Our Broken Love

by Terri Anne Browning

  Kevin snorted. “Yeah, okay. Knowing my little brother, that isn’t likely to happen. Kier enjoys his freedom too much. I bet he has a group of hot girls waiting outside his dressing room right now. And I’m positive he wants them to kiss something other than his boo-boos.”

  Kyle shot to his feet. Kevin didn’t seem to notice that his father was in a rage right behind him. He said something else about groupies, and I felt sick to my stomach for another reason. Jealousy ate at me, but I knew Kieran wouldn’t be into the groupies now that he had me. Not when he wanted to marry me.

  Right?

  “You will apologize to Reese. Now.” Kyle informed his eldest son as he gripped his bicep in a steely hold.

  Kevin blinked at his father in surprise. “What?”

  “Apologize to her now. And maybe, just maybe, I won’t tell your brother that you spoke like that to Reese.” His tone was cold, full of power and plenty of warning.

  Kevin frowned but apologized nonetheless. “I’m sorry, Reese. Please excuse me if I offended you.”

  I forced a smile to my face. “Don’t worry about it.”

  thirteen

  Greg turned from speaking to a few of the photographers with a grin. “Are we ready to get out of here? My limo is waiting for us.”

  I glanced at Kyle. “Can we check on Kieran first?” He was top priority for me right then.

  Kyle glanced between me and my grandfather, who seemed anxious to get me out of the arena. “You go on with the others. I’ll take a look at my son, and we will head straight over.” I started to protest, to tell him I wanted to see Kieran now, but Kyle nudged me after Greg. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. He’s going to be just fine. Kevin will make sure you are well taken care of. Won’t you, Kevin?”

  Kevin was shooting his father odd looks, but he still nodded. “She’s safe with me, Dad.”

  “But…” I wanted to check on Kieran myself. To see with my own eyes, feel with my own hands, that he was really okay.

  Mel grasped my hand. “Let’s let the boy get patched up. His father will take excellent care of him.” She didn’t give me time to argue as she pulled me along after Greg while Kevin followed close behind.

  Tears burned my eyes and throat. “But I want to see him,” I whispered.

  Mel wrapped an arm around my shoulders, hugging me close to her side as we walked. “I know. But, just think, later you will have him all to yourself,” she murmured wickedly. “And you can kiss every one of his ‘boo-boos.’”

  That thought cheered me just a little, and I leaned into her for a moment.

  Outside, we were ushered into the back of one of the two waiting limos. Mel climbed in and moved to the long bench seat on the opposite wall. I started to sit beside her, but Kevin pulled me down with him as he took a seat by the door. His fingers lingered on my side for a fraction longer than necessary, and I sent him a speaking glare.

  I scooted a few inches away from him, but before I could say anything, my grandfather started talking to Mel. I tried to participate in the conversation during the ride to the hotel, but worry for Kieran and my irritation with his brother weighed on my mind.

  Forty-five minutes later, we were in Greg’s penthouse hotel room. Champagne was flowing freely, and a delicious smelling buffet was set out. I didn’t feel much like celebrating, and I didn’t drink anything despite the glass of expensive champagne that Kevin had pushed into my hands when we first arrived.

  I kept glancing at the clock, counting the minutes, hoping Kieran arrived soon. I wanted to see for myself that he was okay. Wanted to kiss him and tell him I loved him more than anything in the world.

  And maybe I wanted him to arrive so that I could ditch his brother. Kevin was becoming bothersome. He was my constant shadow, always there and touching me. It was making me beyond uncomfortable. He was invading my personal space, always had his hand at the small of my back or was rubbing my arm. I would pull away, trying not to lose my cool with the guy, but he was making that harder and harder as the minutes slowly ticked by.

  Greg was a constant by my side as well. He was eager to make me happy and comfortable. But the approving look in his blue eyes when they would linger on Kevin and me, as if sizing us up as a couple or something, bothered me the most. I became tense and spoke less and less to those around me.

  Mel noticed all of this and kept sending me questioning looks. I would just shrug, telling her I didn’t know what was going on, but I didn’t like any of it.

