Seven+Four (Angels of Wrath Book 6)

PRESENT DAY

“Did you use sunscreen? The one I sent you the link to. Don’t want you to turn into a roasted kebab.” Lori adjusts the strap of his purse on his shoulder as we walk down one of the sidewalks near Lincoln Park. The grayish blanket of snow is covering most of the asphalt making the sole of my boots crunch with every step I take. I pull up the collar of my coat; it’s a sunny day, but we are still in the middle of winter.

“I forgot to apply it today,” I confess.

“Even your bros haven’t killed as many people as melanoma. Isn’t that reason enough to use sunscreen, Angel?”

My lips curl at Lori’s Loriness. I look down at my pearl white fingernails. We just finished a mani-pedi session. Lori insisted I needed some out-of-the-lab time—which I allow myself regularly to attend Lori’s yoga classes. Today that class morphed into “brunch and drunk,” as Rami called it. That’s why I’m carrying a bag filled with hand creams and nail polishes to the diner where some of my brothers are waiting.

I spot a woman pushing a baby stroller coming our way. The dog on her leash is so comically cute. Its fur is white as a cloud, has a flat nose, big bat ears, and short legs. I crouch down as it starts pulling excitedly on the leash while panting and gasping with his brown eyes focused on me.

The woman stops with a smile as her dog happily greets me, licking and sniffing my hand. After a few moments, her kid in the stroller starts crying.

“Oh, is it my fault? I’m sorry,” I tell her, giving my furry friend a last pat before straightening up. My braid falls heavily on my shoulder, and I flick it behind my back.

She doesn’t have time to answer me as her child’s cry abruptly halts. The kid is staring at Lori now, seemingly taken aback by my friend’s appearance. Big, soft curls frame his face, red lips are in a pout, and the green cat-eye sunglasses look very cute on him.

Lori is looking with a raised eyebrow at the child now picking his nose. “He’s…charming,” he states with sarcasm.

“She…likes you, perhaps.” The mother touches the pink bow on the child’s head as to emphasize Lori’s mistake.

“She?” My friend sounds too baffled.

“What?” She glares at him.

“Lori?” I try hesitantly.

“I can give you the name of my esthetician. She can surely help with those bushy brows and mustache.”

The mother makes a growly sound, looking like she is hyperventilating. Her cheeks have turned red and the expression on her face is appalled.

Lori bends down to have a one-on-one with the child, not in the least sorry or intimidated by the woman. “Oh well, kiddo, looks don’t matter. Study hard, and you’ll turn into my dear friend Sari here. Alone and overworked.”

Really? I shake my head at him.

“My daughter is beautiful!” Oh, I’ve seen that same murderous, protective look in all my brothers’ eyes, too many times to count.

“Sure. Sure. My friend here thinks his inside-out hamster is beautiful too.” As soon as the last insult leaves Lori’s mouth, I grab his shoulders and push him away from the woman.

“We are sorry,” I tell her before dragging Lori away.

He tries to turn around, but I keep yanking him toward the diner.

“What?” He huffs. “You wanted me to lie to her?”

“No. Just avoid talking next time.”

“I can’t; my mouth is an independent being, the bitchy, slutty kind.”

I snort. “Stop making me laugh. You’re not being fair.”

“Your face is not fair.” He laces his arm with mine, another fake pout on his lips.

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Not everything does. Sometimes I hate being an adult,” he mutters.

“Because you’re not one.” I give him a little smirk. “You’re a… What does Rami call you?” I search my memories, trying to remember.

“Gremlin? Unhinged squirrel? Satan’s pet?”

I can’t stifle a laugh. Lori is a mischievous force of nature. “Oh, the sass master!”

“I don’t have the faintest idea where that comes from,” he feigns ignorance. “But me likey. Sass master.” He repeats the nickname a couple of times, as if he enjoys the sound of it. I don’t think my brother thought of it as a compliment, though.

“And Albert E. is a hairless guinea pig, not a hamster,” I remind him about my pet.

“He still looks inside out,” Lori retorts unapologetically. It doesn’t matter, because Albert E. is the cutest in my eyes.

I look at the diner’s red doors across the street; the sign reading Marnie’s looks discolored.

“Couldn’t we have gone to a spa? I’m in need of a sauna. I have toxins to sweat out,” he complains.

“You can’t sweat out toxins. Sweating can actually cause your kidneys to retain water, preventing your body from eliminating toxins.”

“So I’ve been following another new age crapola. Fantastic.”

The bell above the door announces our arrival as I push one door open and take a step inside the diner.

Marnie’s is a throwback to the last century, with Formica tables, vinyl chairs and booths, and the smell of greasy but delicious dishes filling the air. I instantly love it. A big-haired middle-aged woman is behind the counter wearing a light blue waitress uniform with a white apron tied around her generous hips.

The place is empty except two tables—one of which is occupied by Michael, Ollie, and Rami.

The waitress doesn’t look up from the magazine she’s reading as she says, “Sit anywhere; I’ll be with you in a sec.”

I follow Lori making our way to the others, and as we pass by another table, I overhear part of the conversation the two people sitting there are having.

“It’s only been two months since she dumped you,” the woman is saying to her friend.

