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“What family?” I asked.
“Ian.”
I could see the wall of distaste come slamming down around Axel. His lips turned downward again, and he leaned back in his chair slowly. Lethally.
“Come again?” Axel said.
“I’ve been connecting with Ian,” Trace said. “I wanted to be honest about it, because that’s the type of person I am.”
Axel let out a sarcastic laugh.
“How long have you been meeting up with him?” I asked.
“Just a couple weeks,” Trace said. “He was back in New York for a business trip. I let him stay at the Tribeca apartment while he was here."
“So he’s gone now?” I asked.
“Yeah. He went back to Louisville a couple days ago.” Trace sniffed, something hard sliding over his features as he looked over at Axel.
Axel swore under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Why would I lie about this?” Trace demanded.
“I just can’t believe you’d engage with such a wildcard at a time like this,” Axel spat, anger rending his voice. “We need to keep everything under wraps, and you invite the fucking dude right into your house?”
“This is my half-brother,” Trace said succinctly, leaning forward to jab the table for emphasis. “My fucking blood relative. Of course I want to get to know him.”
“This is some grade-A bullshit right here,” Axel seethed.
“What if it was Jordan, huh?” Trace said, his voice bordering on shouting. “What if she showed up after being gone your entire life and wanted to reconnect? What would you fucking say?”
“That is fuckingdifferent,” Axel hissed, standing up and pressing his palms to the table. “And you fucking know it.”
“Sit down!” I barked at Axel.
“Jordan and I already connected,” Axel barreled on, completely ignoring me. “We knew about each other from day one. She lived with me. My daddy didn’t lie to my mom about her existence. And I never hid her existence fromanyone, let alone my own family. And that’s more than you can fucking say.”
Trace stood now as well, mimicking Axel’s posture. “Why do you fucking act like it was me who cheated on mom?”
“Because you knew about it the whole time and never didshitto save our family,” Axel shouted, spit flying from his mouth. And I, like always, just stayed in the middle. Absorbing both sides. Understanding everyone’s reactions.
“Staying quietwassaving our family,” Trace said, leaning closer. “It was the only way I could think of protecting you and our family at the time. Because saying something would have meant the whole family fell apart. And we couldn’t have handled it then.”
The tension in the room skyrocketed. Someone was about to get punched, and it might very well be me if I tried to stop the two of them in the wrong way.
I stood, heading for Axel, who I suspected would be the first to throw a fist.
“Sit the fuck down,” I hissed into his ear.
“What would our mom think?” Axel went on, oblivious to my warning. “You think she wants you to be out there acting like Ian’s bestie?”
“That’s not what’s going on,” Trace said through gritted teeth. “And yes, I think our mom understands perfectly well that Ian has no fault in this. It’s our daddy’s fault. And you’d know that too if you could stop for one second and pull your head out of your ass.”
Axel surged forward and I intercepted him, wrapping my arm around his chest. I knew he’d be the first to pounce. I shoved him into his chair, positioning myself in front of him.
“You ready to calm the fuck down?” I asked him.
Axel glared at me, settling back into his chair. He only grunted.