  “Hey, hotness!” Jake’s voice called out suddenly. “Where you at?”

  I was surrounded by Kevin, Greg, and Mel, but at the sound of Jake’s voice, I pushed past the two men and found the crew entering the penthouse. Behind them was Kyle, and the last to enter the room was the only person I had eyes for. With a cry, I was across the room and throwing myself into his waiting arms.

  Steel bands wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the ground as he pulled me into a deep kiss. The rest of the room faded as I got lost in his taste and the warmth of his lips on mine. Who knew how long we would have continued if Jake hadn’t bumped Kieran’s shoulder and muttered something I didn’t hear.

  Finally, Kieran set me on my feet and pulled back just enough to smile down at me. “Needed that,” he murmured.

  I took in his swollen, multicolored eye, his bruised cheek, and the scratch across his nose. My fingers skimmed across his many injuries that I could see. Tears burned my eyes, and I blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. “You okay?”

  “Nothing too serious. A few sore ribs to go with the shiner that he gave me… Hey, don’t cry.” He dropped another kiss across my lips, this one gentler. “I’m fine, babe.”

  Chin trembling, I could do nothing more than nod my head.

  “Kieran.” Greg’s voice seemed a little hesitant. “Hell of a match tonight. Thrilling as always.”

  I turned in Kieran’s arms to face him, saw the closed-off look in Greg’s eyes, and my earlier suspicion that things were off returned. “I try to please.” Kieran shook my grandfather’s hand. “It’s my goal in life.”

  Kevin appeared, and I stiffened a little when his gaze landed on the way his brother was holding me. “I see you haven’t wasted any time, little brother,” he muttered.

  Kieran tensed up slightly, but he didn’t respond to his brother. “Thanks for taking care of my girl while I was busy.”

  Mel greeted the crew and embraced Kieran, ending the suddenly tense atmosphere that had arisen between the brothers and my grandfather. “I didn’t doubt for one minute that you had the fight in the bag. But you sure did have my heart racing a few times. Now I understand why your poor mother can’t watch you.” She grinned. “Congrats on another win.”

  The night dragged on for me from there. I wanted to leave as soon as Kieran appeared. But every time I would open my mouth to ask him to take me home, my grandfather would seem to sense it and distract us. Around us, the party was growing strong, with other MMA fighters arriving, along with a bunch of girls who were obviously groupies. One or two attempted to approach Kieran, but one glower from me and they quickly thought better of it. That didn’t mean Corbin, Mason, the spar twins, and even Maddox couldn’t enjoy the female companionship, which they did. Jake, however, seemed bored with it all and stuck close to Kieran and me for the majority of the evening.

  Around two, I ventured to the bathroom. After I was finished with my business, I stood with my hands under the faucet, frowning at my reflection in the mirror over the sink. I was wasting water, yet couldn’t bring myself to leave the little room.

  A hard knock on the door forced me out.

  I nearly walked right into Kevin as I opened the door. His hands shot out to steady me, and when I glanced up at him, I was surprised to find him glaring down at me. “Excuse me,” I muttered, trying to take a step back to break contact with him. As uneasy as he had made me in the last few hours, I didn’t want to cause trouble.

  “What are you doing?” he demanded.

 
“Well, I was using the bathroom.” I lifted my brows at him, thinking he was either really slow or drunk. “But I’m finished now if you want to—”

  His arms around my waist moved to my arms, and he shook me a little. “No, damn it! What the hell are you doing with Kieran? Don’t you have better sense—taste—than that?”

  I blinked at the forcefulness in his tone. “What business is it of yours?” Did he not approve of his brother and me? Was I not good enough for him or something?

  “He’s just after the business, you stupid girl. He would never go for someone like you unless there were some kind of incentive behind it.” He shook me again, but I was so surprised by his words that I didn’t even notice. “He’s playing you!”

  “Get your hands off of me,” I gritted out between clenched teeth. “Now.”