“Well, I haven’t had sex in months. I’m so pent up. Can I even remember how is it done?” the guy replies, all grumbly.

I swallow hard thinking about my situation and am so lost in my thoughts, I almost hit Lori’s back as he stops near their table.

“Don’t worry. It’s like riding a bicycle—only you are panty-less and there’s no seat…or actual pedals.” He pats the shocked guy’s shoulder before resuming his steps.

I bite my lower lip, and with my eyes focused on the floor, I reach the others—I don’t dare look at the other two customers.

“Finally out of that lab!” Rami exclaims, standing up.

“We missed you.” Ollie pushes his chair back and tries to give me a quick hug, which turns into a bear one when Rami wraps his beefy body around both of us. I don’t mind it. I actually like this new side of him—compared to his untouchable former self. His boyfriend Hunter literally saved him from a disconnected existence.

Michael waves at me; I see him plenty lately. He’s been coming to the labs to work with me since he’s a hematologist—and to be with Raph, his husband and my brother who is the president of Bear-Stone Labs, our research company. He used to be a medical examiner and now is a professor of forensic pathology, anatomy, toxicology, forensic science, and more at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Lori sniffs haughtily, dropping down on one of the chairs as they let me go.

I feel my cheeks tighten with a smile. I’ve missed this…lightness. Since Meg, my foster mother, fell into a coma, everything has seemed to be falling apart. I’ve been trying to find a way to get her back. She was poisoned with cyanide, which is often fatal. The fact that she’s still alive is a miracle. The doctors administered intravenously sodium thiosulfate in combination with sodium nitrite to get rid of the poison—the exact doses I instructed since I was the one who discovered what happened to her. But was I too late? Those agents seem to have worked, but since Meg also has lupus, her body was weak to begin with. She won’t wake up. After all the endless hours and effort Michael and I put in, her body is still unmoved at the hospital. And I don’t know the reason. I can only make suppositions, and none of them have a concrete solution.

My world is science. The systematic approach, the logical reasoning, the empirical evidence, and the testable hypothesis. The lab is my home, with its immaculate surfaces, specialized equipment, and methodical order. Until recently, I always found answers within my reign. Because I solely focused on my work, everything came as a distant second. I couldn’t be bothered with mundane things. I’ve been working my ass off since…always, studying disease, chasing cures, doing my part just like my brothers do, only in my own way.

People call me a genius, the Good Will Hunting of research. But what’s the point of being so smart if I can’t help the one person I owe my life to?

I’m nervously biting my inner cheek, tasting blood when the waitress approaches our table.

“Doc! Long time no see,” she addresses Michael. He used to come here with Meg, that’s how we found out about his existence—long story.

“Bringing all this hot testosterone here… Want me to swoon like a blushing virgin?” The waitress dramatically fans her face with the notepad.

“Berta my dear, you are such a flatterer.” Michael smiles at her.

“And please keep going,” Lori adds, winking at her.

She replies with a flying kiss. “What can I get you all?”

“I think it’s mimosa o-clock.” Everybody nods at Rami’s statement, so I do too, even though I’m not sure what a mimosa is. Judging by the context, it must be a drink or a dish.

“And pie. So many choices,” Ollie states, looking down at the menu.

“Take your time. I’ll get your mimosas first.” She leaves.

“Meg loves this place.”

“Yeah,” Ollie agrees with Michael. A few seconds of silence pass. “I need to go visit her again.”

“Linda doesn’t leave her side much,” Lori states. If my romantic partner was unresponsive in a hospital bed, I’d be by their side too, no matter what. If I had one, that is.

“She…hopes,” Michael whispers.

“We all do,” Rami adds.

I ball up my hands under the table. I feel like I’m letting everybody down. How can I not see what’s wrong?

“How’s your Magnum PI boo?” Lori suddenly asks Rami. He’s trying to lighten the mood, but I can see his eyes are glassy.

“Gorgeous. Sexy. Mine.” Rami has a dreamy expression on his face now. He’s utterly smitten with his boyfriend. I envy him.

“Tell me is it true that ‘when you go black, you never walk straight back’?” Lori smirks at him.

“You are in a relationship with a droid and his sicko alter ego, you should be the one questioned.” He’s talking about Lori’s fiancé Gabe, who has multiplicity.

“Don’t you wish to know, wank face.”

I stare at the fruit pie menu, suddenly remembering how dissatisfying my last date was. I can’t stifle my sigh.

Lori turns my way. “Okay. What’s wrong, Angel? You’ve been huffing all morning, all the way through each finger and toenail. Even that amazing shoulder massage the tall giraffe lady gave you didn’t help your mood.”

“You got a mani-pedi without me?” Ollie clips at him. They’ve known each other since they were kids. When Ollie fell in love with my brother Rague, his brother Sully and Lori became part of our extended family as well. Then Lori got together with my other brother, Gabe.

Our unconventional family keeps growing.

“The coupon was for two, and as you can see, Angel is in dear need of some relaxation time!” Lori clarifies; his light brown curls shake lightly as he sniffs.

“Like I need a coupon,” Ollie mutters, green eyes glaring at Lori. He’s right since Rague is a millionaire—our family is very wealthy on top of dysfunctional.

I give him a small apologetic smile. “I didn’t know you wanted to go; I’d have given you my coupon.”

