“Uh. Yeah,” Sams said. “I’ll share that with her.”

  * * * *

  Samsonite gave our names at the door, and they waved us through.

  I hadn’t been expecting a pitch-black nightclub. After a moment, I could see there were lights on the floor. A second later, a staffer came over, and then we were moving.

  I glanced back to see one of the bouncers studying me.

  I frowned. A frisson of alarm tried to penetrate my buzz, but I shrugged it off.

  No way anyone could know who I was, right?

  I just wanted a weekend, one weekend away.

  We weren’t in Texas. I wasn’t anywhere outside my family’s territory. We were firmly inside it. Everything would be fine.

  I didn’t need to worry about anything.

  I was JoBro tonight.

  * * * *

  CARSON

  I found myself in the middle of the dance floor, but I had no idea how I got here.

  I mean, I sort of did.

  I knew my sister had called, telling me there was a big Mustangs hockey game tonight. She’d coaxed me into using my vacation time to get the week off before her wedding. So here I was. We’d gone to the game—her fiancé was a big fan—and now we were at a nightclub, dancing in the middle of a techno wave. Neon lights flashed in the ceiling and on the floor, and lights outlined the exits, but the rest of the space was almost pure darkness.

  My sister leaned in, her hand on my hip. “Isn’t this great?” She had to yell for me to hear.

  I didn’t bother responding. She’d stopped being sober enough to hear me two hours ago, so I moved her hand to my face and nodded. I tried to be enthusiastic about it. That tended to translate better in the drunk language, and it did. My sister squealed—I could still hear—and wrapped her arms around my neck.

  She yelled again, “I’m so happy you got time off.”

  Time off. Yeah. That’s what it is.

  I kept dancing, but my mind wandered.

  I couldn’t stop it.

  I enjoyed my work. Being a forensic technician was the bomb in my mind, but I was different lately.

  I had changed.

  I couldn’t describe it.

  Just, there was an ache inside of me. It was weird, and frankly, pissing me off.

  I shouldn’t still be thinking about some guy I saw one night, one time. But I was. He was in me for the month after I saw him, and the month after that, and after that—until I couldn’t handle it anymore.

  I tried to stop myself from thinking back on that night, but it took such work to numb my brain. I couldn’t change that I had been there, coming in to do those late-night tests on a body. I knew she was Melissa Rainsley now, because I’d done my research. And I knew her fiancé’s name, Jonah Bennett.

  I’d found some pictures of the two of them online, and they’d been adorable. If I’d seen them in real life, happy and together, I would’ve hated them on sight for being so perfect. So right.

  I knew he’d been in medical school. He had no search history, no social media, but his classmates did. It was scary what you could find in the social media world.

  Once again, I shook off my thoughts of him and the fact that he lived two states north of where I grew up, but I couldn’t escape it.

  I’d never been the same since that night.

  I couldn’t get his face out of my mind, and I had no clue why.

  The DJ hit a new beat, cranking up the volume, and I put everything I had into turning my mind off.

  One night. Please.

  Chapter Eleven

  JONAH

  I was in a booth. Some chick was grinding on top of me, and I was gone.

  I wasn’t here. I wasn’t touching her.

  I was with Melissa, feeling her curves, her ass, her pussy.

  I didn’t care who this was. In my head, she was the love of my life.

  Groaning, I grabbed the back of her head and tugged her close. My mouth dropped on to hers, hungry.

  Fuck. I needed this. I needed one more night of her.

  Melissa.

  Please.

  She groaned, winding her arms around my neck, and shifted, pressing down on my dick.

  I didn’t care.

  I was ready to fuck her right here, right now, but something in the back of my head held me off. It was irritating. Like a bug, pestering me.

  She moved her body over mine, and my hand swept down.

  A taste.

