Conrad

by Emily Rose

  “What are you guys doing?” Luke suddenly appeared in the doorway and I watched as his eyes went straight to Miles before he spoke again, “Who the hell is he?” he asked quizzically.

  I sighed. “Long story.”

  “He’s her stepbrother, her extremely sexy stepbrother, I might add,” Noah said as he allowed his eyes to roam over Miles yet again.

  It made me wonder what Miles would do if he knew Noah was looking at him that way. I pushed this thought away and responded, “Gee, thanks Noah,” I said.

  Lucas glared at Noah. “I don’t really find comfort in the fact that my girlfriend has a bunch of sexy,” he used his fingers to air quote that word before he went on, “stepbrothers.”

  This was turning into a complete disaster. Lucas already mentioned not liking the idea of Dare being around, so I could only imagine how he felt seeing Miles. Not that I ever wanted to do anything with Dare aside from maybe punching him. I knew that was a thing though. I had read about it in romance books and seen it in movies, but I never thought about it myself. But it didn’t matter how many times I told Luke my feelings toward my stepsiblings was strictly platonic, he still didn’t like it. I could see it in the way he looked at Dare or spoke with him.

  And Dare saw it too. He had even said once that Lucas didn’t like him, but he didn’t seem to care that much about it.

  Noah shrugged. “Well, it’s not her fault that she has hot brothers.”

  “I never said it was her fault. I just said that I didn’t really find comfort in it. I mean, none of them seem trustworthy honestly,” Luke said in a tone that held a bit of frustration.

  I was about to stop this before it got into an even bigger debate than it already was when I was cut off mid-thought by the sound of a deep, hauntingly calm voice from behind me.

  “You’re my stepsister?”

  My heart stalled and I spun around quickly to see him. He was still laying on the table, but his eyes were open, and they were locked on me. My lungs couldn’t seem to work right as I took in the one blue eye and one green eye, both framed with thick dark lashes.

  But it wasn’t their color or shape that had my lungs frozen in place. It was the look in them that did it.

  They were filled with agony, punishment.

  And a chilling, deadly fury.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Lesley

  My words were stuck in my throat as I stared at him. Dark circles filled the area under his eyes, indicating exhaustion and without waiting on my response, he looked around the room like he was trying to figure out how he got here.

  “Uh…” I heard Noah say as if he too was completely lost for words.

  Miles turned his gaze on Noah and then looked away before he pulled at the cords that were attached to his chest, causing the heart monitor to give a solid beep as if he were flatlining. Once he was free of that, he started to move.

  “I have to get out of here,” he said.

  He managed to get to a standing position before he stumbled, catching himself on the table behind him with one hand, while the other reached up to his head.

  I involuntarily took a step forward before I stopped, “You probably shouldn’t try to stand right now,” I said.

  Miles dropped his hand and lifted his gaze to mine, “I’m fine,” he said before he pushed off the table once more and took one step forward before he started to collapse.

  Before I could move though, Noah shot forward. He grabbed Miles’ arm and steadied him without waiting for permission. “You should probably listen to her,” he said.

  Miles looked at Noah before he met my gaze again, “Where’s Lila?”

  I blinked and tried to get my voice to work correctly. “She’s, uh, she had to go into work,” I said.

  He pulled away from Noah, who took a step back, but stayed close enough in case Miles started to collapse again. Without saying anything else, he started forward but once again, he only managed to get a few steps in before he started to go down. This time, Lucas moved and caught Miles’ arm.

  “Dude, you really need to sit down,” he said.

  But Miles wasn’t having it. He shoved Lucas off him hard enough that he took a few steps back and then spoke, “I said I was fine and don’t call me dude. My name is Miles. And how old are you guys anyway? Twelve?” he said as he gazed at us.

  Noah spoke first, “Well, I’m 17. Lucas, the guy you just shoved, is 18 and Lesley here is 16, almost 17.”