“I know you would.” He doesn’t look angry at me, only Lori.

“Let’s have a chin wag, eh?” Lori taps his elbow against mine.

“Uhm?”

“A chat,” Ollie explains. Lori’s grandma, who raised him, was from the UK, so he mixes British slang with his Chicago way of talking. I got used to it, but sometimes I still can’t understand what he means.

The waitress saves me from answering, bringing over glasses and a pitcher filled with a yellow drink.

As soon as Rami pours some for me I take a fortifying sip.

When I look up, they’re all staring at me. “No need for a chat.”

“You might as well have a neon sign on your head saying ‘I’m down as a windless flag,’” Rami states.

“Is it because of the stalker?” Michael frowns.

I actually forgot about that for a moment. Having a stalker is kind of scary, but there’re too many things going on at once in my life right now. I barely have time to think about it.

“That fucker! I’m so bloody irritated, since we have bugger all!”

“We have fuck all,” Ollie translates Lori’s words for me once again.

Rami puts his heavy arm around my shoulders. He’s as tall as me but four times my size with all those muscles he sports. The sweater he’s wearing looks like it’s about to burst over his mountainous pecs. “We’ll get him, no worries.”

I nod and look down at the table, focusing on the long deep scratch marring the surface. My fingers pull at my long braid; the light sting makes my belly tingle.

“Would a hug make you feel better?” Rami tightens his arm before letting his hand glide up and down my back.

“Stop feeling your brother up!” Lori exclaims a little too loudly, making the people from the other table turn toward us.

“I’m not, you jezebel!”

“When you rub someone’s back it increases blood flow, so hugs are actually good,” I let Lori know.

“See?” Rami sniffs at him.

“I’m a little uneasy about the stalker, but that’s not…” I let the sentence die.

“Tell Papa Lori everything.” His insistence is nothing new. Lately he seems to be very interested in my dating life.

The midday sun is at its highest point in the sky, peeking behind the buildings, shadows stretching on the old floor of the diner.

“Just…I think I’m unlucky with men,” I confess.

Lori pats my hand. “Every pot has a lid, Gran used to say.”

“Yeah.” Ollie nods.

“I can’t even check if the lids fit. They don’t give me the chance.” I sigh dejectedly again.

“What do you mean?” Ollie asks.

“One guy moved to another city after one date. The next one went to the restaurant bathroom and never came back. Another got a text and ran away without any explanation.”

Do I repel men? Maybe I’m boring, too oblivious of the norms of intimacy. I can’t quite catch those double entendres people exchange, and I don’t know how to flirt. Keeping a conversation with one person is hard for me.

Rami and the others are not saying anything, but I can see the level of anger and unhappiness on their faces.

“The last guy took me to his place to give me back my scarf, and it was nice…until the fire alarm went off. He’s not answering my texts now.”

“Mm,” Lori makes a pondering sound. “Were you playing tonsil tennis before the alarm?”

“Tennis?” Why is he talking about sports now?

“Kissing, Angel.”

Ohhhh. “A little.” My cheeks heat remembering the way Jonathan’s lips brushed over my mouth and his tongue met mine.

“Did he stroke the kitty?” Ollie purrs.

“Donut holes are sacrosanct,” Rami adds.

“Amen,” Michael agrees.

“I-I love donuts, but what does that have to do with kissing?” I’m confused again.

“So sweet.” Ollie smiles at me.

“People love him so much that if he slapped them in the face, they’d kiss that hand in gratitude.” Lori’s absurd statement makes my eyebrows lift.

“That’s just sick, but so very true,” Rami says. They are all looking at me with googly eyes now.

I shake my head. “Look, we barely kissed; he seemed…distracted.” Or maybe I was the one thinking about someone else’s lips on me, sucking tenderly at first then roughly… Crap.

“Distracted? The arsehole must have had a full plate! Perhaps you were his Wednesday fuck,” Lori suggests.

“Wednesday?” Michael raises a blond eyebrow at him.

“Was it Tuesday? Monday? Choose a day of the week.”

“You mean a side fuck,” Michael states. Rami snorts.

“That happened to you?” Ollie asks Lori.

“Once. I made him pay every day of the week.” His wicked smirk is kind of creepy.

“Side fuck or not, distracted is not good,” Michael tells me. “You need someone to go all feral on your ass. A possessive, obsessed, OTT stud who gives you a dose of dick to get by.”

“What the heck, Bones! My boyfriend is not even here, and I’m sporting a boner,” Lori grumbles.

“Gross! What are you, a teen hitting puberty?”

“It could be a random erection. It’s caused by fluctuations in hormones, such as testosterone, and is a sign of healthy sexual function.” It’s my turn to pat Lori’s hand to reassure him.

“Don’t know why, but the thought of random erections makes me even harder,” he lets me know.

“Lor, shut it. Sari, what you need is to be careful of the bad dick curse,” Ollie states.

“What’s that?” Rami downs his mimosa before starting to fill all the glasses on the table again.

This juice is pretty good; it has a sharp aftertaste. It slides down my throat so smoothly.

“A double jerk of a dick outside the bed, while in bed too good a dick; hard to let him go.”

“Been there done that.” Rami snorts, and Lori nods.

Michael giggles. “Kind of like a dèjà vu-oodu for me!”

