From Friend to Fake Fiancé

Stunned at his brother’s gruff, put-off tone, Mac watched as Braden passed right by and went down to the first floor. Something was terribly wrong and Mac wasn’t leaving until he had answers.

He had zero tolerance for games or for Braden’s moodiness. Mac had his own host of issues. Namely the fact he’d fallen for his best friend and now he had to figure out how the hell to keep his distance. Crawling away from her warm body that morning had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. But as he’d lain there with her body tucked against his, he knew he needed to move on for her own good. He’d seen that look in her eyes, knew that when she’d said “always” she meant it literally. She hadn’t just gotten swept away in the moment.

Mac pushed aside the confusion and fear over his emotions and followed Braden into the study on the first floor. Braden circled the oversized mahogany desk and sank into the leather chair behind it. Standing back, Mac watched as Braden rested his elbows on the desktop and held his head in his hands.

Whatever was going on was serious and personal.

“Braden—”

“We lost the baby.”

Mac froze. The baby? What...oh, no. Zara had been pregnant? And she’d lost the baby?

With slow, careful steps, Mac approached the desk. No wonder Braden had been out of commission for days. He’d been dealing with a new level of hell.

“I don’t know what to do for her,” Braden went on. “She’s upstairs sleeping now, but she just cries all the time.”

Mac rounded the desk and eased a hip on the edge. Looking down at his always strong, always in charge brother and seeing him so broken and miserable was crushing.

“I had no idea, Braden. I’m sorry.”

Braden pushed away from the desk and fell back against the cushioned leather. “I didn’t want to get into this with a text or phone call. I didn’t even know how to cope or to say the words out loud. We’d just found out last week that she was pregnant, and were waiting to get everyone together to make an announcement.”

In the span of a week Braden’s entire life had changed. Mac completely understood how that worked. Suddenly Mac’s issue seemed so insignificant in comparison.

“What can I do?” Mac asked.

Shaking his head, Braden finally met his gaze. “There’s nothing. We’ll get through this.”

Mac had no idea what to say to make any of this easier for Braden. And Zara? He couldn’t even imagine what she was going through.

“Tell me what happened with Ryker,” Braden said, raking a hand over his face. The stubble beneath his palm rustled. “I hope you took care of whatever he needed.”

Mac gritted his teeth and swallowed. Making that judgment call had never come easy, but he couldn’t be sorry and he didn’t do regrets. Regrets wouldn’t change the facts and Mac never believed in looking back.

“We took care of things.”

Braden’s tired gaze narrowed. “What’s that mean?”

Mac came to his feet and paced to the stained-glass window behind the desk. He shoved his hands into his pockets and debated how much he should tell Braden. Normally this would be a nonissue, but given all that Braden was dealing with, Mac worried the news would be too much.

“Ryker has a good lead on the scrolls,” Mac started, keeping his back to Braden. “I haven’t heard back from him regarding them, so he’s still chasing that tip. If it was a dead end, we’d know.”

“So what aren’t you telling me?”

On a sigh, Mac glanced over his shoulder. “Shane attempted to toss his pathetic power around.”

“How?” Braden asked, brows drawn in.

“He intercepted a package that’s due for the auction I have coming up in Miami. Nothing we acquired for a client, but he did it to prove he could.” Which still pissed Mac off. “He showed up in London and wasn’t subtle about following Ryker around.”

Braden slammed his hand down on the desk. “He’s determined to keep coming at us. Does he think we see him as a threat? Maybe it’s time I meet with him face-to-face. Settle this and let him know who exactly is in charge now.”

Damn. This was the part he didn’t want to tell Braden. “Shane won’t be a problem anymore.”

Braden’s gaze held on to Mac’s. Acknowledgment flashed through his eyes, the muscle in his jaw clenched. “Ryker made this call?”

Mac squared his shoulders. “I did.”