See No Evil (Brotherhood Trilogy #1)(42)

“Why are you frowning?” Riley grabs my attention and makes Trey swivel to look at me.

His face is etched with concern as he touches my cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m just…” I sigh and decide, what the hell. “I’m trying to figure out why I feel more at home right now than I ever have. My life is completely bizarre at the moment. I’m hiding in a boys school, pretending to be something I’m not. You’ve been torturing me for the last four days and I…” I shake my head, a fleeting smile zipping across my face. “I feel happy. I don’t get it.”

“I do.” Trey wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. “It’s because we’re awesome and spending time with us just brings out the happy in people.”

I groan and slap his stomach. Kade snickers. Riley rolls his eyes.

And then everyone goes quiet for a thoughtful beat.

The only sound is the murmuring of football commentary in the background until Kade clears his throat. “Truth is, I feel more at home here too.” He shrugs. “These two idiots feel more like family than my own ever will.”

“Same.” Riley nods, his forehead wrinkling with pain.

I wonder what that look means. I’m tempted to ask but Trey speaks up before I can. “We, uh, we kind of decided last year to become a family. Damn, that sounds cheesy.” He scratches the back of his head. “But we’re the only people in our lives we can trust.”

“True dat.” Kade raises his beer, then takes a swig.

I narrow my eyes at Trey. It’s time to find out more. “Why?”

“Well…” He swallows, his voice growing thick with emotion. “My mom died and my dad found himself a new family. I don’t belong in it.”

He shrugs like it doesn’t hurt him but his eyes tell a different story. I reach for his hand and give it a squeeze.

He glances away from my scrutiny and points at Kade. “His parents are divorced and—”

“Neither of them want me,” Kade finishes. “After nanny number twelve quit, they tried sticking my trouble-making ass with my mom’s parents for a while but they gave up pretty quick and I’ve been in boarding schools ever since. Bouncing from one to the next.”

“Kicked out from one to the next.” Riley snickers.

Kade raises his eyebrows, his grin lopsided and maybe a little bashful. He goes quiet, staring down at his beer and rubbing the label. His smile disappears, his jaw working to the side as if he’s fighting some emotion. After a brief second he sniffs and looks up, catching my eyes on him, and says, “What?”

“Nothing.” I give him a closed-mouth smile but he knows I’ve seen it.

Swallowing, he looks away from me and takes another swig of beer. Then in typical Kade style he makes a smartass comment to take the heat off. The guy’s obviously allergic to the feels.

“You know it’s lucky I did get kicked out of all those schools, Ry, or I wouldn’t have ended up rooming with a jerk like you.”

“Great. So I’m the one who gets punished for you being an idiot.” Riley laughs, then lifts his hand when Kade fires a dirty sock across the room.

“What’s your story?” I ask the blond before Kade turns his nearby laundry basket into an armory.

Riley’s gaze flicks to mine. I catch the flash of pure white agony before he looks to the floor and mumbles, “Died. Murdered. Killer got away.”

The air in the room turns cold and stony. I glance at Trey, who gives me a sad smile. “That’s why he’s all about the justice,” he whispers.

I swallow, thinking of Robbie and my uncle. “I’m sorry,” I choke out, emotions clogging my throat.

“Doesn’t matter.” Riley shrugs again. “Their healthy trust fund got me out of the children’s home and now I’ve found myself a new family.” He glances between Trey and Kade and they share a meaningful look. There’s obviously more to his story than anyone’s willing to say, but I’m hardly in a position to push for information.

I force a grin and look between them. As I capture the strength of their bond, my smile turns genuine. “So, family for life then, huh?”

“No arguments here.” Trey takes a swig of his Coke.

“So, what’s the plan after you graduate? You going to move in together?”

Riley grins. “We’re all applying to the same colleges.”

Kade belches, then raises his hands in the air. “Most definitely! Wherever we end up, we have to be together. It’s gonna be party time with my bros!”

I roll my eyes and look to Trey, who hasn’t started celebrating yet. He’s staring at me with that intense gaze of his. His blue-green eyes are etched with sadness and I know what he’s thinking.

I turn away from him, not wanting to admit how big the feels are right now.

If my life wasn’t so screwed up, I could go with them…maybe become Trey’s college sweetheart.

But that’s not going to happen, is it?

Because my life is one hot mess and pretty soon Rybeck’s gonna come and get me. I’ll testify against the devil, betray my family and then I’ll disappear all over again.

No brotherhood.

No Trey.