  I’d get her off, then handle shit somewhere else. I’d take her with me. Melissa. That’s who I’d take with me. But as my fingers tunneled up into her, I knew it wasn’t right. That wasn’t her pussy. It wasn’t her moans. She didn’t move the way Melissa did when I was working her over.

  I moved my forehead down, pressing into her shoulder, and forced my eyes open.

  Flashing neon lights blinded me.

  Blonde hair came into focus.

  That’s right.

  I had no clue who this girl was, but we were in a club.

  I looked over. Crowler was next to me, a girl on top of him.

  Carlster and Samsonite were in the corner of the private box, talking to a big guy and a girl that looked like Samsonite. Ah... That’s how we got here. That was Sams’ sister and Franklin, a hockey player. I kept looking, watching the crowd in the box. It was a large area. No, wait. There were two boxes attached. People flowed from one to the other and back.

  I scanned again. Bubs and Babs were gone. Knowing them, they probably went back to the Airbnb for private time.

  I couldn’t blame them. I would’ve done the same myself.

  The girl moved over me, now reaching for my dick. I looked down, feeling detached from my body. She was riding my fingers. I had two in her, and she was going to town. I blinked a few times, my gaze swinging to the other side of the box. There were people there, Tanner and—what?!

  I froze.

  Tanner was here.

  He stood at the edge of the box, looking down at the dancers below. Two other guys were with him—I knew those guys, too. They were hockey players. Cutler Ryder and Hendrix… I couldn’t remember his name, but what the fuck?

  As if sensing my gaze, Tanner glanced back, saw me watching him, and flashed me a smirk. He said something to the hockey players, who glanced at me, and then he began to move my way.

  I was about to throw the girl off me, but Tanner was already here.

  He pushed me back down in the booth. “Stay, brother.”

  The girl sat back, a hazy look in her eyes as she blinked at Tanner beside me. Then, she smiled, slow and sultry, and leaned forward to kiss him. She thought this was going to be a threesome. No way in hell, but I did nothing, knowing Tanner would.

  He scoffed, touching her forehead as he shoved her off of me. “You’re not my type, sweetie. You’re not my brother’s either.”

  I groaned, closing my eyes and letting my head fall back. “Fuck me.”

  Crowler lifted his head from deep-throating his girl and sent Tanner a frown. “Who’s this, dude?”

  Tanner looked at him, his eyes sharpening.

  Fuuuck.

  Tanner knew I kept our family a secret. He knew the deal, but he was here, and they were here and… Chaos was about to ensue.

  Tanner raised an eyebrow, mocking me as his smirk deepened. “Should I do the introductions, or would you like to, JoBro?”

  I stifled a groan. I had no clue how he knew about that, but I wasn’t surprised.

  Adjusting myself, I leaned forward, raking—shit. I used one hand to rake through my hair.

  I needed to sober up fast. This club was making me drowsy, or maybe that was just the liquor.

  “Jonah.”

  I ignored Tanner, because fuck him.

  Shoving to my feet, I looked around.

  There were four guards in the box, and all were watching me, well, Tanner, too, but mostly me. I was the wildcard here.

  I shook my head. “What are they authorized to do?” I sent a mocking look to Tanner. “Tackle me? Restrain me?”

  He stood, scowling right back at me. “They’ll do whatever I tell them.”

  “They work for me, too.”

  Crowler’s eyebrows shot up. Guess he could hear us. He edged the girl off him and stood.

  “No. They don’t,” Tanner countered. “These are my guys. You didn’t want yours, remember?”

  Melissa.

  My stomach sank. I felt ice inside of me, saturated in torture. “Fuck you.”

  “Fuck you.” Tanner moved into my face.

  He didn’t get it.

  I could see the wildness in him, wanting to unleash. That’s how he always was.

  That wasn’t me, but I had wildness inside of me, too—the need to hurt someone, hurt anyone because I was hurting. I hated it.

  Hated. It.

  Actually, I hated everything.

  Myself.

  My life.

  My family.

  The world.

  That she wasn’t here.