  Miles looked at him with a blank expression before finally responding. “I wasn’t being serious,” he said.

  “Spoken like a true asshole I see,” Noah mumbled under his breath just as Miles grabbed his bloody shirt off the table and slipped it over his head.

  Once he was done, he looked over his shoulder to meet my gaze. I couldn’t stop the chill that ran its way up my spine at the look in his eyes. It was like he was looking straight through me and I didn’t like it at all.

  “By the way, it’s nice to meet you,” he said before he started for the door.

  My voice finally found its way from me and I spoke quickly, “You can’t just leave.”

  Miles stopped at the door and responded without turning to look at anyone, “Trust me, it’s better if I do,” he said and then pushed the Christmas lights out of his way before he vanished into the next room.

  Luke spoke then, “Wow, he’s a real charmer isn’t he?”

  I didn’t know what had come over me, but I ignored him and hurried into the next room to see Miles barely reaching the front door. Something, I wasn’t sure what, told me to not let him walk out that door and I planned on listening to it.

  “You can’t leave,” I said firmly.

  Miles stopped with his hand poised on the doorknob and I could see his shoulders lift in a deep breath before he turned to face me, “Yes I can,” he said.

  Despite the fear that twisted in my stomach and questions that burned in my mind, I stood firm and responded. “No, you can’t. You won’t make it ten feet before you hit the ground and plus, according to Dare and Lila, you need to stay… hidden.”

  I heard the Christmas lights move behind me and I knew Lucas and Noah had joined us, but I kept my gaze locked with Miles’.

  He seemed to be debating my response, but before he could respond, I heard Dare’s voice and spun around to see him sitting up on the couch, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

  “She’s right, Miles. Sit the fuck down before you fall down,” he said succinctly.

  My gaze switched back to Miles, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes had found Dare and frustration flared hot in their depths. “The longer I stay, the more danger I am to everyone here,” he said evenly.

  Fear spiked in my veins at his words, but I kept my mouth shut and let Dare handle it from this point forward.

  “And you don’t think I know this? I’m putting people at risk for letting you stay here,” he asked as he looked up to Miles.

  My eyes shot between them as they held each other’s gaze in an unspoken conversation before Noah broke the intense silence.

  “Not to drop in on whatever is going on here, but I’m pretty sure the only thing we should worry about right now is keeping Miles from passing out,” he said.

  I met Miles’ gaze again and noticed he had fell back against the door. His skin was a bit paler than it had been when he woke up and his eyes looked drained of energy as he glanced away from Dare and toward me.

  “Looks like you got your wish,” he said in a tired voice and then pushed off the door, only this time he didn’t even get a whole step in before he begun to collapse again.

  I was the closest one to him and I moved quickly. My body came in front of his and I barely managed to get my arms around him before we went down. I hit the ground hard, unable to hold his weight up, but at the last second, Miles caught himself with his arms so that I wasn’t crushed by him.

  His large frame hovered just above mine, leaving only a few inches between our bodies as our eyes met. Somethi
ng, I wasn’t sure what, flickered in his gaze and then he spoke in a deep, slightly off voice, “I’m not sure why you tried that. What do you weigh? 100 pounds?” he asked.

  I blinked and swallowed the thick knot that had formed in my throat before I responded, “Something like that,” as I stared into his eyes.

  It wasn’t until I saw them up close that I noticed the beautiful flecks within them. They were the strangest eyes I had ever seen on a person, yet, somehow they were perfect for him.

  I heard someone clear their throat and looked away from Miles to see Lucas standing with his arms crossed, glaring at Miles. My face flushed and I started to get up, forcing Miles to his feet and away from me. He leaned against the wall to keep himself upright and I hurried back over to where Lucas and Noah stood.

  “That was cute,” Noah whispered, so that Dare and Miles couldn’t hear him.

  I shot him a look and then met Lucas’ eyes, but he wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he stood with his arms still crossed and his jaw ticking with frustration.

