Addicted (Ethan Frost 2)

sending my brother sprawling onto the floor forcefully enough that he cracks his head on the hardwood.

“Stop it!” I’m yelling now as I get between the two of them. “Come on, Miles, please. What is wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me?” Miles climbs back to his feet. “I’m trying to defend you against this bastard. Do you even know who he is?”

“He’s my boyfriend. Of course I know who he is.”

“No! That’s why I’ve been trying to call you for the last three weeks! If you’d return my damn phone calls every once in a while, I wouldn’t have had to fly all the way out here to talk to you. Ethan Frost is Brandon Jacobs’s—”

“Brother. Yes, I know who he is.”

It’s Miles’s turn to gape. “You knew?” I don’t think he could look more shocked if I pulled out a gun and shot someone. “And you’re with him anyway?” A moment of silence, then, “Are you crazy? Or is this just another attempt to punish yourself?”

My first instinct is to jump down his throat, to tell him to mind his own business. But even though it’s been three years since I last saw him, he came out here to warn me because he was worried about me. Though I don’t want it to, that counts for something in the running tally I’m keeping in my head between my family and me.

Before I can say anything, though, Ethan jumps in. “Chloe, are you going to introduce me or am I just supposed to guess who this clown is?” His voice is low and his eyes are narrowed dangerously. That’s when it hits me that he’s flying blind here. He has no idea who Miles is, other than the guy who punched him in the face and who it appears is trying to break us up. No wonder he looks murderous.

“I’m sorry, Ethan. This is Miles Pierce. My brother.”

“Don’t apologize to this guy, Chloe. He’s scum.”

“Stop it, Miles!”

“What do you want me to say, Chloe? That I’m happy to find you here, with him? After everything his family has put you through?”

“His family,” I say angrily. “Not him.”

“Does it really matter?” my brother sneers. “When they’re that rich, they’re all the same.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Ethan demands quietly. “You, of all people, don’t get to come in here and get Chloe all upset.”

“I’m the one getting Chloe upset?”

Ethan steps in front of me, arms crossed over his chest and an implacable look that I’ve only ever seen on his face during business meetings. “That’s what it looks like to me.”

“Screw you, Frost. What are you doing fucking around with my sister anyway? She’s definitely not your usual type.”

His voice implies that I’m not hot enough—not exactly a shock considering my own thoughts on the matter—but for the first time, Ethan loses it. He puts a hand on my brother’s shoulder and squeezes hard enough to have Miles wincing. “This is Chloe’s apartment and you’re Chloe’s brother, so I’m not going to tell you to leave. But you need to watch what you say or when you finally do leave, it’s going to be in pieces.”

“God, you really are a barbarian, aren’t you? It must be nice to have so much money that nobody gives a shit how you act.”

“And here I was just thinking the same about you. All money, no conscience. Why the hell else would you be coming in here and trying to kick your sister while she’s down?” Ethan’s face is totally deadpan, but his barb slams home.

Miles blanches, stutters over his tongue and his feet, even if he is standing still.

“All right, that’s it!” I tell them. “Miles, you need to settle down—”

“I need to settle down? You’re the one sleeping with the enemy. After everything his brother did to you, after everything his parents did, why would you hook up with him? If you needed money that badly, you know you could have come to me. I’ve wanted to help—”

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Ethan growls. His jaw is working at the implication, his hands clenching into fists and I know he wants to lash out. Hell, he has every right to … After everything my brother has said and done in the last five minutes I pretty much figure it’s a miracle that he’s still able to stand, let alone talk. Ethan wouldn’t take this from anyone else and I know the only thing keeping my brother in one piece right now is the fact that Ethan doesn’t want to upset me any more.

But it’s a tenuous protection, one that I can see is wearing thin. Especially when Ethan seems to think that Miles is ignoring his warning. “Seriously, Chloe. Getting that internship isn’t worth this. Law school—”

I see the moment Ethan snaps. He steps forward, reaches for my brother again, but before he can so much as grab on to him, Tori’s voice rings through the apartment. “Get out!”

All three of us turn to stare at her incredulously. Her face is white with fury, and she’s pushed herself off the couch. The green hair and halter top she’s wearing should ruin the intimidation factor, but she’s shaking with so much suppressed fury that she makes quite an impact. “Get the hell out!”

“Tori,” I say, appreciating the support but wanting desperately to diffuse the situation. “He’s just—”