Razed (Barnes Brothers #2)(80)

You know how this sort of thing can happen. Boys will be boys. It just got out of control. Her stepfather, while Price watched from the side, his face downcast, his entire body language that of a boy who was being so thoroughly wronged.

And the sheriff, how he’d watched her. He’d known. She knew it, even now. Katie, can you tell me what happened?

“What happened?” Zane asked.

“My stepfather paid them off. He convinced them all to be quiet.” Keelie’s voice was scathing and hot. “Paid Toria’s dad and when her mother showed up at the sheriff’s office, he was there waiting. How could anybody take her seriously when her father had accepted money? He’d be happy to help make the inconvenience go away.”

Nausea roiled, twisted inside her gut, and she stumbled away, her legs stiff, her eyes burning and her hands trembling.

Inconvenience.

She found the bathroom—it was the first door down the narrow hall and she stumbled inside, hitting the light and bracing herself over the sink. I won’t be sick. I won’t be sick. She didn’t deserve that luxury. She knew she didn’t.

It was a release she wanted so desperately, but one she wouldn’t allow herself.

Her hands trembled and she curled her fingers around the edge of the sink. A shadow fell behind her and she stiffened, slowly dragging her gaze up to meet Zane’s in the mirror.

The pity in his eyes dug ugly furrows into her heart. Years of instincts had her lashing out. She curled her lip at him as she stared at him in the reflection. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t need your f*cking pity. It’s not like I was the one who ended up leaving school because it was too hard to face people.”

Zane moved in closer instead of backing off.

She tensed. She didn’t want this—his compassion, that quiet strength. But he didn’t turn away, even when she turned around and gave him her darkest, dirtiest look.

“If you want to pretend you’re pissed off at me, go ahead.” He cupped her face in his hands.

The gentleness of his voice grabbed her by the throat. And then he leaned in, pressed his lips to her temple. Her heart trembled, almost shattered. Planting her hands against his chest, she fought to hold herself back. The sight of Toria’s face, the bruises, the marks on her skin. And the battered look on her face the last time she’d seen her . . .

“Why would I be pissed at you? You weren’t there. It was a long time ago.” She kept her voice flat and even managed to work up a shrug. “It’s over. It’s done. I lost my best friend over it and she—”

Her voice caught, stuttered, then tripped.

There was too much guilt, too much pain, and too much sorrow. In that moment, it all ripped out of her.


*

Narrowing his eyes, Zach studied the twin standing in the doorway.

Then he lifted a brow and dropped back into the chair behind his desk. “Well, well. It’s like old home week. All we need is Seb and Trey. What are you doing here, you son of a bitch?”

A sly smile lit Travis’s face, but all he did was move inside and drop into the leather chair next to the desk. Zach waited a minute, but when Travis stayed quiet, he went back to scanning the spreadsheets on the monitor in front of him. Spreadsheets. They were the bane of his existence. That, and taxes. And inventory.

Maybe Travis being here was like a harbinger.

The accountant. Taxes. Spreadsheets.

It was a trifecta of evil.

After the silence lingered another five minutes, Zach finished up one task. Since he really didn’t want to start another, he saved the file and shifted his attention to his brother. “So, you want to tell me why you’re here?”

“You don’t even sound happy to see me.”

Zach snorted. “I already took care of the Man, where ya been bit, right? But I know you. If you’re in town, it’s for a reason. I’d like to know what the reason is.”

“You are so suspicious.” Travis heaved out a sigh.

“No. I just know you.”

Travis shrugged and then slumped farther down in the chair. “Look, I’m just taking some time off from work before I head off to Europe for a while, okay? Might be there for a while.” Then his eyes started to gleam. “The pretty lady out front says you’re mean. Are you being mean, Zach?”

Zach scowled and grabbed the file in front of him. “Don’t flirt with Anais, Travis. I need my employees not fluttering about with broken hearts.”

“But she’s awful damn cute.” Travis just continued to smile. Head cocked, he asked, “What’s the deal? You’re pissed. She’s worked up over something—somehow I don’t think that’s normal for her.”

“Ani doesn’t have a norm.” Zach wanted to shrug it off, but he couldn’t. “Don’t worry about it.”

“So there is something up.”

With a thin smile, Zach suggested, “Here’s an idea. I’ll tell you after you tell me why you had to take off from work.” Zach threw it out there, fishing more than anything else. He didn’t expect to see that tiny flicker of his brother’s lashes, didn’t expect to see any sort of reaction at all. But he did. Curious, he braced his elbows on his desk and narrowed his gaze on Travis’s face. “So what kind of problems are you having on the job, Trav?”