Unspoken Vow (Steele Brothers 2)

“That doesn’t mean anything. There are high-functioning addicts everywhere.”

“Yeah, I know that, but what’s surprising is a guy like that gets locked up and becomes clean.”

“Isn’t that the point of incarceration?”

“Yes, and no. Seriously, it’s practically easier to get your hands on drugs behind bars than it is on the street. Someone who was as addicted to ice as this guy claimed he was, there’d be about an eighty percent chance of relapsing in prison. But his record shows nothing. No paraphernalia, no drug busts. Only one weapon discovery during a random cell search which cost him his chance at early parole.”

Thankfully. I wondered about that when I saw he’d been given a six-year sentence. He’s been eligible for parole for three.

“It’s not impossible that he turned it around,” Rachel says.

“I know it’s not. It’s just … unlikely.”

“Maybe he has had drugs but has been lucky enough not to get caught. What’s your point?”

“It’s only a hunch, but I think Kyle was never a drug addict. I think he’s an angry, possessive asshole who mentally groomed Anders for years to be his pet, and when Anders refused to take his shit anymore and broke up with him, Kyle lost his head and attacked him. He fled the scene, called his lawyer—who according to work files wasn’t Dad but another lawyer at first—and then went and got high.”

“Why though?”

“To push for a lighter charge. Turning up to Anders’ apartment with the intent to hurt him would’ve been premeditated attempted murder. A crime of passion? One that occurs because of intoxication? The charge becomes reduced to aggravated assault. Instead of twenty-five years or more, he got six. Six years, Rach.”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but you’re basing a lot of this on gut instinct. A gut instinct that’s highly infatuated with the victim.”

“I know, but the whole case doesn’t sit right with me. Something doesn’t ring true.”

“Maybe this is why lawyers don’t try cases of loved ones. Even if the case was fucked up, there’s nothing you can do now, right?”

I slump in defeat. “No, there isn’t. He’s been convicted for that crime. He can’t be charged for it again. I don’t know why I’m obsessing over it.”

My sister’s arms wrap around me. “Because the guy you love is going through a difficult time and you feel helpless. I get it.”

“I don’t … it’s not …” But I can’t really say it’s not love, can I?

I haven’t felt this way about anyone, maybe not even Reed. I thought I loved him, and even though he gave me the same gut feelings and swarming butterflies and a need to be close to him, it was nowhere near as intense as what it’s like with Anders.

The front door to the apartment opening has my heart stuttering, and when Anders appears, it stops completely.

Then it plummets into my stomach. Because the guy standing in the entryway isn’t Anders at all.

Even if Anders had cut his longish hair, shaved, and regrew scruff in the few days it’s been since I’ve seen him, this guy has something else about him that’s uniquely … not Anders.

Holy shit, I’m under the same dick spell Reed’s under.

“Hey,” Law says.

“I’m guessing Anders isn’t with you.”

“Holy shit!” Rachel exclaims. “This is the brother?”

Law stands awkwardly, shuffling from one foot to the other. “I’m the brother. And I’m, umm, here to get some of Anders’ things.”

“Some?” I ask.

Law looks away from me as he says, “All.”

I stand from the kitchen table, my laptop still open on the documents I technically shouldn’t have, so I quickly shut the lid before facing off with Law. “You can’t. He can’t end it like this.”

“I told him that, but he’s not in a good place.”

“Is it because I messaged him? I’ll back off more, I’ll—”

“It’s not. Or maybe it is, I don’t know. He’s slipping into old habits. He’s not sleeping, not eating, and he’s barely leaving his room. He …”

“He what?”

“He isn’t going into work.”

“Fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do?” I ask. “I need to fix it. Make him better. I need to … I don’t know. I need to—”

“Let him go.”

“No,” Rachel says for me. “No, he can’t do that. Anders makes Brody better. More human and less robotic. He can’t walk away.” She turns to me. “Tell him your theory. The ex-boyfriend was a lying dickface.”

Did she not hear the part of losing my law license?

Law looks pensive. “He is a lying dickface, yes. I agree with that statement. But you have a theory?”

“Umm, yeah, just from the court records.”

“And he contacted the prison pretending to be Kyle’s lawyer so he could have the prison records sent over—”

“Rachel,” I scold.

Law folds his arms, but I can’t tell if he’s pissed or not. His face is neutral. “Why did you do that?”