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38
NICK
"Why do we have to do this here?" Jonas complains, hands firmly tucked in his pockets.
"Because I plan on walking out of here with Bree, and spending the rest of the night with her. I am not going to the ring tonight and drinking this out."
Kade's lower lip is nearly in a full pout. "But why? The ring is really fucking fun." He's not wrong. We have a bat cave of sorts in our shipping warehouse, only it's less billionaire superhero and more billionaire Chuck E. Cheese.
"Yeah, it is," I admit, grinning. "But spending time with Bree is more fun. Tell me you wouldn't pick Becca over the ring any day?"
"Fine," he mutters, wandering over to a set of portable drawers.
After the baby's birth, and a little celebration, Ransom pulled me aside to 'talk'. But since I'm not going anywhere tonight, we compromised and found an empty room near Micah and Holly's.
"Can we get this over with?" I ask dryly. We're going to talk it out. That's how we operate. But we really don't have to drag it out this much.
"I'll start," Declan says flatly from his place against the door. His hands are tucked in his pockets too, but not for the same reason Jonas's are. No, Jonas is worried about germs. Declan's trying not to punch me, which is pretty hypocritical if you ask me. He's the one that asked me to get involved. So I point that out to him. In front of all my other brothers, minus Micah who's still snuggled in with Holly.
"Wait," Maverick says, holding up his hand. "Let me get this straight. You knew he was spending time with Bree because you asked him to do it. You set it all up?"
Dec scowls and drops his arms. "I didn't set them up. I just asked him to be her friend. That's all. Her friend. I didn't tell him to fuck her."
I lock eyes with him and let him know how much I don't care for his tone. "Watch your mouth, brother." My tone is low and dangerous. "You're sounding disrespectful. And you do not want to disrespect my woman."
Declan squints at me, then sighs and rubs the top of his head. "I'm sorry. I just meant you were supposed to stay in the fucking friend zone."
"Clearly, he had other plans," Kade says dryly, rifling through the drawers. Jonas is watching him with a scowl. I guarantee that as soon as we leave, Jonas will have a nurse in here to fix everything Kade's touching.
"It wasn't a plan. I just...fell for her. It's that simple."
Ransom , ass resting on the window ledge, the Chicago skyline behind him, makes a low sound. "She wasn't in a good place, brother."
"No, she wasn't. I agree. But she's come a long way. She's healing. She's so fucking strong."
"Couldn't you have waited?" Colton asks, sidling up to the cart, peering into the drawers Kade's rifling through.
"For what, exactly?"
Colton opens his mouth, frowns, and shuts it. "I don't know. I was going to say her counselor to say it's okay, but that's not her job. Counselors don't make decisions for their patients."
"So Bree gets to make her own decisions? Like a real grown up?" The sarcasm is thick in my voice, but it helps get the point across. "You're all treating her like she's a child. She went through a seriously traumatic experience. But she's also spent a lot of time working on that. When does she get to make a decision about her own life?"
A few of my brothers shift uncomfortably. They don't have an answer of course, because the answer is obviously now, and always.
"Okay, so yes, she can make her own decisions, but brother, you were right there," Declan says. "You were acting like her friend and then you stepped over the line."
"Well fuck," John says from the corner. Why does he always choose the corner? He’s idly twirling his still wrapped chocolate cigar. "I wondered when this happy family show was going to be over and I'd get to see the belly of the beast. Gotta tell you, it did not disappoint." He casually unwraps the chocolate, and takes a bite, smiling grimly at Colton, who freezes, some metal instrument in his hand.
"It's not a show," Ransom says, tone deadly. "We are a family. But there's no such thing as perfect. You should know that, John."
John's lip curls in a sneer. It's the most expression I've seen on his face all day. "The difference is man, I don't pretend to be perfect. You guys act like you're a team, and that you have each other's backs, but you don't. You're turning on a man who fell in love. I fucking saw it coming, so why didn't any of you?" He scoffs and drops the rest of the chocolate in the garbage can near the door. "I'll tell you why. Because all of you have your heads up your asses, too busy with your perfect lives to pay attention to what's happening right in front of you."
That's the perfect mike drop moment right there, but John's not finished. "Slow the fuck down. You," he says, pointing at Ransom, "are so worried about building that new fucking building for your 'empire' that you're checked out." He points at Maverick. "You're trying to be the hero all the damn time and rescue everyone. That aint' your fuckin' job. Take a damn night off. It won't kill you."
He puts his hand on the door, mouth twisted in a scowl. "You all are so used to doing everything together, you're not adjusting to the way your lives are now. You got women and kids, and you ain't spending time together like you used to. You all fuckin' missed it. That's all. It aint bad or wrong. It's just new fuckin' information."
He throws open the door, muttering as he exits. "Too many damn feelings. Can't a man just sit on his fucking couch, drink a beer, and not fuckin' talk? This fuckin' family."