  He ignored me. “You should be with me. I’ll take care of the business end of things. I am prepared to deal with it all. Kieran just wants the sports part of the deal. Daventry has no idea what he is getting himself into. Neither do you.”

  As he continued, I began to put some of the pieces together. Kevin’s possessiveness yet the coldness all evening. The approval in Greg’s eyes all night as he watched the two of us together.

  I remembered that before I had run away, everyone assumed I would one day inherit everything. And I did mean everything. All of my grandfather’s business and stock holdings, personal interest ventures. All of it. When I was sixteen, the net worth had been estimated in the ten billion range. Five years later, how much more could it be worth?

  Maybe that was still true, although I couldn’t have cared less about it all. I was happy with my life the way it was without the money and aggravation that went with it.

  What if my grandfather had only reached out to me so he could marry me off to Kevin Stone, the VP of his legal department at the New York branch? What if he had arranged all of this so that I could meet and get to know the man he had personally handpicked to become my husband? A husband who would take over the business when something happened to him—or sooner.

  My heart started racing so fast it was making it impossible to catch my breath.

  But that didn’t explain what Kevin was rambling about. What did Kieran have to do with all of this? He shook me again, this time harder. His fingers were so tight around my upper arms that I knew I was going to be bruised. I pushed him back so hard that he crashed against the wall behind him. He looked surprised, dazed that I was able to handle him like that. Before he could say a word, I slapped him across the face so hard that my hand ached.

  I wanted to cradle it against my stomach, but I refused to show that kind of weakness in front of the man who had wanted to use me to gain a multibillion-dollar corporation. “Stay the hell away from me!”

  His daze lasted only a moment longer before he followed me down the hall toward the rest of the party. Before I reached the main room where everyone else was having a good time, he grabbed my wrist and swung me around to face him. “Don’t walk away from me!”

  I glared down at the hand hurting my arm. “Let go of me.”

  “Not until you listen to me.” He was irate now, and I could smell whiskey on his breath. Yes, definitely drunk, but I was used to dealing with drunks, and I wished I had my baton strapped to my thigh right then. I would have laid this guy out flat in no time, Kieran’s brother or not.

  When he took a step closer, I lost it. “Let go of me!” I yelled at him. “Let go of me! Let. Go. Of. Me!” The last was nearly a shriek, but the music in the next room was loud, the laughter even more so. “The lady said to let go of her, dude.”

  Jake!

  I breathed a little easier knowing he was right behind me. But I didn’t turn to face him. No way was I turning my back on Kevin again.

  Kevin’s hold only tightened, and I flinched. “Stay out of this,” he barked at Jake. “This has nothing to do with you.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Kieran’s hand wrapped around my other arm, and I wanted to fall against his chest. “Get your fucking hands off of her!” Kevin’s grip loosened slightly, but it was enough for Kieran to pull me away before pushing me into Jake’s arms.

  “You think you’ve won, little brother, but she knows the truth now. You won’t get your hands on any of it.” Kevin’s grin was menacing. “Too bad for you.”

  “You’re drunk.” Kieran shoved at his brother’s chest, making him take a wobbly step back. “I’m going to forget about this, Kev, because of that one little fact. But you ever touch her again, and I promise you will regret it.”

  “I’m not scared of you, Kier,” Kevin assured him. “I kicked your ass all your life. Not going to be any different now that you’re a big shot MMA superstar.”

  I was beginning to shake with suppressed reaction. Kevin had disturbed me more than I’d thought. His hands on me the way they had been, hurting and rough, brought back so many unpleasant memories. I’d thought Kieran had cured me of those unpleasant feelings, but I was wrong. Jake felt me trembling and pulled me closer. “Okay?” he murmured so that only I could hear.

  I shook my head. “Not really.” I wanted to cry, to scream.

  Fuck, I just wanted to go home!

  “You won’t get to take over Daventry’s sports interests,” Kevin was saying now. “He wants someone who will take over the business. Someone who will be good for the company. Not some tattooed, over-muscled brute who beats people up for a living.”

