Page 424 of Summer Heat
It was so obvious that he never would. Especially that first day he brought me home.
The moment I thought I could relax, I met the last brother.
Daniel.
Tyler knocked on the door to his room, tapping out song lyrics and telling him to open up.
I remember exactly the way my polish had chipped on my thumbnail. I’m a nervous picker and I was busy chipping away at it when the door opened.
“What?” The word came out hard and my body stilled. I could feel the anger coming off of him from being interrupted.
He gripped the doorframe, which made his shoulders and height seem that much more intimidating. It was his toned muscles and the dark stubble lining his upper throat and jaw that let me know he was older.
And the heat in his stare as he let his gaze wander to where I stood that let me know I wasn’t welcome.
That was the first time Daniel made me feel the sam
e way I do now.
And the first time I knew I’d never love Tyler the way he deserved.
But I stayed with him. Deep inside I know it’s because a very large part of me wanted Daniel to want me back. I wanted Daniel to want me the way that I instantly wanted him.
Chapter 4
Daniel
The back door to Iron Heart Brewery is propped open a couple inches with a brick. There’s a small stack of them next to the dumpster and I’ve seen a few of them used for a number of things.
The door creaks open slowly as I take a look to my left and right. It’s pitch black out now and deserted. It’s been four hours since I left. Enough time to pass for me to get my shit together and figure out what it is that I want and how I’m going to handle this.
The entire town is quiet now that everything on Lincoln Street is closed.
I sneak in the back, hearing the clinking of glass around the corner and past the stockroom. The fresh scent of hoppy beer in this place never gets old.
I’ve only been here a couple months and I thought I’d get bored fast. So far there’s not much action or competition. For a college town, it’s surprising. But feeling out this area and waiting on information about future deals for my brother hasn’t been the pain in the ass it usually is.
Other than Jake. He’s not good for a damn thing other than asking for a beer or who comes around here when I’m away. He knows this place is used for drops, but that’s as far as our relationship goes.
Jake’s got his earbuds in, he’s not paying attention in the least. My shoulder leans against the wall closest to the far end of the bar, and just enough so I can see the table where Addison sat earlier today.
I let the memory linger for a moment before speaking loud enough for Jake to hear over the music blaring in his ears.
“Marcus show up?” I call out and Jake startles, hitting his lower back against the counter and dropping a glass to the ground.
It breaks, cracking into a few large pieces rather than shattering.
Pushing off the wall, I take a few steps closer to him.
“Shit, dude,” he tells me as he slowly lowers himself to the floor, catching his breath, and starts picking up the shards. “You scared the shit out of me.” He starts to ask, “How did you get—” before stopping and looking past me to answer the question himself.
“Sorry,” I offer him and crouch down to pick up the single piece of broken glass that’s left. It’s a solid piece a couple inches long with a sharp tip. I slide my finger along the blunt, slick side of it, toying with it as I talk to him. “Didn’t mean to startle you.” It’s hard to keep the grin off my face, but it’s easier if Jake is somewhat relaxed. He needs to know to fear me, but only so much that he doesn’t do anything stupid. So long as he’s easygoing, so is everything else that goes down here. He can keep looking the other way and I can keep everything moving as it should.
“No worries, man,” he says as he stands up and deposits the chunks in his hand into a bin under the counter. He’s still shaking and instead of reaching out for the piece I’m holding, he takes out the rectangular basin and offers it to me.
I hold his gaze as I toss it in to join the rest of them.
“What’s going on?” he asks as he sets it back into place and pretends that he’s not scared. That he doesn’t look like he’s going to piss himself.
