and across his stubbled chin. His normally deep brown eyes bloodshot from drinking.

“God we are a good-looking bunch,” he joked as he slapped Ethan and Alex on the back, not even budging their large frames.

“If I knew I would have to pick your lazy ass up every morning, I would have never agreed to the living arrangements,” Alex said, grinning to soften the blow.

Kane snorted. “What’s wrong with the arrangement?” he said as he swept his arm wide to take in the six large single-story houses, each with a wide verandah facing towards a large lake. A seventh large complex was barely visible from the hill they built on. This was for the couple, Elsie and John, who had fed and nurtured their broken souls when they returned from deployment. Like the brothers, Elsie and John weren’t blood, but they were family.

Kane knew how hard they had all worked for the past ten years to build the company and how they had scrimped and saved after they got out of the military, just to make ends meet. But his brothers, not by blood but by choice, all had skills and talents to build ‘Threat Assess’, the security firm his six brothers shared. They made their first million within three years and now they were rich enough not to have to work, but they were smart enough to hire the best and brightest to make their company the best in the country. And they all still had a deep need to help people.

Kane was smart enough to know their strength came as a package deal, and so he proposed several years ago that they buy a large parcel of land just outside of Stoney Ridge and build their dream homes. Just far enough apart for privacy, but close enough to remain a family. His idea was that no one person would ever be alone, as the dreams and nightmares from their service still bought back bad times, and he wanted to make sure that each brother knew he could reach out, and he would be right there to support them.

Each house looked the same on the outside, but inside, each brother had their personality firmly stamped on their home. Kane’s was earthy and warm. He played up the reputation of a billionaire playboy to the public, but his large sprawling home showed his softer side. He never bought his women back to the ranch. This was their special place. Their retreat and Kane wouldn’t spoil the bond he had because of a woman. The only woman was their housekeeper and her husband, the older couple who befriended the six brothers, made sure they were well fed back when they were starting out. Kane made sure the couple were well taken care of now, so they could retire and do whatever they wanted, but the couple were happy looking after the six of them. Kane felt that it was because the couple couldn’t have children, so it was like they adopted six big brash boys, all full grown, all needing that extra love and support that Elsie and John gave them. Elsie was grateful the boys grew up in the military, as it meant they were meticulous and clean, so she made sure their fridges were full of home cooked food and John looked after the animals on the farm and was a supportive shoulder for the men. The one thing Elsie wanted the men to do was to find wives and settle down, but that was the only thing that eluded all of them. One thing Elsie had taught them all, was that no matter how hard their upbringing was and whatever demons they attached to themselves while deployed, that it was better to open up to others with scars than open wounds, so she made sure her door was always open to the brothers, to try to expel their hurt.

Like each house, each brother had their own place in the company. Kane’s was Chief Operations Officer. He was the one who bought in the other brothers, had the idea and put up the initial capital to get it going. But he didn’t ever let that interfere with any decisions. Every brother was equal in the company.

Kane had a weakness though. He liked to party, so he often went to the opening and the parties to promote the company. His looks and impressive size often made him a target for any woman under the age of fifty, and he freely took advantage of it.

Alex and Ethan were the tech whizzes. Twins that had their own special bond, with Ethan often overshadowing Alex because of his quick wit and charm. Alex was more brooding and thoughtful and not as interested in the billionaire life as his other brothers. Ryan managed the financials of the company, Luke managed the logistics, which for him was a fancy way of saying he was the muscle, and Jackson was the strategist. He was the loner of the group but also the one with a mind for ideas and numbers.

Kane watched the silent exchange between Ethan and Alex, jealous at their twin ability to just know what the other was thinking. “Out with it,” he grumbled, as he watched the exchange as he ran a hand over his stubbled chin, wondering why it hurt so much.

“So, you haven’t seen the paper then?” Alex asked, grinning at him.

Kane went to answer, but stopped when Ethan held up a hand. “This is too good for just us alone.” He swiped his phone open and quickly posted in the group chat for the others to join them. Kane squinted and watched as the other brothers’ doors opened, and the solid frames of Ryan and Jackson ambled towards his porch.