  I could keep it away, keep it manageable if I was working, if I was around friends—because they didn’t know me. They weren’t my shelter. Tanner was. Kai was. Brooke was. My family was, and because Tanner was here, I was feeling goddamn everything.

  I wanted to hurt him for that.

  But Tanner knew me, too. He was reading me, and like a switch had been flipped, his anger dissipated.

  “Jonah…” He said it low, but I caught it.

  I shook my head, shoving him. “Get away from me.”

  “Tanner?”

  A new guy had approached—no, I knew him. That hockey star guy, and he was frowning at Tanner.

  They’d been talking before Tanner came over.

  “You know him?” I asked Tanner.

  “We do business together,” the guy said. “I’m a silent investor here.”

  Business? I swung my gaze to Tanner. “He’s a hockey player.”

  Tanner’s smile was tight, but he shrugged. “We can talk about that later, if you actually want to know.”

  “When I heard Tanner was in town, I wanted to come out and see him,” the guy added. “He doesn’t stick around that often.”

  No shit.

  “JoBro?” Crowler was looking around.

  I glanced over. Samsonite and Carlster were headed our way. They’d noticed something was happening.

  I needed to get out of here.

  I was about to lose my shit.

  Tanner moved closer. “You gotta chill right now.”

  I knocked him back, shaking my head.

  Everyone was too close, too in my business.

  My head was swimming.

  Her. I missed her.

  Why wasn’t she here?

  Why did she have to die?

  The guards moved in. They didn’t seem to like how I handled Tanner.

  That was fine.

  If Tanner owned this club, that meant I owned this club. Family business was family business whether we were a part of managing it or not. That was how Kai handled things, so I could destroy what I wanted.

  When the first guard touched my arm, I swung. My mind went blank.

  But then it registered—these weren’t our normal guards. One raised a taser, but as he was about to light me up, Tanner grabbed him. “No!”

  The guards backed off.

  “No!” I went after them, needing this. I needed to feel on the outside what I felt on the inside.

  Tanner grabbed me, wrapping me in his arms, putting me in a hold.

  We’d learned this when we were kids, but I was beyond any clear thinking. I was still trying to swing, needing an out.

  Crowler stood slack-jawed. Samsonite was crying, pale. And Carlster just frowned. Not much fazed that guy. The rest of the guards had pushed back the hockey players and the crowd in the box.

  “He’s my brother,” I heard Tanner shouting over my head. “Hurt him and you’re dead.”

  He got a better hold on me and applied pressure.

  He was putting me out.

  I wanted it.

  I wanted to be with her.

  * * * *

  I came to and immediately knew we were still at the club. I could hear the bass from the music through the floorboards, but we were in an office. I lifted my head to look around. A big office. Couches lined the entire side of it, and forty people could’ve sat where I was.

  It was more of a small event room.

  Sitting up, I looked behind me. A tinted-glass window overlooked the dance club below. At the far end of the office was a bar, and I could see several people gathered there in the semi-darkness. A door in the corner opened, showing a bathroom inside, and Samsonite came out, drying her hands.

  I swung my legs down, and a door at the other end of the room opened. Tanner and the hockey guy emerged. They shook hands, and the hockey star headed back out to the club.

  Tanner glanced my way, realized I was awake, and motioned for me.

  Right. Time to deal with real-life shit.

  I stood, my head pounding.

  “Jonah.” Samsonite moved toward me.

  “No,” Tanner barked. “He deserves to have that headache for a little while longer.” He nodded sharply toward me, and I made my feet move.

  The headache pounded into me, keeping rhythm with the music. He was right. I did deserve it. I made my way toward him.

  Crowler came over, but not super close since Tanner seemed territorial for some reason. He looked at him and turned to me. “You okay?”

  I nodded, grabbing the back of my neck, feeling a knot there. “I’m fine.” I scanned the room, all my friends were here. And all were eyeing me with concern.

