Page 47 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
Trev stood from the table, a deep sigh loud in the sudden quiet. “Arek didn’t know.”
Cody’s eyes widened, shock registering as he spun to stare at Trev with almost the same dumbfounded expression. Arek was confident it was painted all over his own face.
“Oh shit, I just assumed. Fuck, Trev, I’m sorry,” Cody said, the horror of his mistake visible in his eyes. He looked so mortified and his mouth opened and closed at an obvious loss of words.
Arek’s brain and heart kicked back into gear. “Why the hell did you never say anything to me? Why did you keep this hidden for so long?” He rubbed at the pain in his chest, at the thought of his brother dealing with the loss on his own. He’d never guessed, never even contemplated that it was a possibility. I mean, he knew they started sleeping together in high school and had continued when they deployed, but pregnant?
Trev opened his mouth, but thundering feet sounded, and a moment later, J.J. stormed into the kitchen, closely followed by Renee.
“Uncle Trev.” The small body slammed into Trev with all the force of a little car, but he didn’t let it show if he was in pain. That said it all. Arek watched as his brother slowly kneeled to J.J.’s height and talked to him even though it would’ve hurt like a fucker to do so, and he had his answer. He never burdened someone, even when it wasn’t burdening—but Arek knew that Trev would feel like it was and would choose to deal with it alone. Even knowing that didn’t stop the horrible feeling of not being trusted enough to hold onto this life-altering information. He was his brother, his twin, his person, whatever the fuck that means. How many times had they shared a drink in silence? How many times had Trev forced him to talk about the shit doing the backstroke like a fucking Olympic swimmer in the back of his head? And instead, Trev chose to share the information with Cody?
Renee’s arm slid around his waist, and he couldn’t stop from leaning into her as his knees shook.
“Did we come in at a bad time?” Renee asked.
“No, but we do need to have an adult meeting as soon as breakfast is complete. If the three of you could meet me in my office in say an hour?” Trev stood from the crouched position, his movement slow. Cody flinched, ready to assist, but Trev stood tall on his own. J.J. proceeded to hang onto his leg for dear life, his small face pressed so hard that it was mushing his cheek.
“Can I come too?” J.J. asked, his bottom lip jutted out.
“Normally, I’d say yes, but this meeting has to be for just the grown-ups,” Trev answered.
J.J. stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, a dramatic sigh leaving his lips that had them all smiling. “I know that this is about the men that broke in. I’m not dumb, you know.”
“Okay, you’ve been hanging out with Uncle Trev a bit too much. Come on, let’s get you your toast and juice, little man,” Renee intervened, steering the still pouting J.J. away from the three of them.
“Brother.” Trev held up his hand.
“Not now, not here. We will discuss this later.” Discussion closed, Trev limped out of the kitchen, leaving himself and Cody to stare after him.
“I’m sorry, man. I really thought you knew,” Cody whispered.
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
Trev sat at his desk and stared around at the destruction and oddly didn’t feel much. The normal rage he’d feel over the damage to his precious possessions didn’t make an appearance. Cody, Sally, and Renee, along with a few of The Righteous cleaners, had gotten rid of all the debris, including the collector pieces and antiques that had once adorned the room. Unfortunately, nothing could mask the holes in the walls, the blood-stained floor, or the cracks of the partially smashed window behind him.
Trev’s hands shook as they sat on the desk. He stared at his fingers as they trembled and took a deep breath. It had taken more strength than he’d been expecting to shower and dress, his side was aching with a vengeance once more, and the only thing he could think about was crawling back into bed. He hated this useless feeling, and he wanted to get back to normal. He had court in a few days and hadn’t even looked over the paperwork Sally had prepared. His face looked like one of his clients had pummeled the shit out of him. Oh, that’s right—one of them had.
He heard the group before he saw them, and as they walked in Renee’s eyes filled up with tears the moment she looked at him. He wanted to groan in annoyance. This was why he didn’t share.
“Don’t mind me, I’m really sorry, it’s just the hormones. I can’t stop the crying. I cried because I spilt milk at breakfast and then all over Sally when she asked if I was okay.” She waved at her face. If she was lying, he couldn’t tell, but it was not worth calling her out over. If she knew, then she knew and he hoped this was the last time it was discussed.
“Let’s get down to the matter at hand, shall we? It has become clear this house is no longer safe. So, until the house can be repaired and upgraded, I recommend that we relocate to the penthouse downtown.”
“I hate that penthouse,” Arek groaned. “There is so little privacy, and there is no place to park Delilah.”
“I know it’s not ideal, but it will be safer until we figure out who knows where we are and remove them from the equation. I am working on a solution for Delilah.”
“I didn’t know you guys had a penthouse,” Renee said.
“We don’t use it often. That was where Trev was hiding out when he was ignoring us,” Arek said. His tone left no room for interpretation. He was pissed.
“I don’t care where we are, as long as we are safe.” Cody shrugged.
“You would say that,” Arek mumbled.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Cody snapped back.
“Enough. The two of you, cut it out. I don’t have the energy for this shit. I’m pulling rank, and we are moving to the penthouse. Get your shit packed up and be ready to go by lunch—the second piece of business, this mysterious person that knows us. I’m going to have Delilah start to compile a list of potential people. As soon as the list is compiled, I’ll let you know.”