  I thought—hoped—that Kieran wouldn’t know what his brother was talking about. But all of those hopes vanished with his next words. “Oh, so he thinks that a tight-ass like you will be good for his granddaughter? The company comes before Reese’s feelings? Doesn’t he realize that all you will do is screw your secretary and break Reese’s heart?”

  Kevin turned pink with embarrassment and rage, but he didn’t speak, and his brother continued. “But that’s just it, isn’t it? He has you so far in his grasp that he probably already has some guy lined up as your secretary. You are set and ready to take over—all you need is Reese. Well, you aren’t getting her. She’s mine!” He took a threatening step toward Kevin, as if he was ready to take a swing at his brother.

  “Stop it!” I cried. “Just stop it.”

  Kieran turned to face me. “Reese…” As if just remembering that I was there, he reached for me, but I stepped back, away from Jake and the man I thought had loved me.

  “What’s he talking about, Kieran?” I demanded. “What does he mean about the sports thing?”

  I saw guilt cross his face before he could hide it. “It’s nothing. Just Kevin’s drunken rant. Come on, baby. I’ll take you home.”

  “Don’t you dare lie to me!” I glared at him. My heart was pounding, hoping he wasn’t about to break it into a million little pieces. “I get his reasons. I’m so pissed at him and Greg right now that I think I will do physical harm to that old man when I see him. But I want to know what he’s talking about when it comes down to you and sports interests. Is that why you’re with me, Kieran? Do you want what comes with me? Daventry money?”

  “No!” He took a step toward me, but when I took two steps back, he stopped and raked a hand through his hair. “I love you, Reese. Daventry money has never been a part of any reason for the way I feel about you.” But there was guilt that remained in his eyes.

  “So why is your brother saying otherwise?”

  “Because he told me about what Greg had planned!” he exploded. “He told me all about it. I knew it was part of the reason that the old man wanted to contact you. Daventry had a heart attack three months ago. Now that he’s faced with his own mortality, he wants to put all of his ducks in a row and make sure you don’t marry some guy who will take over the business and run it into the ground.” He shot a glare in his brother’s direction. “He thought Kevin was the perfect candidate. He knows the business inside and out from a legal standpoint. He’s reasonably attractive and young enough to suit you. Of course, he also has to deal with
Kevin’s cravings for blondes and his cold attitude when he doesn’t get his own way.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered the words, but he heard me.

  “Because I knew from that first bike ride that you were mine, sweetheart. Kevin never stood a chance. And I knew it would hurt you to know that your grandfather had this premeditated. I didn’t tell you because I was scared you would think the same fucking thing he is thinking.” He held out a hand, silently pleading for me to take it, to believe him. “I just want you, Reese. Now and forever.”

  His words warmed me…

  And then his brother snorted. “You and controlling interest in half of the biggest MMA—”

  He didn’t say another word because Kieran turned quicker than I could blink and punched him in the face. “Shut up, Kevin!”

  I couldn’t deal with all of this right now. It was too much for me. I turned and walked away from them. Without a word to anyone, I weaved through the crowded penthouse. Afraid I really would go off on Greg Daventry if I saw him, I kept my eyes on the front door. A few people called out my name. Mel tried to get my attention out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t handle talking to anyone just then, Mel included.

  fourteen

  I’d never had a hangover before. Odd, as I’d worked in a bar all my adult life, but true nonetheless. Yet, I was sure the way I was feeling was far worse than any hangover.

  I moaned as I rested my head against the cool porcelain of my toilet. It felt cool and soothing against my aching head. For the last hour, I had done nothing but empty everything that I had managed to eat the day before. It hadn’t been much, as I had been feeling nauseated even then. Now I was at the point of dry heaves, and all I wanted to do was cry from the misery of it all.

  I couldn’t remember ever feeling so sick. Stomach flu wasn’t something I had a lot of experience with.

  My cell phone buzzed with an incoming text from the sink where I had tossed it in my mad dash to the bathroom. I didn’t even try to muster the energy to reach for it. I was pretty sure I knew who it was anyway.