Heath takes me to a warehouse out of town and down a dirt road. It’s secluded, that’s for sure—you wouldn’t be able to find it unless you were looking. He parks, and we climb out. There are lights on inside, and I can hear the faint rumble of music trailing out through the open windows.
“Do you live here?” I ask, taking his hand.
“Kind of. Listen, I’ve told them you’re coming, so you need to understand that some of them aren’t happy about me telling you, but they understand why I did. You need to promise your secrecy, Lucy.”
I look to him. “What the hell am I going to walk into?”
“Do I have your word?”
“Of course,” I whisper. “Of course you do.”
He nods, and we walk towards the warehouse. We enter through a front door and step into a massive space that’s all open. There are pool tables in the middle, some cars parked off to the left, a huge television with chairs in front of it, a kitchen, and four men standing in the middle, all silent as they watch us come in. I swallow and let my gaze fall on them.
Oh. My. God.
I know even before Heath opens his mouth that at least two of these men are related to him somehow. I clutch Heath’s hand harder as he pulls me towards them. Two study me with curiosity; the other two simply scowl at me. Heath brings me closer and stops in front of them.
“Guys, meet Lucy. Lucy, meet my two brothers, and my two best mates.”
His brothers. His best mates. Sweet Jesus.
He points to the first guy on his left. This man has green eyes, and his hair is flowing around his shoulders in thick brown waves. He’s taller than Heath, but leaner. His features seem sharper, too. “This is Blake, my best friend from the force.” His finger trails to the next one, who is short and muscly as all hell. He’s also incredibly handsome. His hair is brown, but still dark, and his eyes are blue. “This is Sheldon, my other best friend.” He moves to the third one, who is by far, the most attractive out of the four men standing in front of me. I probably think that because he’s the spitting image of Heath.
Spitting.
Twins.
“This is my twin, Johnny.”
The only difference between the two is that Johnny has hair cropped short on his head. Otherwise, it’s like looking at Heath.
“And this is my brother, Tank.”
Tank? Seriously.
I drag my eyes away from Johnny and stare at Tank. He’s scary. Seriously scary. He’s bigger than all of the men, by far, and that’s saying something because Johnny and Heath are huge. His muscles bulge from his shirt, and his black hair is also cropped short. He has the same silver eyes as Heath and Johnny, but his are cold and scary. He’s scary. But absolutely beautiful.
“Ah,” I finally squeak. “Hi.”
“The troublemaker,” Blake says, a sly smile creeping across his face. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
I laugh nervously.
“At least she’s pretty,” Sheldon points out. “Nice to meet you, Lucy.”
“You too.”
“She shouldn’t fucking be here,” Johnny snaps.
“I agree,” Tank growls.
Oh, boy. The best friends like me. The brothers do not.
“Well she’s fuckin’ here, and she knows, and she’s not going to say anything so you need to back down,” Heath warns.
“You’re playing with fire, Heath,” Johnny seethes. “If he finds out what we’re doing . . .”
“He won’t,” Heath hisses through his teeth.
“She better keep her mouth shut,” Tank mutters, glaring at me.
That was a threat. I swallow.
“I won’t say anything,” I manage.
“Funny, you’ve been runnin’ around causin’ shit for weeks now.” Johnny grunts, grabbing a beer and walking out before any of us can answer.
“Come on,” Heath says, taking my hand and jerking me towards the back of the warehouse.
He shoves through a door and we step into a rather large room. It has a king-sized bed in the middle, a private bathroom attached, and a huge sofa, with a television opposite.
“Is this your room?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“You live with your brothers and friends?”
“Yeah.”
“Are your brothers cops, too?”
“No, just Sheldon and Blake.”
I shift uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, Heath. I didn’t . . . I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
“I know that, honey.” He sighs, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me down onto the sofa. I fall onto his lap and for a few minutes, I let him just hold me.
“They don’t like me,” I whisper against his shirt.
“They’re just worried. They’ll come around.”
“Are you the oldest of your brothers?”
He grunts. “No, youngest. Tank is the oldest here. Then it’s Johnny and I.”
The oldest here. That has so many questions popping into my mind. “So there are three of you in your family?”
“Four.”
Four? I turn and study him. “Four?”
“Yeah. There is one more who’s older than all of us.”
“Where is he?”
His face hardens.
Oh.
“Did you lose him?” I say softly.
“No, he’s still very much alive.” He says that in a way that basically tells me he’s not going to give any more information, so I don’t push.
“I’m sorry I’ve created such a mess for you.”
“Worth every second,” he says, nuzzling my hair.
“Heath?”