A sudden chill broke through every other feeling in me. “Why didn’t you say anything? You aren’t really—?”
Wylder’s eyes flashed before I could finish the question. “Of course not,” he snapped. “And—I was going to talk to Mercy about it, but then the whole thing with her dad and the Red Shark came up—I couldn’t figure out how…” He grimaced. “And I didn’t want to tell anyone else until I’d talked it through with her. I can’t do it, but I’m not sure what I should do instead.”
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself. “Damn it.” I’d had no idea that our attempt to protect Mercy would come to this. “What have you thought of doing? We’re running out of time here.”
“If I knew, do you think I’d be sitting here not doing it?” He exhaled harshly and then pinned me with a sharper look. “You weren’t happy having her around at first, but you two seem to have worked out your issues. I take it you’ll stand with me on this.”
I didn’t see any point in lying to him about it. “She’s the only woman I’ve ever really cared about.” The memories of our naked bodies twining, Mercy’s gasp as I brought her to the peak of pleasure, flickered through my mind.
Wylder hummed to himself. “I guess she’s made an impact on all of us.” He paused. “You know, I didn’t see this coming—how close all four of us have gotten with her. Heck, I never expected to have the same taste in women as Kaige. And it isn’t easy sharing her when she’s gotten under my skin like this…”
He trailed off, but I didn’t know what to say. That was the first time Wylder had openly acknowledged our shared interest in Mercy—not just his and mine but Kaige’s and Gideon’s as well. I knew something had happened between her and the others, but his words were that much more confirmation.
I pictured her fierce eyes, the protective stance of her curvaceous body when she got ready to fight. I wasn’t surprised the other guys liked her so much.
Jealousy gripped my chest, but only for a moment before it started to fade. Mercy had found a kind of home—a kind of family—with the four of us just as we had in each other. I wanted that for her even more than I wanted her all to myself. After everything her real family had put her through, she deserved it.
And Wylder obviously felt the same way. “Who the hell am I to say no to a woman like that?” he said with a shake of his head.
“She is one hell of a woman,” I agreed.
“And you.” Wylder clapped his hand to my back firmly. “My dad can go fuck himself if he thinks he’s coming between us. If I haven’t said it enough, let me make it totally clear now—I see you as a brother. I know how loyal you’ve been, how hard you’ve worked for me, and I value every bit of that. Maybe you joined the party late, but that doesn’t make you any less than the others. You have my trust and I’ll always have your back.”
Pride more potent than anything Ezra’s words had provoked swelled inside me. I smiled at Wylder despite all the anxiety still gnawing at me after his admission. “Right back at you. Since you value my input… can I make a suggestion?”
“Go right ahead,” Wylder said, his tone going serious again.
I pushed my glass aside and fully faced him, my gaze intent. “You have to tell Mercy and the other guys what’s going on with your dad. We’ll have a much better chance of coming up with a good solution if we can put our heads together.”
Wylder bristled for a second, his lips flattening. “I can’t just—” Then he sighed, his shoulders coming down. “No, you’re probably right. I just hate thinking about how Mercy will look at me when I tell her.”
“As long as you’re not trying to carry out your dad’s orders when you do, I think it’ll be just fine,” I said dryly.
He rolled his eyes at me, and somehow everything seemed totally normal again. Like there was nothing unsurmountable in front of us—like we’d tackle this problem like we had every one before and come out on top.
“You’re not alone, no matter what we’re up against,” I reminded him.
He raised an empty glass to me in a silent toast, a grin playing with the corners of his mouth. And just like that, I felt totally at home as well.
This life might not have been the one I’d have pictured myself living, but there was a lot of good in it too, in ways that mattered to me now. And not least of those was this brotherhood we’d forged.