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Raine gaped. Nothing Hammer said could have shocked her more. River had returned after twelve years of silence?
“Did you talk to him?” She pushed out of bed and plucked up her undergarments, wriggling into them. “Is he downstairs, waiting for me? I want to see him.”
She reached for the yoga pants and T-shirt she’d draped on a nearby chair, butterflies swarming her belly. She hadn’t seen her brother since he’d been a gangly teenager. Puberty hadn’t even set in for Raine yet. His last night in the Kendall household had been loud and ugly, punctuated by accusing curses and angry fists. Then River had slammed into his room, grabbed all his things, ruffled her hair on his way to the door…and left for good.
She understood full well wanting to escape Bill. All the Kendall children had chosen to, in their time and way. But she’d never understood why he hadn’t once checked on his younger sisters instead of simply leaving them to the dubious mercy of a violent man. Maybe, after he’d gone, River had made a conscious choice not to give a damn about his family. Or maybe something else had kept him away. The brother she’d known had always wanted to be a hero.
Thunder rolled across Liam’s face. “There’s no way in hell we’ll be letting that bastard anywhere near you.”
“Absolutely not. We threw him out of the club.” Hammer’s face hardened. “If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t come back.”
Menace rolled off her men. Naturally, they wouldn’t be thrilled River had wormed his way past club security, but their fury zipped way past irritation.
Dread dumped into the gaping pit of her stomach. “What happened?”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You should have heard the accusations he hurled at us.”
“Like?”
“Well, I’m the pedophile who’s been debauching and pimping you out since I brought you to Shadows as a minor, and Liam is the john who raped you repeatedly while I watched until he got you pregnant—simply for our sick amusement, of course.”
Her clothes fell out of her numb fingers. Yeah, the pedophile accusation wasn’t new. Bill had been fond of it, too. But the fact that River agreed with any of that creep’s opinions made her wary.
“You set him straight, right?”
A jerk of Liam’s head conveyed more anger. “He gave us no chance.”
River had always been a hothead and more than a bit impulsive. The two of them had that in common. Maybe if she explained…
But when she glanced at Hammer’s forbidding expression, he clearly was not in the mood to listen.
“No chance at all.”
Raine winced. The whole confrontation must have been wretched. “Damn it.”
Liam loosened his tie, looking hot under the collar. “The fuckwit seems hell-bent on ‘rescuing’ you from us.”
“Fuckwit is putting it nicely. River is batshit crazy.” Hammer glowered.
Raine’s head buzzed with shock. Her only brother thought she was a pregnant hooker being taken advantage of by two perverts. It made her sad—for her, for River. For Liam and Hammer, who had tried to love and protect her.
Then again, what would she have thought if she’d found one of her siblings in the same shoes?
“Okay…he jumped to terrible conclusions. But think about how it must look on the surface. Liam, if one of your sisters, as a minor, had been living with a man more than a decade older than her, who owned a club like Shadows, what would your first thought be?”
“That I’d kill him and get her the hell out of there,” Liam admitted. “But I’d have bloody talked to her first, asked what was going on. River had already made up his mind. Nothing we said was going to change it.”
“In his position, I’d probably assume whatever you two had to say was crap, too.”
“He spent two months digging through our lives, so he should have rubbed a couple of brain cells together and come up with a better conclusion. He seemed to know about everything else, especially Gwyneth.” Hammer gnashed his teeth. “And Juliet.”
Raine winced. “I can see where he might think you two have a…colorful track record with women and assume the worst.”
“Colorful, is it?” Liam quirked a brow.
Hammer jerked his coat off. “He can go fuck himself.”
“River twisted half-truths and lies into damning accusations. It was all we could do not to strangle the bastard.”
“So the conversation didn’t go well. He doesn’t understand the situation, guys. But I’ll make him see. Tell me.” She reached for her clothes again. “Where can I find him?”
“You’re not going after him,” Hammer insisted. “Not in this lifetime.”
“I have to. Be reasonable, Macen.”
“I am. The fucker is still alive.”
Liam scowled. “Which wasn’t my first choice.”
Raine rolled her eyes. “My brother just needs to see that I’m finally happy. Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I’m not asking to spend time alone with him.” In fact, it was better if she didn’t right away. Yes, River might have misunderstood the turns of her life since he’d gone, but for all she knew, he’d inherited Bill’s delusional streak. “You’ll be with me every moment.”
