Only Yours (A McDade Brothers Novel Book 2)

by Scarlett Finn

“If you have nowhere to go, what’s the hurry? There will be flights available no matter what time you get to the airport.”

  “The more distance I can put between myself and my past, the better,” Whisper said, moving up close to Shyla, expecting her to move out of the way.

  “You know what you’re running from,” Shyla said. “You’ve probably been running from it your whole life.” One thing Whisper despised to hear was pity, especially when it was aimed her way. “But what are you running to? It’s not your husband, you can’t be going back to the McDade house. Why take Bosco? If you want to be rid of the McDades—”

  “This is not about being rid of them,” Whisper said. “I have to leave. It’s the only way to protect my marriage.”

  The revealing answer caused Shyla to become more discerning. “So that’s what you think.”

  “What I think is none of your business,” Whisper said. “I’m guessing Nicole is still locked up tight in the same bedroom she was in last night, so I’ll use Bosco’s shower.”

  “You think bringing it up with him will turn him against you?” Shyla asked, neither moving nor responding to what Whisper had said. “Your marriage isn’t that secure if you can’t communicate with him.”

  “You know nothing about my marriage or my husband.”

  “Maybe not,” Shyla said. “But I know about my relationship with my McDade, as you call him.”

  Any hint that the little woman was laughing at her would be a mistake. “Think it’s clear one McDade isn’t like another,” she said, then raised her chin. “Though I guess maybe they’re not that different. I was going to comment on Parker sending his brother to jail, but Score plans to do the same thing. They’re not that different after all. Are you going to move or do I have to move you?”

  “If they’re the same, what makes you think Zaiden is so different? Could be he’s happy to send his brother to prison.”

  Leaning closer, Whisper put her face near to Shyla’s. “You’re so sure about that, tell your honey to call him up and share the special plan… If Score’s so ready to let me do the asking, why won’t he do it himself?”

  “Score used to be close to Zay. Just like he and Doran were close. He lost a lot during his time in prison, but he didn’t lose his loyalty to them. Why do you think he didn’t mention them in any of the notes?”

  “How the hell do I know?” Whisper asked. “I don’t care. I don’t care about his plan. I don’t care about his buddies. I don’t care about his loyalty.”

  She tried to muscle past, but Shyla pushed herself against the door frame to stay in the way. “If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be this emotional.”

  “I’m mad,” Whisper said. “You said it yourself, I’m always angry. Well done, whatever, now get the hell out of my way.”

  Without being polite about it, she shoved her clothes into one arm and used the other to thrust Shyla aside. The woman was an idiot if she thought Whisper would respond to some kind of sisterly appeal. She’d never had a sister. Never wanted one. The last few days had taught her how important it was not to be influenced by others… or to do the influencing.

  Stalking up the hall, she intended to go to Bosco’s shower, just like she’d told Shyla. Except as she passed the foyer, the elevator doors opened, taking her by surprise. On instinct, she stopped to see who was arriving, figuring at the last second it was likely to be Beeks. He was the only one of Score’s posse she hadn’t seen since coming from Bosco’s room.

  Her mouth swung open when she absorbed the identity of the guy in the elevator. There was someone behind him, but Whisper couldn’t tear her gaze from the man in front.

  He marched across the lobby, reached around her head and grabbed a handful of her hair to yank her head back. “I can’t leave you alone for a fucking second,” he said then bowed to plant his mouth on hers.

  Whisper didn’t know why her husband had come or how he’d known that she was about to leave. At a loss, she didn’t even realize she was responding to his kiss until his tongue curled around hers to beckon it into his mouth.

  Confused, tense, angry, whatever she’d been before didn’t matter. The clothes in her arms must have fallen to the floor because her hands were free to grab hold of his neck. Yanking him down, she felt his resistance and used it to bounce off the floor and coil her legs around him.

  It shouldn’t be right to need him, to want him with such a ferocious heat, but all of her screamed for him. She hadn’t realized it, but she’d been screaming for him since the moment they’d parted.