“Dèjà vu is nothing but the frontal regions of the brain attempting to correct an inaccurate memory.” My mouth can’t seem to stop moving, my thoughts just fly out, how weird. I finish my glass.

“You’re barfing Wikipedia all over us to avoid giving more details of the distracted prick.” Lori pouts at me. He’s so pretty. I wish I was as tiny as him.

“Wikipedia is 85% inaccurate,” I counter.

“Will you tell me more if I share, too? Sort of a vicarious thrill? Because Gabe let me tie him up yesterday, and the dirty things I did to him…they weren’t even the best part. It was when Bez tore those cuffs like a herculean demigod and⁠—”

“Stop!” Michael exclaims. “Keep your men’s sex escapades for yourself at least for an hour.”

“What? I like a firm hand in the bedroom.” Lori tsks.

“Firmly gagging you,” Rami mutters, but we all hear him. This conversation is making me squirm on my chair.

“Sod the both of you!”

“Maybe I need to be more seductive?” I hazard. Did I say that out loud?

Ollie seems to agree with me. “Everybody has a small Marilyn inside.”

“Monroe or Manson?” Rami asks with a pensive look on his face.

Lori taps his fingers on his chin. “Can it be both?”

“Your Manson is overtaking the Monroe lately,” Ollie snaps at him.

“Awww, you think so?”

“That wasn’t a compl—never mind. Just be yourself, Sari,” Ollie encourages me.

“Lovely. It makes me want to poke my eyes out. Worst advice ever given.” Lori sniffs.

“Then what?” Michael asks him.

It takes Lori a few seconds to reply. “This is going to come back to bite me later, but I can’t keep my mouth shut.”

Rami snorts. “Like you even try, Gremlin.”

“Thank you Doctor Reacher, where did you get that degree in psychology?”

“Same place where you took yours in sarcasm,” Rami counters back.

“So what’s your advice?” I interject. I’m curious.

“You have genius mojo; use it.”

“I don’t think people are turned on by geniuses. Most get weirded out.”

“Actually, I’m turned on by Raph’s brain, and sometimes I imagine it naked. All those neurons and glial cells. So hot!” I frown at Michael’s excitement. I love the sight of a brain, but I’ve never been attracted to one.

“Sure. Sure,” Lori agrees. “Gabe can be very sexy when he shows his knowledge and skills. The desk in his office has been seeing a lot of action because of that, the window wall too, any wall. The sofas, coffee table, book shelves, bathroom sink⁠—”

Ollie waves his hand to make him stop. “Ugh. We get it, you nympho!”

“Says the exhibitionist! If dogging was a sport, you’d get first place.” Lori and Ollie start bantering.

“Hunter can’t keep his hands off me when I talk hacking,” Rami lets me know.

Why is it so hard to find someone for me? Is it because of…Uri? But I already decided to move on from my eternal crush a few months ago, hence dating. It’s not that easy, though, when I see him every day since he’s my…foster brother.

“Is it Rague?” Rami asks Ollie who’s looking at his phone. “Are they coming?”

“Yeah. Hunter and Uri left already.”

Only hearing his name creates a warmth of excitement inside my belly. It’s not good.

“Are you sexting now? Kinky!” Lori taunts Ollie, earning a flipped finger.

“Butt out, perv Papa Lori!”

“Butt, eh!” Rami laughs, and I feel a strange lightheadedness as I giggle at his joke.

“Raph is coming too,” Michael declares, putting away his phone. Of course he is. He can’t stay too long away from his husband.

“Mademoiselle,” Lori calls the waitress. “Two more pitchers of mimosas please, and a few more glasses.”

“And a slice of each pie on the menu,” Rami orders.

“That sounds great. I couldn’t make up my mind,” I tell him happily.

“Oh, Sully is calling!” Ollie exclaims happily before answering his brother’s call.

“Beautiful.” Michael is looking down at Lori’s pink leather bag.

“My Chanel Hobo is gorgeous, right? Gabe’s gift. My men know how to keep me happy.” He suddenly jumps in his chair as he grabs my forearm. “What about the custom-made lingerie online shop I told you about?”

“Fly on Honey,” I say remembering the name.

“Yes! The owner is a sweetie. I chat with him from time to time. Did you check his pieces? They’re to die for.”

Lori grabs his phone from his bag and swiftly taps on the screen, moving closer to me to let Rami—who is seated on my other side—see as well.

“This blue corset with the garter belt looks amazing. Grizzly loves to look at my body in lace.”

“What about feeling the fabric and testing the drape?” I ask Lori. He’s dragged me to more than a few shops around Chicago with that statement in the past.

“Don’t go frugal, go big. You can buy from both physical and online shops.”

“He can sew your boo’s name on your ass! I mean that could earn you a pounding.” Rami gives me a suggestive look that makes my cheeks warm. The phrase blush like a virgin can be literal in my case. Twenty-five, and still I haven’t gone beyond third base.

The air surrounding me suddenly changes, charged with electricity. The doors open, and Uri walks in—followed by Hunter, Gabe, and Raph.