  “Clearly, after that little show, you need to stay here until you heal and we can figure out our next move. Jax really did a number on you,” Dare said.

  My ears perked and I was instantly curious as I glanced between them once again. “Who is Jax? And what do you mean, he did a number on Miles?” I asked without thinking it all the way through.

  Dare sighed heavily like he wished he hadn’t said anything, but it was Miles who responded, except he wasn’t answering my questions. Instead, he was talking to Dare as if we weren’t standing in the same room.

  “How did you know?” He asked.

  I watched as Dare stood up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of whisky Lucas must have found before he unscrewed the cap, “Because I’m still working with Kevin and my father. I knew Kevin was leading you and Jax to the warehouse before the asshole started torturing me, so when Jax showed up here last week with wounds a lot similar to yours, I knew. But I wasn’t expecting you to show up too,” he said.

  My eyes shifted back to Miles and I didn’t miss the fury I had seen earlier flash through them before he responded. “How are you still working for them? You betrayed them,” he said.

  Dare ran his hand over his head, making the dark strands stick up in a messy, slightly attractive style. “Because I made a deal with my father years ago and even if I broke his trust, he needs me and he knows it.”

  I had no idea what the heck they were talking about, who this Jax person was, or what deal Dare kept referring to, but clearly, it wasn’t something they wanted to explain either.

  My family really was jacked up, that much was clear. I just didn’t know how deep it went and I was scared to find out.

  Before anyone could say much more on the matter though, the front door opened and Lila stepped inside, dressed in light blue nursing scrubs and white tennis shoes. She froze with her hand on the doorknob and gazed around at all of us.

  “What the hell is going on?” she asked and then shifted her eyes to Miles, “And what the hell are you doing up? I mean you shouldn’t even be able to stand right now.”

  “He’s not really,” I mumbled under my breath, but apparently not low enough, because Miles’ eyes lifted to mine the same time Lila’s did. I pulled my gaze to the floor and crossed my arms over my chest as Lila spoke once more.

  “Miles, sit down,” she ordered.

  I couldn’t help it. I raised my eyes to him just as he pushed off the wall and eased over to the couch, sitting down and leaning back until his head could rest against the back of the couch.

  Lila sighed heavily and then closed the front door before she took off to the back room, reappearing a few minutes later with a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. I watched as she sat down beside Miles and then went to work on checking his vitals, while he let his eyes close and waited patiently for her to finish.

  After a few moments, she pulled the stethoscope out of her ears and spoke, “Did any of you even think about checking his vitals?” she asked.

  Everyone glanced at each other, but no one said a word. Clearly, none of us thought about checking them.

  “I’m fine,” Miles said without opening his eyes.

  Lila shook her head and stood up, “No, you are not fine. Your blood pressure is low and so is your heart rate. I’m not even sure how you haven’t passed out yet.”

  He didn’t respond or try to move. It was pretty clear that he wasn’t in the best of shape and at this thought, I felt a tiny bit of concern race through my veins. Lila had asked me to watch out for him and I hadn’t even thought to check his vitals.

  “I don’t care what’s going on here. Miles is my patient and he is the priority. You guys should never have let him get off that bed,” Lila said before she stood up.

  I held my hand up like I was in school and asking for my turn to speak. “In everyone’s defense, Miles didn’t really make it easy to convince him from doing any different. I mean what were we going to do? Handcuff him to the bed,” I said.

  Lila nodded. “Yeah, if that was the only choice you had.”

  I dropped my hand and tried to picture Miles letting us handcuff him to the bed, but I choose not to respond on the matter. I knew Lila was just worried. She cared about her patients, blood or not, and she was good at what she did, but sometimes, I felt like she did too much. Like maybe all of this was a bit overwhelming.

  “Can you walk? You need to lay down,” Lila asked Miles.

