TheFugitivesSexyBrother (16 page)

She opened her mouth to protest but closed it again because
what he said was true. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I hope so.”

He released the box, and it fell from her boneless fingers,
landing on her toe. He sighed and turned toward her for the first time since
Matthew had shown up. His eyes were small under the wrinkles of a troubled
forehead. “Can you imagine,” Guy said, “I actually believed when you said that
you wanted me, that I was your first choice? It was only after I saw you
melt
for him that I came to my senses. Then I’m standing there looking at him,
on the verge of hitting him over you, and I have to ask myself what the hell I
think I’m doing. I’m just an ugly old man. Maybe you thought you could get some
kind of special information out of me. I don’t know what you were thinking, but
it certainly wasn’t what you claimed.”

“Guy…” Neva began to protest, but his face was so closed to
her that the effort felt useless. He waited for a moment, then turned away.

Tears began to fall from the corners of her eyes. It didn’t
feel like normal crying. The drops of water fell without any participation from
her at all, outside of her control, steady and constant.

Neva packed slowly, dabbing at the corners of her leaking
eyes. She tried not to damage any papers that belonged to Guy, but water
spotted everything she touched. It was only after two hours of slow and careful
packing that she realized the notepad Emily had used to write down her tip was
gone.

“Where are we going?” Javier said. “This doesn’t have to do
with my brother, does it? I already did as much as I can for you on that
front.”

Emily sighed, steering her car toward the exit. She didn’t
have the words for many things she wanted Javier to know. It had seemed easier
to just show him. She wanted him to know that she didn’t ask for his help
against his brother lightly. She understood how it felt to have a family member
in jail. Since they’d slept together a week before, she’d come to believe he
deserved that.

On the other hand, all he had to go on were the signs for
the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which had him understandably
concerned.

“Actually,” Emily said, “this is about
my
brother.”

Javier’s hand covered hers on the steering wheel. She smiled
at the thought of where his fingers had been. Remembering the fun, intimate
experience they had shared made Emily willing to give him a little more. “It’s
been about two years since I visited my brother. His name is Scott. He used to
be my idol. Most of my friends don’t even know he exists. Matthew never did.”

“Thank you,” Javier said.

Emily pulled into the parking lot beside the maximum
security building. “Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t met him.”

“I mean, thank you for trusting me.”

She avoided his eyes, knowing they would see into her too
deeply. She shut off the engine. “You told me about your sister.”

Javier nodded and got out of the car. When Emily opened her
door, she was surprised to find him waiting for her, offering a hand to help
her out. She hesitated. If she took his hand, would she weaken herself in his
eyes? As always, he seemed to understand her concern even when she hadn’t
spoken it aloud.

“Obviously, I know you can get out by yourself. But this is
a big deal. I thought you might like the comfort.” His handsome forehead
wrinkled with sympathy. She smiled up at him and took his hand.

She paused, facing the steepled stone building before them.
She felt exposed in the bare parking lot and lawn leading up to it, even though
she understood the rationale behind removing cover for escaping fugitives.
Emily glanced at a few other cars pulling up for visiting hours. She feared
recognizing someone she’d interacted with while on the other side of this situation.

Javier squeezed her hand. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah. We have to empty our pockets. They have a bunch of
really strict rules.”

She watched him anxiously as they prepped. He had to be
thinking about Fernando and what it would be like to visit him this way. Emily
worried she’d made the wrong decision bringing him here. She wanted to show him
she understood his situation, but what if this scared him out of helping her or
made him regret what he’d already done?

Javier stashed his things in the glove box, then straightened,
his hands in his pockets. The jeans and T-shirt she’d bought him didn’t flatter
the long lines of his body as well as the suit he’d been wearing initially, but
he seemed more at ease in them.

She retrieved his hand and walked into the prison at his
side. Emily gritted her teeth through the metal detector, the wand search, the
pat-down and the questions from the guards. Javier got through this gantlet
with easy good grace, never seeming impatient even when his name excited extra
attention.

They rejoined and followed a guard to a long table where
Scott waited. Emily took a deep breath and willed herself forward. Scott had
filled out since she’d seen him last. His chest and arms had grown massive,
though his cheeks were gaunt and his waist slim. A thin scar split his eyebrow.
His skin was several shades paler than she’d ever seen it. Scott narrowed his
hazel eyes as Emily and Javier approached.

“Are you engaged?”

Emily glanced at Javier, her face reddening. “No! Why do you
ask?”