“It’s that type of chat then?” he muttered as the men walked toward them. He was surprised when he heard a voice behind him.

“Kane, what have you done now,” Elsie said as she stepped onto the porch, as the brothers quickly settled her into a comfortable chair.

Kane cursed as he looked at the others who now sat around him. “Did you have to involve Ma?”

Elsie reached over and patted his knee. “Don’t go using your pet name for me boy. And do not curse in front of me.” She looked to the others, all wearing large grins as the diminutive grey-haired woman put Kane in his place in seconds. “And you five should know better. You know what he’s like when he’s left alone.” She shook her head. “Well, the damage is done and now it’s just the cleanup.” She eyeballed each brother. “Again.”

“Christ, what did I do?” Kane asked, raising his blood shot eyes to his brothers.

Jackson stepped forward, swiping his phone and handing it to Kane. The headlines were clear and ugly.

Chief Operations Officer, Kane Braxton, of Braxton Incorporated, last night demonstrated his lack of anger control as he verbally abused, then punched an unknown man who was being held by Braxton’s Threat Assess team. Now this is not a new predicament, but to do it at a Family Violence fundraiser? Well, that makes it worse. Kane clearly demonstrated tonight that he hits first before asking any questions. One might even call him a thug. Shame on you Kane.

The picture showed Kane, his face hard, the photographer capturing the moment his fist landed on the man’s jaw. Kane handed the phone back to Jackson.

“Do you at least know what this man did?” Elsie asked quietly.

Kane nodded. “The piece of shit had a woman backed into the corner and he had his hands on her. She clearly didn’t want them there, so I pulled him off and hit him. I didn’t know the photographer was there though.”

“Do you think it was a set up?” Luke asked, his large hands balling into fists and cracking his knuckles at the thought.

Kane shook his head. “No. It just looked like she was trying to push off his unwanted advances.”

Alex and Ethan looked at each other and spoke at the same time. “That’s an easy one.”

Kane looked to Ethan. “How so?”

“Alex and I can just pull up the guest list, match their pictures and you can point out who the woman was and she can set this whole thing straight.”

Elsie smiled as she looked at Ethan. “That’s an excellent plan, and then Kane can get cleaned up and go and see this woman and ask. NICELY! If she will tell the right version of the story.”

“Maybe we should make a donation to the charity as well?” Kane said as he sat back and looked at the group.

Ryan nodded. His dark hair falling into his eyes. “We have already given a large cheque, but I agree we should give more. But not yet. It would look like we are buying the story and that’s not what this is about.” He looked to Alex and Ethan. “Find the woman and then the six of us will go and see her. When the story dies down, then we will make the donation.”

The brothers nodded, as Alex and Ethan walked away, ready for their search.

“How long do you think?” Luke called out to them.

“Give us an hour. That’s enough time for Kane to have a shower and get cleaned up,” Alex said as they walked away.

“Good, because this reporter has a hard on for you Kane. They have now posted every picture of you drunk or with a woman hanging off you since the dawn of time.” Luke grumbled as he held out his phone for the others to see.

Kane groaned. “Fuck. This is getting worse for the company, isn’t it?”

Jackson slapped his brother on the shoulder. “We’ll take a hit financially, but we can easily shoulder it and more. What matters is that the truth comes out.”

The others nodded and murmured support to Kane, knowing it could have been any one of them and they would never let their brother down.

“That’s enough. You all have work to do,” Elsie said to them.

Elsie quickly shooed the others back to their houses and told them to get presentable, before turning to Kane. She stood before him, her five-foot frame dwarfed by his, even as he remained seated. She took his chin in her hand and raised his eyes to hers.

“Now listen Kane. You’re a good one. This story is clickbait only. Now go and get cleaned up and in a few days, John and I will have you over for dinner and we can talk about your lifestyle. You’re better than this. Something is not right with you and we can help.”

Kane stood and wrapped his arms around Elsie’s body. “We won the lottery when we met you and John.” He stepped back and straightened to his over six foot frame. “Okay. Time to set it right.”

Elsie reached up and patted Kane’s cheek before she stepped off the porch and back to her house. Kane watched her walk away, thankful that Elsie and John were part of their family.