Filed To Story: Craving The Wrong Brother Book PDF Free by Elysian Sparrow
I pull back slightly, looking up at him. “A few requests? Like what?”
Knox’s arms are still around my waist, and he doesn’t let go. Instead, he presses his lips against my forehead, lingering there for a second before speaking.
“First of all, I need you to talk to your father and tell him to lay off my business. Wouldn’t want to hurt him and then have you get mad at me.”
“My father? You met him?”
“Yesterday,” he says, finally loosening his hold enough for me to step back. “Claims he’s going to help Soraya sue me for a proper divorce settlement, which would then lead to the law probing into my finances. I’m honestly impressed by his level of determination. Soraya, of course, has backed down from that nonsense. But I can’t have your father thinking of more creative ways to get to me. Times like this, there’s usually only one solution. But he’s your father. I don’t want to have to do something bad to him.”
My brows pinch together. “Not this again. First, mother and sister. Now my father.”
“It can all be avoided if you just sit with Papa Bear and have a nice, civilized chat where you convince him to back off.”
“My mother knew he’d do this,” I mutter. “That’s why she told him. Fine. I’ll talk to him. But don’t threaten my father.”
“I was just telling you what needs to be avoided.” He leans in. “You’re the one I love. Not your father. I won’t feel a thing if I have to take one or two fingers from him, but then you’ll hate me. You get what I’m saying, right?”
The warmth in his voice sends a tiny ripple down my spine, but I keep my expression neutral. “And how about Soraya? Did you talk to her?”
“I did. She claims she has a daughter back home. And it’s the reason she ran away in the first place. Premarital sex and children out of wedlock can get you in trouble over there. She said she’ll back off and leave me in peace if I can bring her daughter over here. Something about it just seems weird. I have people looking into that already. And Mateo, And Hunter.”
I pause, absorbing that. “You think Hunter and Soraya are not telling the truth?”
“You can never be too careful. Mateo was a negotiator before he became a combat soldier. It’s better to assume the worst. Besides, Hender and Szepe both have some weird chemistry going on. I don’t buy it.”
“Great. I feel like a spectator in all this. Don’t know how to help.”
“Start with Papa Bear.”
“Stop calling him that. I’ll stop by his house tomorrow,” say, but the weight in my voice is unmistakable.
“You don’t sound cheerful.”
“That’s because it’s going to be one hell of a conversation to get my father to back out of anything he’s set his mind on.”
“You’re resourceful. I’m sure you’ll come up with something” He pauses and gives me a look that’s both amused and smug, “For inspiration, you should know I had someone watch him today.”
I stare. “What?”
“It seems your mother’s car has been camping outside his house for a while.”
“My mother?” I repeat.
“Yup.”
“What’s she doing there?”
He shrugs, but I can see the shadow of a smirk. “Good question. Seeing as your father’s wife is out of town.”
My eyes go wide. “Oh, my God. Are you sure?”
“You need pictures?”
“They aren’t… doing anything, are they?”
“I don’t care. But if you need blackmail material, that should do it.”
I care. I care very much. All the switches in my body flip at once. For a brief, disorienting second, I’m not standing here as an adult-I’m back in my childhood body, staring at the front door like it would open any moment and my mother would come back home with my sister.
I clung to that hope for way too many years. The one where my parents get back together and we all live happily ever after like a Hallmark special. But now… no. Hell no. I know she cheated on him. I know she’s pregnant with Jade’s triplets and shouldn’t be around my father when his wife is not in town.
“I’m going there right now,” I say, pushing off his chest.
He holds me tighter, like he knew I’d say that. “Come now, let’s not be too hasty.”
“She’s going to break his heart again,” I snap. “I’m not going to let that happen. And did he leave Daphne? I thought Grandma was there to solve their quarrel.”
“You’re beginning to sound like your father. Stay out of their business and focus on using the information. That’s what’s important.”
I don’t answer him. I can’t. My head’s spinning with every possible version of how this plays out when I get there. No, I’m not staying out of it. That’s my father. I know how he crumbled when she left. I won’t let him be a casualty all over again or ruin Daphne and her kid’s life.
“Last but not least,” Knox says, although his voice seems faraway to me, “you need to quit your job. And I’m moving you into the club until I have handled the Mateo issue.”
The room falls still. My heartbeat skips.
And I slowly turn back toward him.
“What?”
By some miracle, I make it to the weekend without picking a full-blown fight with Knox.
The weird part is, I’m not even sure why I’m mad.
It’s not Knox’s fault that some ex-military guy he used to be friends with went full psycho and dragged us into his vendetta. The entire typing up a resignation letter at my desk in the middle of a workday, claiming terminal illness.
Terminal. Illness.
I even picked Fiji. Said I wanted to spend the rest of my short life soaking in blue lagoons and drinking out of coconuts.
And yes, I typed it on their printer. On company time. Used their office paper. Their ink.
That job had been the only stable thing in my life for six years. Same desk. Same chair. Same perfect view of Harper’s resting bitch face through the glass wall of her office, directly across from mine. I’ve been here through it all-birthdays, breakdowns, Finn’s many heartbreak-induced crash outs courtesy of Delilah, nights that ended with me passed out under my desk in the morning, granola bar in one hand, phone dead in the other.
And now I’m leaving it behind because a man I’ve only met once thinks I’m a pawn in his revenge plan.
I know it’s the right call. I can’t keep showing up to the same building at the same time every day like I’m not being watched. I’m not an idiot. Mateo’s unpredictable, and Knox is right-my safety comes first.
And yeah, sure. I’m good at what I do. I could walk into another job tomorrow if I wanted. Especially with Knox already whispering about his mysterious connections and people he has “everywhere.” Like some sort of darkly dressed LinkedIn fairy godmother.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to sulk.
Sulking is my right.
And of course, Friday made everything worse.
Word got out that I’m not just quitting-I’m dying. No one said it outright, but their eyes did. The soft smiles. The long pauses when I walked into a room.
Even Harper-yes, Harper, my emotionally constipated supervisor who’d barely spoken to me since those promotion rumors started-suddenly decided she has a heart. She stopped by while I was boxing up six years of my life: my sticky notes, thumbtack photos, mugs I’d never once used but still refused to toss.
“You doing okay?” she asked.
“Fine,” I replied without looking up.
“Would you maybe like to step out for lunch later? My treat.”
I glanced up, surprised. Harper offering to buy rne food was the corporate version of a crocodile knitting you a sweater.
“No thanks,” I said.
She nodded quickly and awkwardly before walking away.
The walls in that place had ears. And apparently very active mouths.
Now it’s Saturday, and I’ve loaded everything can into two oversized bags. One is half-stuffed with books I picked up at the library earlier the ot clothes and toiletries and whatever else felt important enough to drag into temporary exile.
I’m currently sitting on the second bag, trying to force the zipper closed with all my body weight.
“Let me help you with that,” Knox says.
I look up. He’s standing just inside the doorway, arms folded, wearing one of those perfectly casual outfits that somehow still manages to highlight every muscle on his frame.
“I got it,” I say, gritting my teeth as I give the zipper one final, desperate yank. The bag shuts beneath me.
“Are you still mad at me for wanting to protect you, or is this a strong independent woman moment?”
I glare at him. “What am I supposed to do while caged up in a club?”