His eyes move around the room, I only let go of my breath when they find me, his stare always so intense. He starts prowling toward us—this is definitely the word for how he moves. Slowly, purposefully, and confidently. His tall build stands out, sculpted from constant swim training and very malicious intent. His long caramel dreads swing with every step he takes. His ears sport multiple piercings as do his lower lip and eyebrow. He’s wearing a blue shirt, the top two buttons undone, showing some smooth skin, an open cardigan, and a warm-looking sherpa denim jacket. The dark jeans covering his long legs look well-worn, in contrast with the pair of pristine black boots. Uri likes to follow fashion trends and make them his. As a result, he’s always cool, slick, and stylish.

He seems approachable due to his easy way of smiling—although it can turn terrifying in a heartbeat. But the truth is that he is the most closed-off person I know, and I’m including my brother Gabe in the list.

He’s been my best friend for seventeen years. I know everything about him. Or at least, I was sure I did. That thought brings a little lip tremor with it. Our relationship has always been a little too intense, without enough boundaries. My attachment to Uri is complex. It developed with time, creating layers of multiple kinds of love and need. I used to see him as someone to look up to, someone to go to when in need. That sentiment morphed into something different as we grew up. Which made me feel off balance and embarrassed, considering the fact that Uri never showed interest in me, not in the way I wanted. I’m special to him, like a precious possession would be—since a sociopath can’t feel love. There’s no attraction on his part, though.

So, I tried to put some distance between us—not easy when he’s part of my family—and then the truth about him having a biological brother came out. Our relationship is a mess of epic proportions now. For me at least. Pushing him away was the best option. And yet, I’m incapable of not feeling happy whenever he’s near me, despite all the confusion and anguish he creates whenever he’s close. He’s ineluctable. Impossible to fight or pull away from. Maybe because this—not only physical—distance between us feels foreign to me. I’m used to having him around all the time. The near absence of boundaries was caused by his sociopathic nature but also by my inability to say no to him. The absence of firm definitions of our respective roles, though, that’s all Uri.

At the end of the day, ending that kind of codependent relationship was a good decision. Even though there’s still a part of me that feels perpetually cold without him.

Is a little of him better than a lot of nothing? I’m not sure.

“Super Model is here,” Lori teases Uri. “Does that mean we have to stop having a blast talking smack about him?”

Uri reaches the table. His eyes remain firmly on my face as he replies, “Lori, you’re like a human boomerang, always coming back with more shit.”

“My Grizzly!” Rami’s exclamation takes my attention away from them. He greets Hunter with a kiss, a bit too French for a public place.

“Little Wasp.” As soon as he hears his nickname, Lori jumps and runs to Bez. Uri swiftly takes the chair next to me. His arm falls on the back of my chair, fingers playing with the end of my braid. I suck in a breath. Why am I always so aware of him?

Ollie finally hangs up his phone.

“How is Sully?” I ask, trying hard to distract myself.

“Preparing to move to college. He looks okay. I’m the one apprehensive as fuck.”

“But it was his decision to live on campus, right?” Michael asks as he sits on Raph’s lap. Seeing my brother so possessive of someone else always makes me smile. Raph and I were the only ones legally adopted by Meg and Linda because we had no relatives alive. We lived only the two of us in Meg’s huge house for roughly six months before the others moved in with us from the group home. We also started Bear-Stone Labs together from scratch. He’s the second brother I’ve shared most of my life with. The first will always be Uri, even though I have never really thought of him as a brother. How could I ever have these kinds of…reactions to a brother?

Ollie nods. “The therapist said it will do Sully good to leave his comfort zone and go be with people his own age.”

Lori steps behind him and grabs his shoulders. “We will all check on him, right, Reacher?” Lori looks at Rami. He has funny nicknames for all of us. He calls me Angel… If he only knew the dark desires I keep inside.

“Yes,” Rami tries to reassure Ollie. “Serena is on it. Don’t worry.”

“I know. It’s just…it’s been so hard for him since he was taken and…” Ollie still feels guilty about his brother’s kidnapping. It almost broke both of them.

“We know. But Sully-doo is a fighter, strong and resilient,” Michael reminds him.

“Ren is going to the same college.” Raph looks at Hunter. Ren is one of the triplet boys who live with him and Rami.

“Yeah, he’s trying a few classes. He’ll help Sully out.”

“They’re both studying veterinary medicine, and they’re already chummy chums. Experiencing college will be good for Sully-doo. I can attest to that,” Lori adds. He’s studying to become a lawyer, since his paralegal work at Gabe’s law firm doesn’t satisfy him anymore.

“Dare can help to keep an eye on him as well. He’s become my mini-me hacker, working for Hunter’s PI agency.” Rami takes a sip of mimosa.

“Does he cover his junk in lace, too?” Lori smirks shamelessly.

The spray of mimosa couldn’t be better aimed, and I gasp as I witness the scene unfurling in front of me. Rami turns his head as the drink spews from his mouth, hitting Gabe, who is standing on his right. He coughs hard as he bends over to catch his breath while Hunter pats his back.

“Are you on glue?” Rami coughs out. “Making me think about Dare like that!”

“Quit your bellyaching nonsense,” Bez grumbles, looking down at the wet spot on his suit. I’m not sure who he is talking to.

“Better being the one to spit than being soaked in someone else’s saliva.” Gabe is wiping himself with one of the napkins from the table, trying to get the combination of spit and mimosa off his suit—while Bez growls furiously.

