Unable to control my anger a moment longer, I drew my hand into a fist and plowed it into his jaw, sending him flailing backward onto the front steps. His head slammed against the door as he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
I was still blinded with rage and couldn’t resist the urge to lean down and punch him again. I was about to hit him a third time when the front door flew open, and Callie came rushing out and knelt down next to Camden, shielding him with her hands as she shrieked, “Stop! Please, stop!”
“Do you know?”
“Do I know what?” she gasped.
“That he’s married?”
“He doesn’t love her.” She looked over at Camden adoringly. “Not the way he loves me. We are his family. We’re the ones who really matter to him.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath. “You’re just as fucked up as he is. You two deserve one another.”
I couldn’t take it a second longer. I had to get the hell out of there before I lost my fucking mind. Without saying anything more, I turned around, charged over to my bike, and sped off.
I was dreading telling Mia about what I’d found out, but I had to talk to her—and soon. The last thing I needed was for Camden to get to her first and to twist things around, so I headed straight to their house.
Along the way, I couldn’t stop thinking about the moment Callie opened that fucking door. Just seeing her standing there with her round pregnant belly and her son at her side got to me in a way I hadn’t expected. I’d read about them both in Menace’s file, but I didn’t want to believe it.
I didn’t want to believe that my brother—my fucking twin brother—could be so fucking selfish. I wouldn’t have believed it now if I hadn’t seen it with my own fucking eyes. Our parents didn’t even know they had a grandson and another on the way. The whole thing was fucked up.
As far as I was concerned, Camden was no longer family.
He was dead to me, and nothing was going to change that.
I had no idea how Mia would take the news, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good. Dread washed over me as I pulled into the driveway and parked. I removed my helmet, and by the time I got off my Harley, Mia had come out to greet me.
“Hey, Thatch. I didn’t know—” Before she finished her thought, her mouth fell open, and she gasped. “Your beard.”
“Yeah, I gave it a bit of trim.” I ran my hand over my jaw, feeling the prickle of my five o’clock shadow against my palm. “I figured it was time for a change.”
Mia’s eyes were wide, and her cheeks flushed. “I think it looks great.”
“Glad you like it.” Worried that time wasn’t on my side, I decided to cut right to the chase and said, “Sorry for just showing up here unannounced like this, but we need to talk.”
“Oh?” She studied me for a moment, then inhaled a quick breath. “Oh, God. It’s Camden. I was right. He’s cheating on me, isn’t he?”
“Let’s not get into it out here.” I motioned my head towards the door. “Let’s go inside, have some coffee, and I’ll tell you what I found.”
Mia turned and started back towards the house. I followed her into the living room and sat down next to her on the sofa. She was wearing a tan sweatshirt with baggy sweats and oversized socks, and her hair was down and curled, framing her delicate face. Clearly anxious, she drew her knees up to her chest as she said, “Okay, let’s hear it.”
“You know me. I’ve always been one who believes in rippin’ off the bandage, so I’m just gonna tell it like it is.” I cleared my throat. “You were right about Camden cheating, but it’s more involved than that.”
“More involved how?”
“They’ve got a place together out in Englewood. They’ve had it for almost five years now.”
“Oh.”
“There’s more. He’s got a son. He’s one, maybe two.” The blood drained from her face, and I feared she might get sick as I continued, “And he’s got another one on the way.”
“Oh, my God,” Mia cried. “This can’t be right. Cheating is one thing, but this? This is too much.”
“I went there. I talked to him.”
Anguish marked her face as she asked, “What did he say?”
“He basically said he had the affair because he thought you were in love with me.”
She didn’t gasp. She didn’t ask me to repeat myself. She didn’t stand up and shout that he’d lost his ever-loving mind. Instead, she just sat there staring at me with a blank expression on her face. “Oh, I always wondered if he knew.”
“What the hell are you saying?”