Page 67 of Sheltering You

“She finally told you.”

“You should have told me!”

“It wasn’t⁠—”

“I’m in love with her.” Derrick was shouting, but he couldn’t seem to stop. All the frustration and anger and worry and…all of it, everything he couldn’t unload on Jasmine burst out. “You knew, and you said nothing.”

“I told her to tell⁠—”

“What about loyalty, huh? What about brotherhood? What about⁠—?”

“I’m loyal.” Michael sounded…hurt.

Derrick didn’t care. “You and your”—he swallowed a word he was shocked even came to mind—“secrets. You just love knowing things nobody else does. Does it make you feel superior?” He needed to stop. He was being irrational, throwing a temper tantrum just like Rabie had.

If he didn’t stop, he’d shred their relationship. He’d say something he couldn’t take back. Maybe already had.

He clamped his lips shut, swallowing the rest of the vitriol like poison.

“Are you done?” Michael’s voice was even.

Derrick’s fury faded. It wasn’t Michael he was angry with. Not only Michael, anyway. “You should have told me.”

“She’s Leila’s sister, Derrick.” His words were even, holding none of the emotion Derrick had just unloaded. “She’s going to be my sister. I’m loyal to you, but I have to be loyal to her too. I hated not being able to tell you.”

Derrick stared at the ground beneath his sneakers. Dirt, dead leaves, fallen pine needles. The scent of earth and forest reminded him of home and his childhood. He leaned back against a thick oak. “You told Dad.” He sounded like a pouty child.

“She needed a doctor.”

“Does Mom know?”

“Not unless Jasmine told her, and I don’t think she did.”

So it wasn’t as if they all knew. Bad enough they all knew Derrick was in love with her. How horrifying to think they’d all been waiting for him to learn this secret, watching like it was some melodrama playing out in real time.

“Leila knows, obviously,” Michael added. “Sophie might know, but she lives with them, so it would make sense they’d talked about it. And I should tell you…” If Derrick didn’t know his brother better, he’d say Michael sounded nervous.

Which made Derrick nervous.

“I told Bryan, a couple weeks ago.”

Bryan knew? Derrick’s best friend? Even he hadn’t said anything?

He lowered his head and massaged the back of his neck with frigid fingers. This was humiliating on so many fronts.

“He was going to Europe to do that thing for me,” Michael said, “and… I felt like he needed to understand how important it was to keep their whereabouts secret.”

Derrick snapped his gaze up, wishing he could look Michael in the eyes, not that he ever gave away information he didn’t intend to share. “What does that have to do with her being pregnant?”

“Did she tell you… How much did she tell you?”

“She hasn’t told me anything. I figured it out about the pregnancy. Is that who’s after her? The father? I thought the people who followed her and Leila were all killed on that boat. Well, except her dad and uncle, but you’re saying⁠—”

“Jasmine can explain.”

“Just tell me!” He winced at his demanding tone. He was the brother who held everyone together, not the one who made demands and shouted accusations.

But…but this was too much.