Scott leaned back and shrugged. “You haven’t been here in
years. I figured there had to be an occasion.”

She sighed and took a chair across from him. “I’m sorry I
let so much time pass. This is Javier.” She gave her lover a tight smile. “He
was kind enough to come with me.”

“Right. To support you because it’s
so difficult
to
have a brother who’s a criminal.”

“That’s not what I think. Has Dad been here?”

Scott nodded. “You’re all he talks about. He’s lucky I’m a
captive audience.”

Emily smiled uneasily. Several continuations for the joke
occurred to her, but each seemed like it might offend Scott. Before she could
come up with something else to say, her brother looked more closely at Javier.

“You look just like your brother.”

Javier jumped and leaned forward. “You know my brother?”

“Only as a customer. I wish Emily had told me how much you
look like him.”

“Emily told you I was coming?”

“Yeah, genius. They wouldn’t have let you in if I hadn’t put
your name on my visitor list.”

Emily held up her hand, asking Javier to back off for a
second. “Why does it bother you that he looks like his brother?”

Scott shrugged. His eyes took on a cruel light that told her
he’d closed the subject for the moment. “Sis, you look shabby. You done trying
to prove you don’t need Daddy’s money? Believe me, he’d love to have his little
girl come home.”

“I’m not a little girl.”

“Is that why you’re running with him? You get yourself a
Bonavita, then Daddy knows you’re really not going to accounting school.”

She glanced again at Javier. “It’s a complicated story.”

Scott snorted. “I’ll bet.”

Emily laced and unlaced her fingers in her lap. “Scott, I
miss you.”

Her brother gave a short, bitter laugh. “You know where I
am. It’s not like I’ve gone anywhere.”

“I would visit. I think about it all the time.”

“And then what stops you? Is there a barricade across 95
South?”

“No,” Emily said. She forced herself to look at Scott.
Javier’s fingers closed around her thigh, and she felt glad for his presence.
“The last time I was here, you didn’t seem like you thought much of what I’m
trying to do with my life.”

Scott winced. He reached out as if he wanted to touch her,
then dropped his hands to the table, palms down. “I’d just gotten sentenced
here, Emily. The idea of you working to keep guys like me in places like this
didn’t sit well at the time.”

She glanced at the other tables. She probably didn’t know
any of the other inmates—most of the jobs she took for Guy were for fugitives
who ended up in minimum security or work release. Still, she imagined coming
here to visit Scott while Fernando Bonavita glared at her from across the room.

“I thought you were ashamed of me, Em,” Scott said,
interrupting her reverie. “I bet it’s pretty embarrassing to visit your
screw-up brother here while you’re working with the law. Won’t your friends
think less of you?”

“I don’t have friends like that,” Emily said fiercely. She
looked to Javier again as if she could find courage on his face. “I thought you
were like Dad. That you figured I was too stupid and weak to do this job.”

Scott sighed, lifting his arms in a helpless gesture at
their surroundings. “Trying to prove we’re not like Dad just doesn’t work, does
it? I can be here and you can still think I’m just like him.” He shook his
head, then quirked his lips in a half-smile. He jabbed a finger at Javier.
“Look, man, don’t get confused about this. That girl might look little, but
she’s been able to kick my ass since she was about fifteen. Last I knew, she
had a third-degree black belt, and she’s probably added another level since the
last time she came to see me. Don’t screw with her, man. She’s not stupid or
weak.”

Javier grinned in reply. “I know.”

Scott’s intense expression cracked and he smiled at both of
them. He raised an eyebrow at Emily. “Feel better?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you have faith in my ability to viciously
assault people.”

“I do.” He rubbed the back of his hand over his face and
took a deep breath. “I’m glad you came, Emily. I hope you do again. But don’t
bring him next time.”

Emily frowned. “You don’t like him?”

“I didn’t say that.” Scott glanced over his shoulder, then
dropped his voice so low Emily had to strain to hear him. “A lot of the guards
here have it in for Fernando Bonavita. I’m probably going to get beat up
tonight over this.”

“What?” Emily’s chest tightened.

“Don’t make that face. I don’t want you drawing attention.”

“Scott, I’m not letting anyone hurt you.”

“You don’t have a choice, sis. No matter how tough you are.”
He shrugged. “I can take it.”

Anguish crawled up her neck, making it hard to breathe or
swallow. “Scott, why did you put his name on your visitor list without telling
me this?”

