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“How did you find me?” I asked, my anger rising. I felt Quinn squeeze my hand, but it only marginally eased my fury.
“I hired a private investigator to track you down.”
I shook my head in disbelief and laughed bitterly. “You’re a piece of work,” I muttered.
Nathan didn’t react to the statement. Instead, he said, “Your landlady told me you’ve been working here. I ran into your friend in the barn-”
“Boyfriend,” I cut in. “He’s my boyfriend,” I snapped. “They both are.”
I felt a little guilty using Beck and Quinn to shock my brother, but I couldn’t help myself.
To Nathan’s credit, he barely reacted. I glanced at Beck and finally noticed he had his eyes downcast and his face was flushed. I dropped Quinn’s hand and hurried to him. “Did he say something to you?” I asked Beck as I lifted his chin, forcing him to look at me. Rage shot through me as I put myself between Beck and Nathan. “What the fuck did you do to him?”
I had my hands on the lapels of Nathan’s suit jacket before I even realized what I was doing.
“Brody, don’t!” Beck said and I felt his hands closing around my upper arm as he tried to tug me back. But I wanted to draw blood. I wanted to wound my brother the way he’d wounded me when he’d cast me aside that very first night when I’d confided in him about who I really was.
I didn’t get a chance to punch him like every cell in my body was urging me to do, because Quinn stepped between me and Nathan, forcing me to release my brother and step back. “He’s not worth it,” Quinn said calmly as he made me back up even farther and remained between us.
“Brody,” Beck said. He grabbed my cheek and gently forced me to look at him. “He didn’t say anything to me. When I saw him, I thought he was you…I thought the suit was some kind of joke so I made a comment…”
The way Beck’s cheeks heated again, I had no doubt what kind of comment it had been and I could imagine my brother’s reaction, considering what he thought of gay people.
“Did he touch you?” I asked.
Beck shook his head. “No. I even hugged him, not realizing he wasn’t you. He didn’t react at all…that’s how I knew I’d messed up.”
Relief went through me and I cupped Beck’s cheek like he was cupping mine. I managed to take a deep breath as I nodded. I forced my eyes back to Nathan and said, “I’m not interested in hearing anything you have to say.”
I turned away, but Nathan’s next words stopped me cold.
“Someone’s been threatening me…and you.”
“What do you mean?” Quinn asked, his voice icy. I turned to see him stepping closer to Nathan. While my brother had a heavier build, I had no doubt Quinn could hold his own in a fight with him and likely do even more than that.
“Five minutes,” Nathan said, but he wasn’t talking to me. His eyes were on Quinn. “Five minutes and then I’m gone.”
Quinn glanced at me and Beck was clutching my hand desperately.
“Talk,” was all Quinn said.
Nathan shifted his attention back to me. “Have you been watching the news about me?”
“What makes you think I have any interest in knowing what’s going on with you?” I snapped. “We’re not brothers anymore, remember?”
It was the first time I saw a visual reaction from Nathan. He actually looked pained, but he quickly covered it with a mask of indifference.
“I’ve been getting emails,” Nathan continued and I saw him remove a couple of pieces of folded paper from his suit jacket. “From an anonymous source,” he added. He handed the pages to Quinn who opened them and began silently reading.
“The sender referenced you twice…the first time…”
Nathan hesitated and glanced at Quinn. Quinn’s eyes hardened and then he was looking at my brother. He paused for a moment and then looked at me before dropping his eyes back to the paper and began reading out loud.
“If you continue on this course, you’ll burn in hell just like your faggot brother,” Quinn said quietly.
Beck’s fingers clenched mine…hard.
Anger went through me, but something else was there too and I shifted my eyes to my brother who was watching Quinn as he read the second email. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but my lover’s face went stone cold as he began reading the second page.