  “You want to take a left and keep on walking,” Bosco said, somewhere in the background. “You’ll find the bed from there.”

  Loving her friend and eager for her lover to follow the instructions, she dug her nails deep into him. Instead of turning or traveling the path Bosco suggested, Zay ripped his mouth from hers.

  Whisper fought it, her lips still craved his, but he used his grip on her hair to jerk her away. “I came because they said you needed me,” Zay said, fierce in his intensity. “Tell me what you need, wife.”

  “I want you to take a left and keep on walking.”

  His attention fell from her eyes to her mouth. He wanted her. She was coming to understand that he always wanted her, yet an internal conflict raged behind his eyes. Her husband wanted to satisfy their desires, but he’d been summoned, apparently, and wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on.

  “What’s going on?” Zay asked. “Tell me and you’ll get it.” When Whisper didn’t respond, he looked beyond her toward the kitchen island. “You told me to come.”

  “And you did,” Score’s voice came from behind her.

  Exhaling, Whisper loosened the lock of her legs and slithered down her husband to put her feet back on the floor. He didn’t let her walk away. Instead, he clamped an arm around her, holding her to his side.

  Shyla was standing just inside the kitchen. She must have followed Whisper out of the laundry room. After leaving there, everything else was hazy. Fish wasn’t sitting at the island anymore. Either he was watching Nicki or running an errand. Possible he’d just run for his life when he saw an opening. With the madness of this place, Whisper wouldn’t blame him.

  “You’re not angry anymore,” Shyla said, smiling at her.

  Whisper wasn’t sure she liked the knowing look in the woman’s eyes or the not-so-secret satisfaction they held. She might have lashed out at the comment if she didn’t suddenly realize that Shyla was right. The tension. The ball of venom that had been embedded in her gut from a young age, didn’t weigh so heavy.

  She looked up at Zay who was scowling in the direction of his brother. “You came,” she murmured, getting to grips with what was actually happening.

  Whisper wasn’t naïve to Score’s conniving. Zay said his brother had told him to come and that someone had said she needed him. That wasn’t exactly true, not by any external measure. Even she hadn’t known how his presence would alter her attitude, so no one else could’ve known it. They’d used her relationship with Zay to lure him there.

  Her husband blinked and when his eyes opened on her, the set of his harsh brow was more relaxed. “Why wouldn’t I come?”

  One side of her mouth rose. “You came because they said I needed you.”

  “Still don’t believe it, do you?” he asked.

  Her muscles loosened. “I’m getting there.”

  “I’m guessing you’re Bellamy.”

  The new male voice brought Whisper’s attention around. Doran crossed past Shyla to open a hand to his brother. Score slapped a palm onto his and stood to give the youngest McDade a one-arm hug.

  “Please call me Shyla,” she said as the brothers parted. “Would you like coffee? Something to eat?”

  Shyla rounded the island to produce more coffee as Score returned to his stool.

  “She’s something, brother,” Doran said, his gaze sliding down Shyla and back up. The woman missed the appreciative once over because she was busy with coffee.
“Ring looks good on her.”

  Zay slipped his palm under hers to pick it up and look at her finger. “Looks better on Shyla,” Whisper said by way of explanation. “I’m only likely to hock it anyway.”

  “When you getting hitched?” Doran asked, taking the cup of coffee Shyla offered to him.

  Her cheeks flushed and she tipped her chin down, catching a glance Score’s way. “Soon,” came the deep, certain reply.

  “Phoenix,” Shyla murmured, probably trying to scold him. It didn’t come across as that. The woman was too soft and gentle toward her lover to ever be mad at him. Whisper would bet anyway. “Thank you for coming, Doran.”

  “No problem,” he said, turning in a slow circle to scan the place. “Wanted to check out the boy’s digs anyway.”

  “You know I am actually married into the family,” Whisper said. “You weren’t this nice to me when we met.”

  “I offered to take you to bed the first time we met,” Doran said without looking her way.

