Tyler (Inked Brotherhood 2)

“Mommy?” he says in his tiny, sleepy voice, and I kiss his hair.

“Let’s get inside, sweetie, where’s it warmer. I want you to meet someone.”

Jax blinks his dark eyes at me and glances around. I pull on his hood, lock the car and walk to the glass door. The chimes jingle overhead as I step through, into the warmth, and my gaze automatically goes to the desk.

On which Asher is sitting, his face stormy. Audrey stands next to him, her mouth downturned. Zane and Rafe are talking in low tones outside a booth, Zane stabbing his finger in the air for emphasis at regular intervals.

“Hey, guys,” I say, and all heads snap in my direction. “Where’s Tyler?”

“You.” Asher hops off the desk, his icy eyes boring into me. “Did you enjoy hurting my brother?”

“Hurting him?” I take a step back, the blood draining from my face. “Where is he?”

“He left on his bike hours ago, since you were going to be with Jax, after all.”

What the…? Jax stirs in my arms, but my hold on him tightens.

“Zane… You told him?” I whisper.

Zane’s eyes are flat. “I didn’t, though I was tempted. He overheard Audrey talking to Tessa on the phone.”

Crap. “Is he okay? Have you tried calling him?”

“He isn’t answering his phone.”

Zane pulls his cell from his back pocket, glances at it, shoves it back in. “He took it harder than I expected. Then again, I didn’t know you two had gotten closer while I was away.”

God.

“What’s your deal anyway?” Asher paces up and down. “Why not tell him you’re not interested?”

“And since when do you care about your brother getting hurt?” I ask before my mouth catches up with my brain.

A dark scowl settles over his face, and his hands fist.

“Ash…” Audrey steps in Asher’s path and slides her arms around him. “Stop.”

He does, surprisingly.

I suck in a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” I say.

“Sorry.” He says it without inflection, which is even more chilling than his anger before.

I force my voice not to wobble, despite this mess. “Sorry for what I said. Sorry for being so awful to you, Asher. I was wrong, and—”

“Mommy,” Jax whispers plaintively and wraps his little arms around my neck. His hood is falling back, baring his wild dark curls.

“Mommy?” Zane echoes and strides across the room, stopping a few feet away from me. “Erin…”

Asher has paled and is crushing Audrey to him. Her green eyes are round like coins. Rafe is staring at me as if I’ve grown antennae, and Zane… his gaze is full of questions.

“Who is this little guy?” he asks softly.

I blow a wisp of hair out of my eyes and suck in a deep breath. “Everyone, this is Jax.”

***

“Look at him.” Audrey brushes a lock of dark hair off Jax’s forehead, a smile to her ears. “Isn’t he the cutest thing?”