Barely Breathing(27)

But a series of sharp knocks on my door made me jump slightly instead. I gave Kane a puzzled look. No one ever came to my apartment but Cara, and she knew he was here so there was no way she’d show up unannounced.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, running a hand over my hair to make sure it was still in place.

I rounded the corner to the living room and opened the front door, still slightly breathless from Kane’s kiss.

“Viv, you’re here.” My brother Grayson stepped through the doorway. “I need some money.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. I can’t explain right now.”

His dark, usually neat hair looked unwashed and his shirt was wrinkled. Though it was cold outside, he didn’t have a coat on. But none of that worried me as much as the dark circles beneath his eyes and his frenzied expression.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. “You’re worrying me.”

He looked from side to side. “Look, I can’t. I don’t have time.” He saw my purse hanging from a coat hook near my door and grabbed it.

“Hey, I don’t have another five hundred dollars to give you,” I said as he reached into an open pocket of the bag.

“I’ll take whatever you’ve got.”

“The hell you will,” Kane said in a deep, ominous tone. I turned to see him coming toward us. “Grayson.” He said my brother’s name in a familiar, disgusted tone, his dark gaze fixed on him.

“Kane,” my brother croaked. My purse slid through his hands to the floor, its contents spilling onto the carpet. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“A better question is what the hell are you doing here?” Kane said, looking back and forth between me and Grayson.

Grayson turned to me, eyes wide with fear.

“He’s my brother,” I said. “How do you know him?”

Kane’s expression hardened. “How do I know you, Grayson? Want to tell her?”

Grayson sighed and shook his head. “I just need some money, Viv.”

“You need to stay here and come down,” Kane said, still looking at Grayson.

“Man, f*ck you,” Grayson snapped. “This is between me and Viv.”

“Fuck me?” Kane covered the last few steps between himself and Grayson. “Watch yourself, *. You’d be swallowing your own f*ckin’ teeth right now if you weren’t her brother.”

Grayson turned to me. “What is he doing here? Are you . . . is he your boyfriend? Oh, Jesus. Tell me you’re not seeing him, Viv.”

My mind was spinning with confusion and questions.

“What’s going on here?” I said, my voice raised. “How do you two know each other?”

Kane looked at Grayson, his lips set in a thin line.

“He owns a club and I used to go there.”

“Till you stiffed me for six grand. Haven’t seen you since, have I?”

Grayson narrowed his eyes at Kane. “Not since you almost broke one of my ribs, no.”

“Pay your f*ckin’ bills and you won’t have to worry about that anymore. Stop chasing the next high. It’ll never be enough?”

“High?” I cried, glaring at Grayson. “Are you using drugs?”

“No,” he scoffed. “Kane’s a lying *.”

“Asshole I’ll own, but I’m not a liar,” Kane growled.

I grabbed my brother’s arm and looked into his eyes. “Don’t lie to me. Why are you such a mess? Are you on drugs or not.”

“I told you, no.”

“You’re so lit right now,” Kane said, shaking his head in disgust.

“You’d know, wouldn’t you?” Grayson shot back.

Kane shrugged. “I would, yeah.” He turned to me. “Don’t give him any money.”

“You need to mind your own f*ckin’ business,” Grayson said, his expression so desperate and angry I didn’t even recognize him.

The tic of a muscle in Kane’s jaw gave away the fury behind his cool expression. “You’d better get the f*ck out of here, man. Consider yourself lucky.”

“I need the money.” Grayson turned to me, his plea nearly a whine. “I owe some people money, Viv. Please.”

I looked at Kane, who just shook his head.

“I don’t have any money to give you,” I said to Grayson. “But you need to stay. We’ll figure this out. Maybe Mom and Dad can help you repay this debt.”

Grayson pulled his arm back and punched the wood frame of my front door. I jumped with surprise and Kane stepped in between me and my brother.

“I can’t ask them,” Grayson said, hanging his head.

“You’ve got two seconds to get the f*ck out of here,” Kane said. “You’re scaring her.”

“But I don’t want him getting hurt,” I said. “If he owes bad people money, maybe he needs to stay here.”

“No.” Grayson reached for the door handle and opened it, his shoulders sagging with defeat. “I have to go.”

And without another word, he did. I looked up at Kane helplessly. When I moved to follow my brother, he grabbed my forearm.

“Don’t,” he said softly. “He’s not himself right now.”