  Though Zay tensed, she soothed him by stroking his torso. “Offering a dose of McDade protein was just your way of being crude… Didn’t mean you liked me.”

  “Nicole sure didn’t,” Doran said, fixating on her. “Where is she?”

  Whisper shrugged. “Tied up somewhere, I think.”

  “She’s safe in one of the bedrooms,” Bosco said, laying his displeasure on her. “Everyone’s too fried to handle your usual feisty self. You didn’t get a full night’s sleep, so you’re probably not at your best anyway.”

  “That’s what sleeping next to you gets me.”

  “I should never have left you alone,” Zay grumbled.

  Whisper turned a grin up to him. “I’ve had a whale of a time,” she said, squeezing herself close. “Not sure my hosts would say the same.”

  “She’s very welcome here,” Shyla said. “All of you are.”

  How someone could be so sunny and optimistic all the time was beyond Whisper’s comprehension. Being with a man like Score had to take its toll on a woman. The sex sounded fun, but he wasn’t exactly a conversationalist. Last night he’d been more accusatory and threatening than calm and interested in debate.

  “At least for now,” Score said, which sort of proved Whisper’s point.

  “How did you get down here so fast?” she asked her husband, finally catching up to the surprise. “If Score called this morning—”

  “I called last night,” Score said. “After we came home from the club.”

  She couldn’t help but glare at him. Of all the devious, scheming—

  “Thought I said no club,” Zay said.

  He could be as unimpressed as he liked; he’d still come running when he thought she needed him.

  “What can I say?” Whisper asked. “I’m curious… I didn’t go to the bar in the building, that has to count for something, right?”

  No, not by the scowl on Zay’s face. He obviously figured there wasn’t time to fixate on that and he was right.

  “We have to talk,” Score said, finishing his coffee and rising to go around Shyla to take the mug to the sink.

  He just put it down on the counter, proving he had no intention of washing the thing. His woman went after him, putting herself in the perfect spot to accept his kiss after he slid a finger under her chin to tip her head up.

  Whisper’s default was to cringe at their easy, almost choreographed affection. Except for some reason—most likely related to the man still holding her—she wasn’t disgusted by the sight anymore. Score was an overbearing, arrogant jerk and Shyla was the complete opposite, yet it worked. She didn’t know how, but it did.

  Sliding her hand from Zay’s waist down to his ass, Whisper gave her husband a squeeze. “Want me to show you where Bosco’s bed is now? It’s empty.”

  She was occupied, waiting for her husband’s response when Score came around from the kitchen to stop a few feet away.

  “You’ve got talking to do too, Doherty,” Score said.

  “I have packing to do,” she said. “If you thought bringing him here would change anything, you’re going to be disappointed. I have time for sex if your brother’s willing to give it up. If he’s not, I’m showering and hitting the road.”

  “Hitting the…” Zay’s arm fell away as he stepped back to look at her. The fact that he was parallel with his brother rankled. It looked like the two men were standing against her. “What’s going on, Peanut?”

  “Nothing,” she said, retreating to swipe her clothes up from where they’d dropped. “I’m done with your brother… figured I’d try somewhere else on for size.”

  “Whisper,” Bosco said.

  He was the next to rise to his feet. That brought the count to five against one. She exhaled and opened her arms, clothes clutched in both hands.

  “Talk if you want to talk,” she said, sort of bowing at them. “I’m going for a shower. I don’t want any part of it.”

  Score was the first to respond. “Doherty, he’ll do the same for you.”

  At the club the previous night, Score had reminded her of what Shyla said about him doing anything for her. Although Whisper thought Zay could maybe be influenced by her, she didn’t want to push or cajole him.

  She shook her head. “I’ll support whatever he decides. I’ll always support him. But I won’t be the one to ask. I can’t do it.”

  Shyla moved up to Score’s side and laid a hand on his arm. “She doesn’t want to be responsible for his decision. Don’t ask her to use her relationship capital on this… She’s worried it’ll backfire… If he comes to resent her…”

  Zay had said on the phone that it had taken him years to learn Whisper Doherty-McDade, Whisper wasn’t sure how she felt about Shyla’s interpretation or the speed at which she’d picked up the clues.