“Well, I’m more of a swallower than a spitter.” Lori winks at him. Then he grabs his suit lapels and pushes himself on the tips of his toes. His face is still far from Gabe/Bez’s since he’s tiny compared to them. “Need me to remind you?”

I hear Rami muttering, “I wish I was a fly.”

“Ugh,” Ollie elbows him with a disgusted face.

“Training a few would be great. Flies would make great detectives,” Hunter states. He is so big and handsome.

“They already are. The first recorded use of flies in a criminal investigation was in 13th-century China. By studying the fly population and their larval stages at a crime scene, the buzzing creatures help forensic scientists estimate the time of death.” Michael is addressing us like he would in one of his college classes. They’re always filled with students. He’s a great teacher.

I add, “The species most helpful in forensic investigations are house flies, blow flies, and flesh flies.”

“I want to say wow, but I’m going to say eww.” Lori scratches his nose as he turns toward the table, wrapped in Gabe/Bez’s arms.

“Talking about investigations.” Hunter sets on the table a transparent plastic bag with a pair of blue panties and a letter inside. They were in a package sent to the lab with my name on it.

I cringe at the sight of them. The love letter is quite disturbing, since the person professes his undying love to me, talking about belonging together and fated mates—which I don’t really understand. It wasn’t handwritten, instead they used an old typewriter.

“The only fingerprints we found are from the postman and a couple of people working at the post office,” Rami states.

“They were all clean. The stamp has no trace of DNA,” Hunter adds. “The letter as well, and also the underwear.”

“No joy, then.” Lori looks my way. “ Are those panties yours?” He points at the lacy underwear inside the plastic bag.

Uri’s body tenses while his fingers tighten on my side. Words get stuck inside my throat, so I shake my head, wiggling slightly on my chair.

“That would’ve implied that this shithead broke into and entered Sari’s place to steal his underwear.” Raph lets out an incredulous sniff.noveldrama

“Rami installed Serena as a security alarm in all our houses. It’s impossible for anybody to get past her undetected,” Ollie declares.

“Unless that someone is Uri’s biological brother. He did get inside his property. Could the stalker be him?” Gabe’s monotone voice doesn’t take away the seriousness of his question.

“It’s not him,” Uri hisses. His fist on the table flexes, turning his knuckles white. Is he defending him? He looks angry.

“Whoever it is, we will stop him. You can never be alone, Sari. Someone always has to be with you.” I nod as Rami’s arm wraps protectively around my shoulder for a moment until Uri unceremoniously shoves it off, pulling me tightly against him. A shiver rolls down my spine, and he tucks me even more closely to him, probably misreading the trembling of my body. I’m a little creeped out by this stalker who seems obsessed with me, but it’s Uri’s nearness that caused my body’s uncontrollable reaction.

“How do you know it wasn’t your biological brother sending me the package?” I ask Uri.

I slowly turn in his hold, and he allows it, his large palm sliding against my waist as I face him. He’s so good-looking. Those full, masculine lips so close. A soft rumbling comes from him; I feel the vibration against my chest more than hear it. Without giving it thought and feeling strangely bolder than usual, I lift my hand and place it on his heart over his shirt as I tilt my head up to look into his eyes. The depth of those light ginger pools… My breath gets stuck inside my lungs once again.

“I know it wasn’t him,” he whispers without clarifying further. Because he doesn’t feel the need to. The sting makes me lower my gaze, reminding me once again why I created some distance between us.

There is no missing the slight vibration under my fingers as he growls once again.

“I’ll give this prick free neutering as soon as he shows his face. I’ll run his balls over with my car. It might not kill him, but I bet it would hurt like hell. Especially since I’m willing to throw it in reverse and do it a second time.” Lori pauses. “Or ten more times. Whatever it takes.”

“Nobody wants to see you behind a wheel ever again,” Gabe states, making his fiancée push his head all the way back to glare up at him. Gabe answers with a peck on his nose. I’m still getting accustomed to seeing this affectionate side of him.

The waitress comes, bringing plates filled with pie. After a couple of teasing comments aimed at the newcomers, she leaves, and Gabe and Lori finally sit at the table between Uri and Michael, who is still sitting on Raph’s lap.

Ollie pushes a slice of chestnut pie toward me. I give him a forced smile. I’m about to slide the plate my way when Uri grabs it.

“Hey! It was for Sari,” Ollie complains.

Uri shrugs, putting a fork of chestnut pie in his mouth, as Rami says, “Sari doesn’t like chestnuts, right?”

I nod hesitantly.

“Oh!” Ollie’s eyes widen as he understands Uri’s action.

“He likes them, but they give him indigestion,” Uri clarifies, setting what looks like a slice of apple pie in front of me. He knows me so well, knows I can’t say no when offered something, so he took the choice off my hands. I would’ve ended up in bed with a stomachache if he hadn’t intervened.

My heart speeds up at his attentiveness. It usually beats faster when he’s near me, and then gradually calms down when he leaves. It feels like it’s constantly waiting for him, waiting to swell, to overflow with desperate, hopeless want. A seemingly never-ending agony. To which I decided to put an end to, I remind myself.