Scott turned his head. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”

She touched his hand. “Scott…”

“Look, Emily, don’t worry. I mean it. I’ll be okay. But I
understand why his brother didn’t want to come back here. I’ve heard rumors
that some gang wants him to die in prison.”

“Who?” Javier said.

Scott let out a short laugh. “I’m not crazy, dude. That’s
all you’re getting out of me.” He cleared his throat and sat up straighter.
“You guys had better go. We’re getting more attention than I’m comfortable
with. And I don’t want to look too buddy-buddy with your boyfriend here.”

Emily’s heart wanted to break, but she had plenty of
practice hardening herself to do what had to be done. She nodded to Scott and
stood to leave.

“Emily?”

“Yeah.”

“I hope he makes you happy. Because I can kick his ass too,
if it’s ever necessary.”

She was surprised to find tears in her eyes. “I love you,
Scott.”

“Get out of here.”

She nodded and let Javier tug her toward the door. She’d
have leaned on him all the way out if she hadn’t been so worried about Scott’s
warning. As it was, she held herself together until they got to the car. Only
then did she allow herself to collapse in Javier’s arms and sob.

“Your brother seems like a good guy,” Javier said after a
minute.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize how much. That was nice of you to
come with me. Thank you.”

He stroked her hair but didn’t answer. Emily checked
Javier’s face and found a distant, thoughtful expression that snapped her out
of her personal concerns. “You’re thinking about Fernando.”

“Your brother didn’t have to tell us as much as he did. I’m
sure that was a big risk, maybe even more than letting me in there in the first
place. You should make sure to go back and see him in a few days, make sure
he’s okay.”

Emily took a deep breath. “I want you to come with me to
talk to Guy about Fernando. He’s not going to throw him back in jail when the
word is he’ll get killed there. I promise.”

“He could still be innocent, if this is why he ran.”

Emily stroked the side of Javier’s face. “It does change
what we know. We’ll do what we can to help him.”

Javier glanced at her, his lips twisting. “He’s worth fifty
grand to you. I haven’t forgotten that.”

Emily sighed. “I’ve never pretended about that. I do want
the money. But I’m not going to send a man to his death. That’s not justice.”

Javier’s throat moved. He lowered his head. “It’s good that
you’re so concerned with justice.”

“And you,” Emily whispered.

His head jerked up. “Are you saying you’ll help him for my
sake?”

“I’m not going to help a guilty man escape,” Emily said
firmly. “But otherwise… Yes.”

“Even if it means you don’t get your money?”

“Well, I hope you’ll stick around and help me pay the rent
for at least a few months with a whole bunch of small-time jobs.”

Javier pulled Emily close and kissed her, his fingers
gripping her jaw with almost painful possessiveness. “I love you,” he said.

Emily blinked. “What?”

“I love you.”

She could only stare.

“Do I have something on my teeth?”

“No.” Emily shook her head and tried to collect herself.
“I’m sorry, Javier.”

“Did I offend you?”

“God no. I just—it seems a little soon.”

“After you just finished telling me you’ll risk your career
for my brother? And that I ought to live with you for at least a few months?
And after you take me with you to see a family member you haven’t seen in
years? I didn’t question you on any of that or tell you those things happened
too soon.” Javier held her gaze. “I said three words, Emily, and I did mean
them. But people make too big a deal out of that. Your actions are speaking a
lot louder than anything I can say.” He took her hand, and his voice softened.
“Unless I’m taking this the wrong way. Maybe it’s about ‘justice’ after all.”

Emily swallowed hard. He seemed almost too handsome to
believe, with his wide nose, dimpled cheeks and intense, dark eyes. She offered
a shaky smile. “It’s not about justice.”

“Good.”

She wanted to tell him how she felt but words eluded her. An
image of Matthew came to her unbidden, insisting she just hadn’t admitted that
she loved him. A wave of anger brought her back to herself. “I’ve never said it
to any lover,” she said suddenly. “Those words. They
are
a big deal to
me.”

Javier kissed the back of her hand. “You say whatever you
want, whenever you want to say it, Emily. As long as I’m not misunderstanding
what we’re doing with each other.”

“You’re not.”

“Then let’s switch places. I’m driving.”

“What are you talking about?”

He touched the tip of her nose. “
You
are going to be
too busy to drive.”

“Huh?”

“Switch, Emily. Unless you don’t want to surrender to me
anymore?” The sharp tone of his words moistened Emily’s folds even when she had
no idea where this was headed. She left the keys in the ignition, got out and
moved to the passenger seat.