Page 81 of Exposed
He pressed his fingers to his temple. “I didn’t know he was going to come here right now. He messaged me before we—” His voice broke as if he couldn’t say the words.
Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump!
She glared at him and made her way to the door. He’d cursed when he’d looked at his phone but then she’d insisted on telling him about Carlos. Then they’d lost track of everything. She extended her hand for the door, but Nate stepped in front of her.
“I got it.” A muscle jumped in his throat, but she stepped back. So much for her wonderful morning. He undid the chain, and pulled the door open.
Ethan brushed past him and into the room. His eyes landed on her and a deep red stain colored his neck. Dark circles lined his eyes and his hair darted around as if he’d been in a windtunnel. His mouth tensed and he shifted his gaze to Nate. His hands closed into fists. He took two long strides and grabbed Nate by the shirt.
Maddie cringed and her hands twisted together. The urge to step in almost overtook her, but she had to give them a chance to work things out. She’d already come between their friendship.
“You dirty sonofabitch,” Ethan growled. He slammed Nate’s back against the wall. Nate held his hands up in surrender. With the men this close, Ethan’s build seemed to swell. He was easily an inch and a half taller than Nate, but right now he grew bigger with every passing second.
“Dude, calm down. Let’s talk about this, okay?”
Ethan let out a loose laugh. “You want to talk? All right, sure. I’ve only been travelling sixteen fucking hours.” He let Nate go and took a step back, but his voice pitched with his wavering temper.
“Let’s talk about when you started fucking my sister? I should have expected that from you,” he snorted. Then he turned to Maddie, pinning her with his ice-blue stare. “But you should have known better. He’ll be done with you in a week.”
Rage surged through her and she crossed the room, her finger stabbed in his chest. “Don’t talk to me like that,” she hissed.
It fell miles short from what she wanted to say, but her brain couldn’t think through the fog of fury. She took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll have you know this started at Dana’s wedding. We almost slept together, but he walked away because of his friendship to you.”
Ethan snorted. “Didn’t last very long, did it?”
She seethed. Her tongue pressed to the backs of her teeth. Her palm itched to slap his smug face, but that wouldn’t serve anyone any good.
Nate came up beside her. “To be honest, it started long before that. I’ve been crazy about her for years. And I’m pretty sure it was mutual.”
His arm circled her waist and she covered his hand with hers, taking comfort from his presence. “Mostly,” she laughed.
He gave her a squeeze and for a second, she forgot Ethan was towering over them.
Ethan turned his back to them and stepped a few paces away. The loud crack of his knuckles reached her ears and the bottom of her stomach dropped out. He’d never be okay with her and Nate. But it didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry you’re upset, Ethan. But I’m happy. You can accept it, or you can make yourself miserable over it.” She lifted her chin. “The choice is yours.”
He spun around sharply. “I’m trying to help you, for god’s sake. He’s with a new woman every night. Is that what you want? You think he’s going to be monogamous with you?”
Nate stiffened. “You’re a dumb fuck,” he breathed.
Maddie reached over and pinched his arm. He didn’t flinch. He opened his mouth, but Ethan spoke over him.
“You almost got her killed!” His voice boomed around the room. “Clearly her welfare isn’t a priority to you.”
“She just took out the biggest drug lord on the west coast. You should be proud of her dammit! The FBI has been trying to nail him for—”
Maddie stepped between them before they tackled each other. She tried to steady her voice, searching for a calm that completely evaded her. “I brought him here. I went after Carlos because of Leila. If it weren’t for you, I’d likely be working with the FBI and wouldn’t have had to coerce Nate into helping me. But no, you took that from me too.”
The color drained from Ethan’s face and tension creased his eyes. “I—”
“No,” she said, her voice dropping several degrees. “I had to weasel my way into Carlos’s circle. You think you didn’t have a hand in that? If anyone almost got me killed, it was your nosey ass. You need to stop interfering with my life. I will do what I want, screw who I want, and be who I am. Or you can go fuck yourself.”
She pointed a finger at Nate, while keeping her eyes on her brother. “He blew me off every chance he got. Because he was too scared to cross you and ruin your friendship. But if you choose to let that happen, it’s your loss. And you’ll be pretty damn lonely.” Her body shook, but she forced herself to step out of his personal space.
Ethan dropped into the chair across the room, his head in his hands. Nate’s hand rested on her back, coasting his way down. She turned and he pulled her against him.
“You’d better only screw me from now on.” His eyes darkened possessively and she hid her smile behind her hand. Shit, had she really just said that to her brother?