Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
When Lex reached his hand out for mine again, I took it and followed him into the house. I could hear several voices coming from a few rooms away. The closer we got, the more nervous Lex became. But he continued to put one foot in front of the other. The house we were in was huge, but I barely noticed any of it because I was so focused on Lex. We ended up following King to one side of the house.
"They’re in the living room," King said to Lex. Lex nodded. He tapped his cane back and forth across the floor in front of him. When we entered a large room that overlooked the expansive backyard and the ocean beyond, I searched out the owners of the voices. There were three men standing around a coffee table. One of them, a guy with long black hair that was tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, was holding some kind of ugly green decorative rock in his hand. The two men with him were holding hands, but I wasn't sure if they were Luca and Remy or Lex's other brother, Vaughn, and his fiancé, Aleks.
Either way, it meant that the man standing with his back to us was Con.
The men who were an obvious couple stopped talking at the same time when they saw us, but it took Con a minute to figure out that something was happening behind him. I found myself holding my breath when he turned around because I knew, of all the brothers, Lex was most worried about Con's reaction. Although Lex had felt guilty for keeping his secret from all of his brothers, it was Con who he felt the most guilt over.
"Lex," I heard the older man with the heavy beard say in disbelief. Con, for his part, looked completely dumbfounded. But then he was moving. The rock thing he'd been holding in his hand hit the floor as he rushed forward. He was so eager to get to Lex, he didn't appear to notice the cane or the sunglasses.
Lex began saying something in a hushed voice that I couldn't understand because he was saying it in another language. Lex let out a soft sob and then he was wrapping his arms around his brother. I stepped away from Lex and Con to give them a moment together. I glanced over at the couple and saw that the older man had his arm around the younger man.
"Uncle Con, I couldn't find your phone—" a voice called from the other room. A young man with pale blond hair entered the living room. His eyes shifted from Lex and Con to King. I knew exactly who he was because Lex had described him perfectly. His hair was a dead giveaway.
"It's okay, Gio," King said to Gio who suddenly looked very nervous. I didn't blame him. I had no doubt that he wasn't used to strangers just showing up. King left my side to approach the boy. King was so much larger than Gio that he practically blocked the boy from view as he leaned in to whisper something to him. The teenager nodded his head a few times. When King went to put his arm around Gio to herd him forward, the teen didn't hesitate.
Con and Lex were still embracing, but at Gio’s approach, Con stepped back. The man finally took notice of Lex's cane and sunglasses. His face fell and then he jerked his eyes to King. There was no missing the look of accusation that Con shot his older brother. I was glad that Lex couldn't see it, because there was obviously some kind of strife going on between the two brothers. If it was because of Lex and the secret that King had been keeping for him, it wasn't something Lex needed to know.
"Gio, do you remember your Uncle Lex?" King asked as he drew Gio forward to Lex's side. Gio didn't seem to be overly fazed by the sunglasses and cane.
“I, uh, think I do,” he said nervously.
"Gio," Lex said softly and then he was reaching his hand out. Gio seemed relieved and I couldn't help but wonder if it was because Lex wasn't trying to hug him. I kept that in mind when King introduced me to Gio next. The teenager was visibly more anxious when he turned his attention to me, so I merely waved at him.
"Gio, can you go tell your father to come in here?" Con asked.
I knew enough about Con to know that he was the easygoing brother, but there was nothing easygoing about him at the moment. He looked like he wanted to commit murder.
"Yeah, okay," Gio said. As soon as he left the room, Con ran his fingers through his hair. He was furious but trying to control himself. I wanted to kick his ass for his behavior, especially because I could tell Lex was getting more and more nervous at the prolonged silence around him.