BRADY
Spottinga familiar face I haven’t seen in a while, I head over to a round table in a darkened corner. Instead of taking the seat directly opposite the man, which would put my back facing the crowded bar, I take a seat to his right.
“Carter Beckett. Long time, no see,” I comment, setting my beer down on the table.
Carter and I were in the same grade in school and hung out with the same crowd. He left for college and never moved back to Silver Falls. I’ve only seen him a few times over the years when he would visit his parents and younger brother.
He flashes me a grin. “Brady. Damn, man.” He holds his hand out, and we shake. “It feels like it’s been ages. How have you been?”
“I’ve been better. I heard you were back in town. You here for good?”
“Yeah. With the shit that went down with my dad and Mark, I figured Mom would need me close.”
A few months ago, it came out that Carter’s dad, who was the mayor of Silver Falls, and his younger brother, Mark, were part of a child sex trafficking ring. They’re also being charged with sexual assault against a minor. Sam, the child they abused, is the younger brother of the girlfriend of Silver Falls’ recently retired priest, Wesley, who is also Camila’s brother. Apparently, the abuse had been going on for years. Mayor Beckett and Mark threatened to hurt Sam’s sister, Jersey, if he told anyone. Years ago, Jersey and Sam were put into separate foster homes when their parents died. Jersey didn’t discover the abuse until she went to visit Sam one day at the mayor’s house and saw the marks on his body after Mark brutally raped him. The news was a shock to us all, but none more so than Carter and his mother, neither of whom had any knowledge of what was going on.
I take a swig of my beer, relishing the bitter hops going down my throat. “How’s your mom holding up?”
“About as you’d expect. She tries to hide it, but I know how much it hurts not being able to see Sam. I don’t blame the kid for not wanting anything to do with either one of us right now, and she doesn’t either. But it still hurts.” He picks up one of the four shot glasses he has in front of him and tosses it back. “I was already out of the house by the time Sam came along, so I didn’t get the chance to know him that well. But Mom loves him. She was excited when they decided to foster him. The empty nest syndrome, or whatever it’s called, hit her hard when I moved out.”
“Give him time. I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“Yeah.” He stares down at the empty shot glass, twists it around and around. “So, what about you? You still married to that bitch?”
Carter doesn’t know the full story behind my marriage to Addison, only that I was forced to marry her and my hatred toward her.
“Unfortunately.”
“Shit, Brady. I figured you would have already split from her by now.”
I chug back half of my beer before I set it back down with a little more force than I intended. “It’s not that simple. This whole fucking situation is a bitch.”
With his mouth on the rim of another shot glass, he grunts. “Just another reminder why I’ll never hitch my ass to a woman.” He tosses the shot back then grimaces. “Too much hassle and not enough reward.”
Something out of the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I swivel my head that way. My slacks become instantly tighter when I spot Camila walking over to an empty table across the room. Two of her sisters are with her; Penelope and Harley, along with Bryan Erikson’s fiancée, Charlotte. Although the three sisters are three parts of a quad and they look alike in many ways, there’s enough different distinguishing qualities about them that I’ve never had trouble telling them apart.
As if she feels my gaze on her, Camila looks up and meets my eyes. Surprise flickers in them for a moment before they flare with something that has my cock growing even more. My first instinct is to go to her. To yank her against my body and claim her lips. Then drag her out of Whiskey’s to a more private location where I can do wicked things to her body.
Of course, I can’t do that, and it fucking sucks.
“I see I’m not the only one who likes to appreciate the Adair quads.”
Carter’s comment pulls my attention back to him. I shoot him a censoring look. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“You’re so full of shit.” He laughs while he throws back another shot. “So, which one is it?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to lie, but decide at the last minute to give him the truth. Why the hell not? It’s not like he’ll go blabbing his mouth to anyone. He’s got enough skeletons in his closet that he has no right to talk.
“Camila,” I state.
His eyes move back to the women before they return to me. “She’s the one in the blue dress, right?”
“Yes,” I grunt.
“You sleeping with her?” he asks, rather bluntly.
It’s one thing to admit my interest in another woman, but an entirely different one to say I’m sleeping with her.
I hold his stare, neither confirming nor denying it. Understanding dawns in his eyes and he holds his remaining shot up, tipping it to me before throwing it back. “Fair enough.”