A self-derisive snort leaves my lips as I put a hand over my mouth to avoid spraying apple pie all over the table. I grab my glass and down it to wash away the crumbles.

“How many did you drink?” Uri asks me.

“Three or four.” When I see his gaze darkening, like he would to scold a kid, I clip, “It’s juice!”

“Mixed with alcohol,” Raph adds.

Oh! “Really? That’s why I feel so nice and…loose.” I giggle, enjoying how relaxed my muscles are feeling.

“Keep drinking then,” Hunter suggests. His dark eyes are looking at me teasingly while his hand is scratching the short stubble covering his cheeks.

I feel Uri stiffening near me, but I ignore him and smile at Rami as he fills my glass again. My phone beeping stops me from enjoying my drink. I grab it out of my coat and see a text from Trent.

“Who is it?” Uri asks, always the curious one. Ready to protect me from everyone and everything.

“A colleague.” He’s actually Michael’s colleague, a professor at the same university. And technically we went out on a couple of dates. We also kissed and jerked each other off. It was going okay until Meg ended up at the hospital, and I got sucked up by…everything. We lost contact after a few weeks of not seeing each other. Then he moved to another city. The fact that I didn’t miss him much spoke volumes. Why is he texting me now?

“Which colleague?” Uri insists.

“None of your business,” I reply firmly, while reading the message. Trent heard about the lecture I’ll give at his university in a couple of weeks about medical treatment studies, new therapies and approaches, and wants to meet up.

I reply with a quick text and then pocket my phone again.

I glance at Uri, noticing how the corner of his mouth has dropped by half an inch, which tells me he’s upset.

“Everything about you is my business.” His gravelly tone confirms what I already know.

How many times have I wished those words were uttered in a romantic, possessive way and not in a brotherly protective one? How irritatingly disappointing.

“Well, since you keep things from me, I’ll do just the same.”

“No, you won’t.” His voice deepens. Some of the people at the table frown. He must notice too, but his tone doesn’t soften. “I won’t let you.”

His forceful statement annoys me even further. “You have a biological brother, Uri. You’ve been looking for him for years, and you never told me or anybody else here about it!” My voice rises the more I speak. Reminding myself I’m in a public place, I add in a lower tone, “I think it’s only fair that I keep a few things to myself.”

“Angel is right. Your bro is a probable maniac, and you didn’t warn us about him.” Lori’s acrimonious words and the look of agreement from the rest of the bros make me wince. I didn’t mean to start an argument.

“This is a private conversation,” Uri hisses.

“It bloody isn’t.” My pleading eyes meet Lori’s, and he adds reluctantly. “But okay. We are not here.” He crosses his fingers over his mouth for a moment in a silent gesture.

“Fuck off, Gremlin!”

Bez’s threatening snarl makes my hair stand. “Careful, Uriel.”

“Tell your fiancé to mind his own fucking business.” Uri doesn’t seem to care about Bez’s wrath. On the contrary, when we were young, he actually tried multiple times to anger Gabe so that his alter, Bez, would come out to defend him. He found Gabe’s multiplicity fascinating.

“You really think he’ll listen?” Gabe utters in his usual flat tone.

“Make him,” Uri responds.

“The fiancé is right bloody here and can hear everything you daft pricks are saying,” Lori barks.

“Go talk somewhere private if you don’t want people to interfere,” Raph states coldly before landing a kiss on Michael’s head. Uri almost bears his teeth at his brother before pulling me up by the arm and dragging me toward the exit.

I reluctantly let him have his way, only because I don’t want to cause another fight. Lately, Uri is more belligerent, easily irked by anything.

“I’ll use you as a swizzle stick if you talk to me like that again.” Lori’s threat makes Uri halt.

I quickly plaster my body against his back and place my hand over his mouth to prevent him from insulting Lori while pushing him forward. It’s not easy since he’s bigger than me, but he resumes walking as he covers my hand with his. I have to grab the front of his shirt as my feet hit the back of his, making me stumble. We finally get out. Uri stops under the awning of the closed shop next door and then spins around until we are facing each other. His hand is still on mine over his mouth. The other flattens on the wall near my head. His long dreads brush his wide shoulders, and his gorgeous hazel-gold eyes seem to sparkle as I almost drown into their depths.

The number of ways to describe him is overflowing my brain. My protector. My best friend. My safe place. My first crush. My earliest morning thought and last nightly dream.

I suddenly feel something wet gliding over my palm, right over the scar I got many years ago the day I solidified the unbreakable blood pact with my brothers. His breath is warm under my hand while his tongue comes out to lick the long pink line once again. I gasp, remembering a few weeks back, the night when he cleaned the blood off my lip, his mouth enveloped my plump flesh, his long, pierced tongue sliding painfully slow. It had been brief and in front of my brothers, but everything Uri does latches onto me, and I can never stop replaying it in my head. Lori called it a suck-a-lip kiss. I honestly don’t think it was a kiss. I didn’t register it properly, though. I was too shocked and too high on the pain from the slap the guy who’d tried to kidnap Lori had given me. Hence the bloody lip.

Uri’s tongue moves again against my skin, I can feel the coldness of the barbell piercing rubbing there. It starts a tingling sensation from my palm up the whole length of my arm. It’s always like this with him. He crosses over the boundaries of our relationship, though remaining firmly near the edge. Like an unmovable force. A permanent fixture in my life. Constant. Immutable.