  “Okay,” Score said without even pausing for a second to think or argue with his girlfriend. “I’ll do the talking.” He pinned a glare on her. “But you stay put until we’ve thrashed it out.”

  A compromise. Hmm. Not something Whisper had ever imagined herself coming to with Score. Still, she could be fair. It wouldn’t be nice to pose Zay a dilemma before Score even got to telling him about the real cause he wanted his brother to subscribe to.

  “Not like I have a hot date,” Whisper said and widened her eyes before glancing back and forth between everyone. “Can I get in the shower now? Maybe? Please?” Score nodded once and Shyla relaxed. “Thank you.” Her gaze found Bosco’s. “Stay with him.”

  Zay was about to get the shock of his life. The guy looked confused as all hell and she didn’t blame him. He’d showed up at his brother’s request to help his wife. At least, that’s what he’d thought. But it wasn’t true.

  She offered him a tight smile and then turned to stride up the room. The decision was Zay’s; Whisper didn’t want any part of it. If he chose to stand with his brother, she’d accept that. As for actually coming to that conclusion? Whisper didn’t envy him the quandary.

  Shyla was still in the kitchen when Whisper came out of Bosco’s room. She’d taken the longest shower of her life, killing time and hoping to stay out of the vicinity of the brothers’ discussions. Only seconds after walking into the living space, the vibration of raised voices carried through the apartment.

  Shyla paused to wince. “It’s been coming and going.”

  Whisper continued toward her and eventually put her butt in the central island stool. “You’re really okay with this,” she said, watching Shyla mix something in a bowl. “Score said you know what’s going on.”

  “I do,” she said. “It’s like you said, we support them in whatever they decide.”

  Though it went against her nature, Whisper sucked up her discomfort and forced herself to say the difficult words. “Thank you,” she said. Shyla paused. “For backing me up with Score.”

  “He’s a good man, you know,” Shyla said, stirring again. “I know that hasn’t really been your experience, but none of this is easy for him.”

>   “Could’ve fooled me,” Whisper said, selecting an apple from the fruit bowl that hadn’t been on the island earlier. “Seems like a pretty sure guy to me.”

  Shyla smiled. “He’s always sure. It’s one of the things I love about him. I can be indecisive, uncertain… He gives me confidence, knows how to hold me up, how to… be everything I need him to be.”

  Whisper nodded once. “Does seem like opposites attract with you two. Never told me how you two hooked up.”

  Shyla stopped stirring and thought for a moment before putting the bowl down and wiping her hands. “He made it happen. I would never have made a move on him, never in a million years. I didn’t even know he was attracted to me… not for sure.” Coming closer, she propped a hip on the island and hid her not-so-secret smile like she’d tried to before. “I was so nervous… Sometimes I still am. The way he makes me feel is so overwhelming…” Sliding her hip down the island, Shyla edged closer. “Do you ever get that way where you look at them and are just so overwhelmed?”

  “I don’t look at Score and think that.” Whisper took a bite from the apple and shrugged. “He’s hot, but my husband wouldn’t like that, you know?”

  Shyla’s slight smile came with a head tilt. “With Zay. He’s yours. All yours. If he didn’t feel the same overwhelmed way, he wouldn’t have abandoned his plan to get to you. He came down here for you and dragged Doran along, doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  That being a McDade, or more accurately Mrs. Zaiden McDade, wasn’t a straight forward transaction. It was going to be a lifetime deal. Staring down into her apple, Whisper frowned at herself. A lifetime. Once that hadn’t meant much. The future wasn’t something she spent a lot of time considering… not until Zay.

  But she was thinking and she was wanting. Him. A future with him.

  A door opened and a loud bang followed like it had hit the wall. Fast, heavy footsteps came up the hall. The moment Zay came into view, she leaped from her stool, casting the apple aside.

  He paused and looked to her. “We have to talk.”