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Jesse blinked, nausea rising again. “What are you saying, Ant?”
“You helped one ofthemgain access to a child,” Anton said in a low, dangerous voice. “What do you think I’m saying?”
Words wouldn’t come. Dread flooded Jesse’s body. He stared at his brother, who was going blurry beyond a wall of bitter tears. “That’s not what this is.”
“Then explain it to me, Jesse.” Anton’s voice was hoarse. “Explain what the hell is going on.”
“She’shiskid, all right?” Jesse cried. “She’s hisdaughter.Theykidnapped her fromhim.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“She’s the baron’s great-great-great niece or whatever,” Jesse said, wrapping his coat around him as the cold wind picked up. “He adopted her. I was just helping return a miserable kid to her dad who she loves.” He met his brother’s eyes, and a tear spilled down his face. “I just thought about how Olly would feel if someone took him from you and Sareena. That’s all that was in my head. I had to do it.”
Anton examined him for a long, silent moment, disbelief and rage chasing each other through his eyes. Jesse clenched his jaw to stop his teeth from chattering. Anton looked him over, made an impatient noise and drew Jesse over to his parked car. They both climbed in, and Anton started the engine and turned up the heat. Jesse’s shivering eased, and the pounding in his head receded but he couldn’t meet his brother’s gaze.
“The adoption certificate,” Anton said, “the one you showed to Sareena?”
Jesse made himself look over. His brother was staring out of the windshield with his hands tight on the wheel. “It’s legit, Ant. Sareena said so.”
“And this,” Anton said, gesturing at his head. “How the hell did this happen, huh?”
“The story got leaked now dickheads are attacking his house,” Jesse muttered, touching the cut and wincing. “Throwing stones. Threatening to lynch him.”
“And you still think that’s a suitable environment for a child, do you?”
Jesse frowned. “I’m their security engineer. I’m the one who makes sure it’s safe. So yes.”
“Why didn’t youtellme?”
“Because you wouldn’t understand.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Ant. You didn’t come out here to check I was okay, did you? You came here to yell at me…again.”
Anton stared at him, his face strained. Silence billowed between them like poison gas. Then he shook his head in disbelief. “How did this happen, Jess?”
“How didwhathappen?” he demanded impatiently.
“When did we stop understanding each other? Stop trusting each other?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Anton blinked. “What do you mean?”
Hurt bloomed in Jesse’s chest but the anger was stronger. “We’ve always been apart, Ant. Always.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it’s true. I was always on the outside.”
“Outside ofwhat?”
Jesse stared at him. “Are you really pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about?”
Emotion colored his brother’s cheeks. “Jesse, tell me what you’re getting at.”
Sour heat boiled up from the deepest, darkest parts of Jesse’s body. “I’m getting at me spending my entire life on my own, because I wouldn’t join you and Dad’s fucked up little ‘I-miss-mum’ club.” Anton stared at him like he’d hit him. Jesse hunched his shoulders and looked away. His mouth tasted bitter. The anger slumped out of him, leaving a dark, throbbing hollow behind. “Look… I loved Mum. She was our mum. But I don’trememberher.” Jesse dared to meet his brother’s eyes. They were brimming with silent tears. His jaw was tight. Jesse tried to clench his own shut, but the words poured out of him like blood from an open wound. “Her dying was all that mattered to you…and to Dad. It defined you both, man.”