  I shook my head. “You guys can take off if you want. Family drama aside, I’ll be fine.”

  “You sure?” Samsonite moved forward.

  Tanner made a growling sound behind me. He didn’t like that outsiders were concerned about me when he was around. That made me smile.

  I had missed him.

  He shook his head and moved through the door again. “Get rid of your friends. We have business to deal with.”

  I frowned, but once he closed the door behind him, I reassured them I’d be fine. “For real. I’ve been avoiding my family for a while,” I explained. “He’s due some answers from me.”

  Carlster nodded, moving for the exit.

  Samsonite hugged me. “Your brother is hot, but scary. If you need us, just shoot me a text. Okay?”

  I stepped back from her. “I’m good. I promise.”

  She nodded, squeezing my hand before going to where her sister and the hockey boyfriend waited by the door.

  Crowler grabbed me in a fierce hug, adding one hard pound on my back. “Care about you, man.” He stepped back, dipping his chin as he moved to follow them back out into the club.

  “Jonah!” Tanner called from inside the room he’d gone into.

  Right.

  It was family time.

  Chapter Twelve

  JONAH

  “Samsonite?” Tanner sat behind a desk, leaning back. “Crowler? Carlster? They told me about Bubs and Babs. What kind of friends do you have?”

  “We’re big on nicknames.” I shrugged, scanning the room for where he might keep some painkillers. Or alcohol. Either would help.

  He rolled his chair back, pulled open a drawer, and set something on the desk. “There.”

  He had put two Advil on the desk for me.

  I snagged a bottle of whiskey, popped the pills in my mouth, and took a drink. I swallowed them with a nice burn afterwards.

  Tanner frowned as I retreated to a couch in the corner, easing myself down. This office had the same setup as the connected other room I’d come to in. One wall was tinted glass, and I was able to look down, watch the people on the dance floor below.

  “How’s your head?”

  Pounding. “It’s fine.”

  He snorted. “You’re such a liar. Why don’t you tell me the truth? Remember what that’s like? Been so long since you told us the truth. Maybe you don’t remember anymore.”

  I elaborated on the nicknames, ignoring the other bite from him. “Crowler’s name is Gabe. Samsonsite’s real name is Hailey. Carlster is actually Ayush. Bubs is Mitch. Babs is Catherine. We don’t like real names because when we’re all together, we like to get away from the pressure of being doctors. Nicknames help with that, for some reason.”

  “That guy called you JoBro.”

  I laughed. “That’s not a special nickname or anything. I told him today to call me that instead of yelling out Bennett every other minute. Until this weekend, I’d been avoiding them as well. And like you all, they’re fed up with it.”

  Tanner wore a slight smile now. “Good. Because if anyone nicknames you, it should be me.”

  I grunted, taking another sip of whiskey. “Noted for future reference.”

  He laughed. “Good.”

  I turned to watch the dancers. Tanner kept watching me.

  After a bit, he said, “You going to lose your shit again? Or is that drama done for the night?”

  A sour taste filled my throat—the memory of her. I couldn’t get her out of my head. I took another swallow of whiskey, but the burn didn’t help. “I don’t know.”

  I was a mess.

  It’d been nine months since Melissa died. When was grief finished? Was it ever? I hated this, all of it.

  “I just miss her.”

  “I know.”

  I hung my head, holding on to that whiskey. It was a lifeline right now. “She died because of me. I can never make that right. Ever.”

  “You can kill him…”

  “You haven’t found him!” I snapped, looking up.

  Tanner eyed me evenly. “We haven’t found him, but we know his name. He’s a contract killer, and he only comes out to do work once every two years. He disappears right after a hit. Whoever paid him, paid him a lot to hit your girl. The guy won’t accept another job for a year, at least, and wherever he hides, he does it extremely well. Kai is handling negotiations to get a location for him in a week. I didn’t come to check on you. I came to ask if you want to be there when we get him.”