Page 35 of Hard Bargain

Jacob Wolfe.

His brother, or technically half-brother. Still a ridiculous thought. They shared the same father, but their lives were so far apart they might as well have happened on different planets.

Knox had seen him exactly once, at their father’s funeral six months ago, and they hadn’t exchanged a single word. Finding out the distant half-brother he’d never known was a famous actor caught in some massive cheating scandal with another famous actor had somehow made the whole thing feel even more surreal.

The host kept going. “The actors—whose relationship began under highly controversial circumstances, considering both were married at the time—looked very much unbothered at last night’s event.”

A second host leaned in dramatically. “Unbothered? Please. That man looked at Liam like the rest of us didn’t exist.”

His mother let out a sharp laugh through her cigarette smoke. “Disgusting,” she muttered.

Knox kept his expression blank while the segment rolled on. “Social media is exploding with reactions ranging from support to outrage. Fans are loving this new couple, though plenty still aren’t ready to forgive the affair that ended two marriages. But one thing’s clear: nobody can stop watching.”

“Jesus Christ,” his mother said, reaching for the remote and flipping channels.

Knox got to his feet and headed for his room.

“Where are you going?” his mother called after him.

“My room.”

She stubbed out her cigarette with more force than necessary. “Sure. God forbid you spend two minutes with your own mother?”

Knox stopped moving and looked back. They stared at each other for a long moment, the air between them thick and sour. He could feel the disappointment rolling off her, the bitterness that never really left this place.

She broke eye contact first, flicking her lighter open like he’d stopped existing.

He left her to it, closing his bedroom door behind him. He sank onto the bed and lay back, arms crossed behind his head, staring up at the stained ceiling. He breathed slowly, trying to settle the noise in his head. It didn’t work. Inside these walls, everything felt hopeless. The ceiling pressed down, the walls closed in, and all the colors faded to nothing. The feeling of being stuck in a life too narrow for anything good to grow.

His phone buzzed on the mattress beside him. He hadn’t even realized he’d set it down there. The screen lit up.

Dominic.

He pushed himself upright and answered. “Hello.”

There was a brief pause before Dominic’s voice came through. “How was the training?”

Knox stayed seated for a moment, then got to his feet, restless energy pushing him into motion. “I’m sure you already know.”

“Say it anyway.”

Knox paced once across the room before turning back. “Got dropped. A lot. Figured some of it out. Not much.”

A pause.

Knox looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers before adding. “I hit him.”

“Did you?”

Something in Dominic’s tone made Knox straighten a little. “Yeah. Caught him clean.”

“Good.”

He stopped pacing. The praise shouldn’t have mattered. It absolutely shouldn’t have. But it landed anyway, and he hated that it did.

“You sent me in there to get my ass handed to me,” Knox said, the edge back in his voice.

“Yes.”