Buttons and Shame (Buttons 4)

Since Pearl never left the fortress, I doubted it was her.

Crow looked up at me, a hard expression on his face. The last time we spoke, he threw me out of his house like I was a homeless man begging for food. It didn’t matter if we shared Barsetti blood. When it came to his woman, I was scum.

I knew I fucked up, so I couldn’t blame him too much. But he needed to get over it.

Barsettis were stubborn.

I fell into the chair facing his desk and scoured the room for a big bottle of scotch. I knew it was hiding somewhere, probably in one of the drawers of that enormous desk.

Crow finished up his conversation before he hung up. “Yes?”

“Hello. It’s great to see you too.”

Crow’s eyebrows were still furrowed with displeasure. Sometimes I wondered what Pearl saw in him. He just looked pissed all the time, if you asked me. “What is it, Cane?”

“Your wife nick your dick with her teeth this morning or something?”

Now his displeasure turned into a full-blown glare. “Don’t test me, Cane. I’m not in the mood.”

“So that’s a yes, then?”

Like a bear that had been provoked, he tensed his shoulders like he was about to attack.

“Alright, enough with the jokes. Can we bury the hatchet?”

“There’s not enough dirt in the earth to bury our hatchet, Cane. You know it. Just stay away from my wife unless I’m present. You want me to play nice? Then do as I ask.”

I rolled my eyes because I wasn’t afraid of my brother. Sure, he’d shot me once before, but I deserved it. “Fine. If that’s how it has to be, that’s how it has to be. But I think you’re being a little psycho about it. Pearl agrees with me.”

“Pearl’s opinion is irrelevant.”

I called his bluff immediately. “Bullshit. We both know it.”

He leaned back into the chair and rested his fingertips against his cheek. Despite how calm he appeared, I recognized the threat deep in his eyes. Crow was intimidating, even to me—sometimes. There was something about him that put people on edge. He was an excellent partner to have. I wouldn’t want anyone else watching my back.

I dropped the humor and turned serious, laying all my cards out on the table. “I don’t want it to be this way, brother. Pearl means a lot to me. I’d walk over fire for that woman. I’d give my life for her, and you know it.”

“I don’t doubt any of that.”

My brother knew I didn’t lie. If I said something, I meant it. I was too honest. In fact, I was honest to a fault. I offended a lot of people with the shit that flew out of my mouth. “Then let’s move on. I don’t want to spend every waking hour with Pearl, but on the rare occasions you aren’t around, I’d like to feel welcome. She’s a Barsetti—as am I.”

“No.”

Man, my brother was an asshole. “Get over it, Crow. It was a long time ago.”

“If I hadn’t walked in, she would have died.”

Yeah, probably. “Different circumstances.”

He gave a slight shake of the head. “I don’t give a shit, Cane. Pearl might sweep it under the rug, but I certainly won’t.”

The incident seemed to be more of a problem now than it was when it happened. Now that they were married, he was more ferocious, more protective. “And it’s just going to be like this for the rest of our lives?”

“Yes.” He held my look, cold and calculating.

“You’re a psychopath, Crow.”

The insult didn’t offend him in the slightest. “I’m aware.”

My brother was such a pain in the ass. “After everything the three of us have been through, this is how it’s going to be?” Pearl put her neck on the line to save me, a gesture I’d never forget. I was more loyal to her than to my own brother. Together, we managed to take out Bones and his henchmen, avenging Vanessa for what that monster had done to her. But none of that mattered to him.

“Yes.”

I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this man, so I moved on. “I’m meeting Tristan tomorrow in Marseille. He has a few contacts that require assistance.” As if the previous conversation never happened, we switched into our business affairs.

Crow retained his coldness, but he no longer seemed irritated. “When?”

“Late afternoon. I’m flying out in the morning.”

“Going to make a vacation out of it?”

“No. Just business.” With Bones out of the picture, we had more work to do. Maintaining dominance in a saturated market was tough work. People were anxious to get ahead—at any cost.

“Let me know how it goes.”

“I will. We just got a shipment from the United States. High-quality stuff.”

“I’ll come by and take a look this afternoon.”

Crow was still involved with the business but not nearly as much anymore. I suspected he would give it up entirely one day. I hoped that never happened because he was an excellent partner. People feared our family name, especially since there were two of us. It wouldn’t be the same without him. “Good to know.” I rose out of the chair since the conversation seemed to be over. We were both men of few words. “Let me know what you think.”