“Ryan? Give us a minute,” Dad requests, and Ryan looks to Ashton before leaving.
Staring at the men left in the room, the men I’m closer to than any others, I ask them, “What’s the real problem?”
“You’re eighteen,” Dad barks.
“Mom was eighteen.”
He scowls.
“You’re my baby. Nobody is good enough for you.” I smile at the cold man the world sees, knowing what a soft heart he has for us girls in his life.
Ashton reluctantly lets me go as I walk towards my dad. “I’ll always be your baby.” His open arms hug me close as I lay my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat like I did as a little girl.
“Doesn’t mean I’m ready to let you go to a man older than your fucking brother.” His growled words make me giggle.
“You–”
“Yeah, yeah. I was the same age. I get it. Just don’t settle. You demand everything this man has got for you, and then you demand it ten times more.” My eyes meet Ashton’s, and I know, without a doubt, I’ve already got it all.
“Promise,” I reassure him anyways.
“Alright.” He kisses my forehead. “Let your brother talk to you. Don’t be as hard-headed as your old man.”
Dad and Luther go to leave, but first, Dad tells Hendrix, “Call her a slut again, and I’ll break your jaw for her, got it?” My brother nods. “Break my baby's heart, and I’ll rip yours out with my bare hands. Understand?” he warns my beau.
Ashton takes his threat seriously. “I break her heart, and I’ll do it for you.” It takes another minute of glaring before the two older men leave.
I stare at my brother, who watches me with so much emotion. My whole life, he was my protector; now, he makes me cry.
“Can you give us a minute?” he asks Ashton in a friendlier tone than I’ve heard so far.
“You gonna make her cry again?” Hendrix cringes before shaking his head. “I’ll be right outside,” he tells me and leaves.
Hen and I stare at each other, waiting for the other to speak first. I raise a brow, letting him know that this is his show. He must take charge.
As soon as I signal that acknowledgment, it appears as though his entire body gives out because he collapses onto the sofa, dropping his head, and for the first time in months, I’m truly worried about him.
“I should have died that day,” he murmurs, and I can feel his pain. It vibrates through me. “I know you have no idea what I did over there. Nobody does. Not really.”
I slowly walk towards him, a man I always thought of as the strongest in the world. “Tell me,” I whisper as I drop to my knees in front of him, gripping his hands in my own.
“My whole team died. Santi and I were the only ones left standing.” His sorrow penetrates my core. “I’ve been so angry about it all. It should never have happened; I wish they’d killed us too.”
“What happened, Hen? Tell me, give me your guilt.” The thought that my brother has been suffering silently for so long breaks my heart.
He stares at me, tears in his eyes and agony written all over his face. “They were kids. We had no idea. There were men there, but they sacrificed their children. We didn’t know, Hads. I swear to God we didn’t know.” His voice cracks, and so do my tears.
“You didn’t know, Hendrix. You didn’t know. It’s not your fault; it’s theirs.” Of that, I’m sure. Our family is unconventional in every way. The Adair Empire was founded on illegal dealings, and while I don’t understand everything, I know enough. I also know Hendrix lives by his own code as well. That he wanted to change the world.
Only, the world broke him.
“I’m not blameless, Hads. We should have checked. We knew they were doing that in some of the other villages. We had intel that they were using children as soldiers, but it appeared that they weren’t there. We never saw them.”
“Santi was there too. Neither of you is at fault,” I try to implore. I had known their team died, but none of the details. The two have been such good friends since their first mission together. “You didn’t have a choice, Hen. You’re lucky to be alive, to be mobile.” The explosion left swelling on his spine, and it took nearly a year before he could walk on his own again. My brother has been broken for so damn long, but none of us realized just how bad.
“I’m sorry I said those nasty things to you, Hads. That man.” He points to the door while meeting my gaze. “He doesn’t deserve you. Nobody ever will. But if you had to pick someone, you at least chose a strong one because any other man would have turned green around the gills with what Dad threatened in here.”
“I know you are, Hen.” I don’t know what else to say. My brother is too proud to ask for help, and he’ll just blow me off when I offer it. But he needs it. Desperately. And I haven’t the first clue how to give it to him. “We’ll get you through this at your own pace. When you’re ready.”
He smiles sadly at me like he knows there’s no moving on from his pain. But I’ll be there. Hendrix has taken care of me my whole life, and now it’s time that I get to do it for him.
* * *