Broderick (Sabine Valley 2)

Tied up in his bed…

For three weeks?

I haven’t seen Jasper since the first time the Brides gathered after Lammas, but surely Ezekiel doesn’t mean he’s literally had the man tied to his bed this entire time?

“And Beatrix?” Cohen’s voice is terrifyingly even.

“Tied to my bed, too.” Ezekiel snorts. “Did you think I’d let her run around freely?”

It’s Maddox who pushes slowly to his feet. “You have an Amazon and a Mystic tied up in your bed, and they’ve been there for three fucking weeks? Are you out of your fucking mind? That constitutes torture, and it will violate the handfasting your brothers worked so hard to put into place.”

I glance at the door, but moving right now means bringing attention to myself. Better to just sit still and wait this out. Selfishly, I’m glad that Ezekiel is getting their full attention—and taking it off me. There was a time in my life when I desperately wanted siblings, but conversations like this remind me that it’s not a bad thing to be an only child.

Not to mention, it meant I was the only one who suffered through my parents’ abuse.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ezekiel sounds completely unconcerned. “They’re fine.”

“No, Zeke. I’m going to fucking worry about it.” Cohen’s still speaking softly. On anyone else, that would be reassuring. With Cohen, it means he’s a breath away from violence. “We cannot let anything jeopardize this peace until we’re ready for it to end. You’re setting us up to repeat history with both the Amazon and Mystic factions coming for our heads.”

Maddox curses. “I knew it was a mistake to give you Jasper as your Bride. You have too much history together.”

“Mind your own fucking business.” Ezekiel says it mildly, but his hand drifts to his hip.

Best guess, he has some kind of weapon stashed there. If he attacks Maddox, Cohen will beat the shit out of him. If it were any of the other Paine brothers, I’d keep my mouth shut, but Cohen is unpredictable. Especially where Maddox is concerned. I don’t believe for a second he’d kill Ezekiel, but I also don’t know if he’d stop before his brother is a bloody pulp, and that’s a mess I have no interest in cleaning up.

I cross my legs, drawing their attention. “Beatrix came here of her own choice.”

Cohen stares. “And?”

She’s a fool, but no one in this room will thank me for pointing it out. I can’t imagine facing the choice she did, where her partner was taken from her by a man who used to be their best friend. Beatrix and Jasper aren’t married, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they were. A Bridal handfasting supersedes all previous relationships and completely nullifies them. Theoretically, the Bride could go back to their spouse after the year is over, but it’s a tangled situation no matter which way you look at it.

I can’t say I’d make a different choice in her situation, but that doesn’t change the fact that she made a shitty one. She should have stayed free instead of offering herself up as yet another hostage and effectively putting the safety of the entire Paine faction in Ezekiel’s unhinged hands.

He wasn’t always like this. I joined up with the Paine brothers in the first year after they were driven out of Sabine Valley. Back then, Ezekiel was sweet. A kind man who went through a traumatic event. But, as the years passed and information from Sabine Valley came in bits and pieces, I watched him cut off those soft parts of himself and offer them up on the altar of vengeance. When he heard that Jasper and Beatrix had made their relationship official?

He went cold, and he’s never come back.

Still, even Ezekiel has lines left.

I hope.

I steel my spine and hold his gaze. “Are you torturing them?”

His lips quirk in what, on any other man, might be called a smile. “They’re paying penance.” When I just stare, he relents. “No permanent harm is being done.”

Maddox tenses, and I make a show of rolling my eyes. When facing down a predator, it’s vital to never show fear. I keep my voice nice and even. “Did they consent to paying penance, Ezekiel?”

He stares, trying to intimidate me with his cold amber eyes. I regularly deal with Cohen, so I’m used to that thousand-yard stare. I simply wait. Finally, he curses. “Yes.”

Immediately, Cohen and Maddox relax. Maddox finally says, “Keep an eye on Jasper. If he says or does anything that might be useful—”

“His only use is as a hostage.” Ezekiel pushes to his feet. “If we’re done here?”

“Go,” Cohen bites out.

We sit silently for a long moment after the door slams behind him. Maddox grips Cohen’s shoulder, the smallest touch, the tiniest reassurance. It speaks to how rattled both of them are that they let even this small moment slip by in the presence of another person. Normally, they keep things strictly business in public.