Going in Deep (Billionaire Bad Boys 4)

“That’s great,” Nick said.

“She sends her love to everyone and said she hopes to see you all soon.”

“Can I be ’scused?” Brian asked. “I want to watch TV.”

“Sure,” Lauren said. “Go wash up and I’ll come check on you in a little while.”

He ran out of the room and Nick shook his head. “I can’t wait until we can send him out back to expend some of that energy in a yard.”

“I don’t blame you,” Julian said.

“Lauren, can I help you clean up?” Kendall started to rise, but Lauren shook her head.

“No, please. You’re my guest.”

“No. I insist.”

The other woman smiled. “And I’d do the same thing. Fine. You can help me clear the table, but that’s it. Boys, go talk. We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“I think I can manage to move my plate across the room,” Julian said.

They worked together, and soon enough, the sink was full and Lauren insisted she’d clean later.

After another half hour of talk in the living room, Julian rose. “It’s time for us to get going.”

Good-byes were said, Lauren promising to come visit her at the shelter, and soon they were out on the street.

“My apartment isn’t far from here. Want to head there and talk?” Julian asked. “I’m sure you have questions about Alyssa.”

His previously unmentioned sister. “I do,” Kendall said, but she wasn’t sure being alone with him at his place was the right thing to do.

She looked in his serious green eyes and found herself nodding. Because when had she ever been smart when it came to Julian Dane?

* * *

Julian now lived in a nicer building on the West Side, his apartment in a better area courtesy of his settlement with Blink. Although there were many things he felt guilty about, the settlement money ultimately wasn’t one of them because he had been in on the ground floor of creating the app. Many of the core elements had been Julian’s idea.

He might have crapped out on his friends in the end, but he deserved a small piece of the very large pie. The bulk of the money he’d received, he’d used to pay off the debts accumulated during the years after Alyssa’s car accident.

In reality, it had been his mother’s car accident that caused his sister’s traumatic brain injury. He rarely talked about it, but he owed Kendall answers for his past behavior, and ripping open this particular vein was the only way to provide them.

They walked into his apartment, and Steve greeted them from his crate, prancing in circles, whining at the sight of them.

“Hey, man!” Julian let him out and accepted the nudging on his legs and the jumping, which ended with the dog’s front legs and paws stretched against him. “Need a walk?” he asked the dog.

“That’s rhetorical,” he said, glancing at Kendall. “Want to come with me?”

“Sure thing.” She was used to putting the dog’s needs first, before settling herself.

He hooked Steve up to his leash and took him for a walk, during which their conversation was light. He obviously was saving the heavy stuff, and Kendall respected that. They returned to the apartment after half an hour, and he let Steve roam free. The dog grabbed a toy bone and settled into a corner by the couch. She was happy to see he’d settled in so well.

Kendall chose the corner of the sofa, while Julian walked to the big floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the street, up high enough to be private and give him a spectacular view of the city. He leaned against the glass and stared out until his vision blurred.

She knew he’d talk when he was ready, and she sat in silence, waiting.

“My father walked out when I was nine. About a year after my sister was born,” he said, starting at the beginning.

“Wow, there are so many years between you. Lexie and I are, like, minutes apart. Both aren’t typical.”