  He lifted his head off the back of the couch and opened his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, and even I could hear the exhaustion in his tone. Without waiting for her response, he slowly got to his feet and then stood there a moment as if he had to make sure he wasn’t going to fall over before he started toward the back room again. Lila followed close behind him, keeping her hands out like she could catch him if he did pass out, but I knew all too well how that could go. They vanished through the Christmas lights, leaving myself, Lucas, Noah, and Dare. None of us said anything for a long moment and then I heard Noah’s voice.

  “Well, this was fun,” he said wryly.

  I tried not to smirk at his comment and then looked up when Lila came back out. She took a deep breath and then met Dare’s gaze from across the room.

  “How are you feeling?” She asked.

  I glanced at him.

  He stood at the bar with his hands resting against it and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m good, sleeping helped and I had the juice like you asked,” he said.

  She nodded. “Good,” and then she met my gaze, “You guys can go if you want. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere else today,” she said.

  Lucas didn’t seem to wait around for a decision. He headed for the door without a word in anyone’s direction and then vanished outside. Noah seemed to catch on and followed behind him, leaving me alone with Dare and Lila. I took a deep breath and then looked over at my stepsister.

  “I’m sorry. Miles isn’t the easiest person to deal with apparently,” I said.

  She shrugged. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped all over you guys like that. I was just worried about him,” she said rubbing her hands down her face wearily.

  I nodded and then leaned forward to wrap her in a tight hug before I pulled back, “I get it. Let me know if you need anything else. You know I’m always here for you,” I said.

  She smiled, “Thanks.”

  I returned the smile and then waved to Dare, “I’ll see you.”

  He nodded, “Later, Bug.”

  I laughed at his nickname for me, something he had come up with a few years back, and then followed the guys outside to see them already waiting in the car. When I got in and closed the door, Lucas didn’t say a word as he backed out and sped off, taking us away from Lila’s. It wasn’t until several minutes later that we arrived at Noah’s house and he got out, wrapping me in a hug before he stepped back.

  “Me and you are going to have some best friend time. I need deets woman!” He said.


  I laughed. “I figured as much.”

  He winked before jogging up to his house and vanishing inside. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the conversation I knew would happen before I got back into Lucas’ car.

  And like I expected, we hadn’t made it ten feet from Noah’s house before he spoke, “So, what was that?” he asked.

  I stared out the window as the trees passed quickly and tried playing this whole thing off like it was nothing, even if I knew exactly what he was talking about. “It was nothing,” I said.

  “Bullshit. I saw the look you gave him when he fell on you,” Luke said with frustration lacing every word.

  I laughed, ignoring the overwhelming burn that ignited in my chest at the memory of what had happened, “I didn’t give him any look. He’s my stepbrother, Lucas. Just like Dare and Kevin are,” I said.

  He smirked. “He might be your stepbrother, but it’s not the same. Dare and Kevin have been around for years. This guy, he just came out of nowhere. You don’t even know him, so it’s not the same thing at all.”

  He was right. I didn’t know Miles at all, even if he was family. I had no idea what he was involved in or where he came from. I didn’t know anything. My gut told me to listen to Lucas and keep my guard up around Miles, but then I thought about the look in his eyes when he looked at me laying under him and the way his voice shifted when he spoke, and that burning sensation returned.

  I pushed it aside and spoke. “You’re right. I know that, but it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon, so I’m not entirely sure what you want me to do.”

  Lucas eased to a stop at the red light and responded, “I would prefer if you stayed away from him,” he said.

  I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that, but I cared about Lucas and I didn’t know Miles, which made me want to try. “Ok, I’ll stay away from him,” I said and then looked over at him just as his eyes met mine.

  “Thank you,” he said and then looked back toward the road as we took off, heading toward my house.

  I didn’t respond as my mind raced with excuses I knew I would have to make to avoid going to Lila’s while Miles was still there. I knew she would understand if I told her what was going on, but I wasn’t sure how to even explain it without telling her what happened. It was a weird thing to me, because Miles was my stepbrother.