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Family was a hell of a thing, man. But I loved mine fiercely, and I couldn’t wait to expand it with Luna.
I just had to have faith that deep down, she felt the same way for me as I did for her. I’d take a reasonable facsimile until I found the key to make her fall completely for my inimitable charm.
Reversing out of my parking space, I let out a laugh. Yeah, right. If I’d been that cocky once upon a time, I definitely wasn’t now.
Love had a way of humbling a guy.
I pulled up near my building and pocketed the keys as I headed inside. My back tensed as I climbed the stairs. I was already bracing to see Luna’s apartment, knowing she wasn’t there.
Something suspiciously like sorrow clutched my chest. I’d gone about this all wrong.
I walked up our hallway and stopped dead at the commotion around my girl’s apartment. Gavin had just placed a replacement panel for the door against the wall.
“What the fuck happened here?” I dropped my briefcase and full out ran to reach them. There was a jagged crater near the knob, and the doorjamb was splintered.
Neither of the men working on the door answered me or even paid me any mind.
Pure panic drenched me in sweat as I shoved aside Gavin Forrester and came face to face with Xavier Hastings. I grabbed him by the lapels of his designer suit jacket and shook him hard enough to rattle his fillings. “Where is she? What did you do to her?”
Sixteen
“Easy, brother.” Xavier didn’t try to detangle me, just flashed me a slow smile as if we were chatting over drinks. “Gotta say I’m glad to see this display.”
“I’ll show you a display. And I’m not your brother.”
“Good thing, or else this situation would be a bit trickier.”
I glared into his smug, handsome face. He looked rather like a snootier, harder, sharper version of Luna, which was another kick in the ribs. “I’m going to say this slowly. Where. Is. She?”
“I’m just going to take a break and give you two some time.” Gavin stepped back and dusted off his white dress shirt before reaching for his toolbox. I would’ve figured he had a handyman on call for this sort of thing, but then again, he and X had been talking quite familiarly before I arrived. “X, buzz me when we can get back to it.”
I grunted. “You’re doing repairs now?”
“Guess so.” X hooked his thumbs in his pockets. I still had a hold of his jacket, but he didn’t seem to notice. “When I cause the damage to my partner’s place, especially.”
“Your partner? You and Gavin are?
??”
“Not like that. Business partners.” His smooth chuckle infuriated me. “Luna is fine, by the way. I heard a bang in here, and she didn’t come to the door fast enough to suit me.” He shot his cuffs. “So, I made my own way in.”
Finally, I let him go and took a step back. “What kind of bang?”
“The pregnancy kind.”
My concern must’ve shown on my face, because he clapped me on the shoulder. “Come on in for a minute. The door can wait until G gets back up here.”
“X. G. Are you guys too elite to use the full range of consonants and vowels?”
He ignored me as he sauntered into the kitchen. I had little choice but to follow if I wanted to ensure Luna was okay. If he even would tell me the truth.
“You know, I had every right to react like I did,” I called. “This scene was like one from Asher Wainwright’s True Crime podcast. Young woman says she’s going away for a while, then the authorities discover her place was broken into. What was I supposed to think?”
“I’m her brother.”
“Estranged brother. And family can be the most murderous of all.”
He ignored me. I supposed I couldn’t blame him.