But something did change—for me—and I can’t go on like this. I can’t stop feeling hurt by his unwillingness to confide in me. I could ask about his biological brother again, but Uri’s tense frame and deepening frown every time I mention it does not speak of a person who wants to talk.

He’s caging me against the wall. The January air is cold around us, but his body radiates all the heat I need. His sandalwood scent fills my lungs, replacing the urban winter mix of exhaust fumes, coffee, and wet asphalt.

I’ve always liked our height difference. Gazing up at him allows me to see the slender line of his throat, the contrast of his large shoulders to his trim waist, the lines of his high cheekbones, the curve of his succulent lips, the way his hairline frames his forehead, and how his ears stick out slightly. From down here, Uri looks like a Greek god, kissed by the sun, filled with vigor and vitality.

He finally pushes my hand away from his mouth but keeps his hold on it, pressing it to the wall. Palm to palm. Scar to scar. His fingers are long and strong around mine.

“Baby Blue.” He only calls me that when we are alone. The nickname has always made me cave in the past—and he knows it. It reminds me of that day many years ago, the first time I saw him, standing in a field of Baby Blue Eyes wildflowers.

“Who. The fuck. Is that colleague?” Uri’s demand shakes the haziness off me.

I won’t bend to him. I don’t want to. “Stop sticking your nose in my life, Uri!”

He pushes his hard body against mine in response. I can feel his torso rising and falling, his heart beating over mine. If he moves one more inch his groin would touch my belly. I close my eyes and let the inappropriate thoughts form as I start panting. His hand tightens around mine, and the slight sting makes me want to purr like an eager cat. More. My head is screaming to stop, but my body won’t listen to it. Every cell is awakened, waiting. Craving.

“That will never happen,” he growls; I feel the rumble of his voice penetrating my skin and reaching down to my bones.

I open my eyes when I feel his breath over my cheek. He’s so close now. A part of me called inner hopeless dumbass still hopes he’ll lower his head and kiss me. His nostrils are flaring, burning gaze studying me. His beard is just barely long enough to be called one, but I wonder how it would feel against my skin.

When nothing happens after a minute, I swallow the bitter disappointment once again and turn my head to the right, avoiding his dark, piercing gaze.

“What do you want from me?” I whisper. Why does he keep doing this to me?

“You still don’t know?” The piercing rises with his eyebrow.

I grit my teeth. “Know? You are the one who kept me in the dark about everything. Don’t you trust me?”

“You didn’t need to know. It was for your own protection.”

Didn’t need to know? “I’m not weak. I’m not your defenseless little brother anymore!” I clip.

“Brother?” His bitter laugh sounds even more menacing accompanied by the wicked intentions I think I see glimmering in those deep eyes. His hand leaves the wall, and I tremble all over fantasizing about the feeling of it around my neck. But I’m wrong. His fingers land on the zipper of my white cashmere sweater, starting to drag it up.

Such a small thing, such a Uri thing to do. Always so attentive toward me, it usually makes me smile. I swallow my one-sided desire and let my head touch the wall behind me as I try to stop the roaring thoughts inside it. Sometimes I wish he could actually read them just to put a solid end to this unrequited love. He could shift through them, find the root, and eradicate it all, because I sure as hell can’t.

“It seems I’ve been too lenient with you.”

The heaviness of his gaze, that one hundred percent intensity he focuses on me is unnerving on top of exciting right now. It takes a moment, a long one, for me to focus on his words rather than the large, firm lips producing them. My brain gets all slow and weird when he is too close to me.

I frown at his following statement, feeling a sting between my eyes. “Trying to push me away is futile, Baby Blue.”

His controlling behavior and overprotectiveness are clear sociopathic traits. They aren’t brought out by love or affection. I’m one of his precious possessions, like his guns or his chain of restaurants. As soon as I start moving away, he shows this over-the-top annoyance—only because it’s my decision, my doing. Not his. He does what he wants while I have to remain nearby where he can keep an eye on me and I can follow his demands.

It all started because of what I went through as a kid. After Linda and Meg saved me, I used to feel as if I was just drifting through life without actually being an active participant in it. I was too scared, too fragile and hopeless to keep going. Uri’s strong will pulled me out of the drowning waters and took charge. He made me feel like I belonged—with him. I was grateful as I slowly found my way with him by my side. Developing passionate feelings toward him was something I’d never envisioned, but it was the most easily foreseen result.

After years of waiting in vain for him to see me as more, though, I finally found the strength to move on. I can’t keep wishing for something that’ll never happen. But it’s impossible to move forward if he keeps pulling me back in.

“Uri, you need to let go. Please.” Let me go, I almost beg him.

His jaw ticks, and for a moment, I almost convince myself it’s raw desire interlaced with undiluted fury filling his eyes.

Before taking me back inside the diner, he leans even closer. So close his face turns blurry and one of his dreads brushes my cheek. His intoxicating scent invades my lungs, his warm breath bathes my lips as he utters darkly, “Nobody will take you away from me. Not even yourself. Just accept it, Baby Blue.”

Sudden heat explodes inside my gut, rushing further down, even though his words have never sounded more ominous to me. Or maybe because of that.