MALACHI “Could you really not find a middle sized hot air balloon for the sunrise?” To that, I have no audible response. So, I lift my gaze to meet Jaxon, who is leaning against the couch in front of me. I wonder if he’ll still be full of talk when I break those fingers of his. He throws the last piece of chocolate into his mouth as he frowns at me. “Does it really have to be tethered? The whole point of hot air balloons is the thrill that comes from knowing you’re no longer on solid ground.” He speaks like he’s ever been in one before. His words are so rich coming from someone who was scared of heights for so long, Ronan had to sit with him during every flight. I make no mention of it. I’m in no mood for any form of stress tonight. “I had three hours to make all the arrangements. Could you please give me a little more credit?” “It has to be perfect, Malachi,” Ronan cuts in, strolling into the living room with his hands behind his back. It becomes increasingly hard to resist the urge, the dire feeling in me to simply disappear. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t seem to shake the feeling something is wrong. Or something is about to go terribly wrong. “She specifically wanted a sunrise ride. There’s no point in all of this if it’s not exactly what she wants.” I plaster a smile on my face, it’s so fake it technically hurts. “Perhaps you should have thought about that before taking us by surprise. We could always move this and…” “No.” One word. Understood. There is no room for this discussion anymore. I heave a sigh and return to my phone. “I’ll keep calling, see if I can find anything.” Ronan doesn’t respond, but Jaxon crosses the room and walks over to sit beside me. His warm brown eyes dance all over my face. When I shift my gaze to him, it’s to shoot him a glare. “What?” “Are you alright, man? I mean, this is a really big deal. It’s a really big step we’re taking tonight with Sarah. We’ve finally found a woman that makes us happy, a woman we want to keep happy,” he shifts closer to me. “Don’t you want this?” I do. Like hell, I do. But even though we love that girl so much, we can’t be with her. Not right now. Not when we can’t even afford to be with ourselves. And with our father—Luke HawkThorne lurking around… Still, they don’t need to hear that from me now. My brothers haven’t been excited about anything aside from work for eons. I owe it to them to let us enjoy this. “I do,” I reply, clearing my throat. “You’re right. I’ll cheer up.” Jaxon nudges my right hand. “You better.” I open my mouth to give him a perfect retort when the doorbell rings. We all exchange questioning looks. “Did you call Sarah already?” Jaxon directs the question to Ronan. He shakes his head, confusion etched on the lines of his face. “I didn’t. We’re supposed to pick her up.” That is true. So who could possibly be at the door? All of a sudden, my heart begins to pound against the walls of my chest. I spring up to my feet, hiding my shaky hands in the pockets of my cargo pants. I have a feeling whatever—whoever is behind that door isn’t someone we want to see. I can’t possibly have been more right. I open the door to find him–Luke HawkThorne, smiling at me. Panic claws at the walls of my chest, scraping, tearing me open as I stand still, frozen in time and space. He looks just like the last time I saw him…the night that Jaxon. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Ronan’s screams echo in my thoughts. I’m standing between them, unable to move. Luke looks away from me, and his heavy blue eyes shift to Ronan’s. “If it isn’t my boys.” No. He shouldn’t be here. He can’t be here. He can’t be real. “You know, Ro, you should be grateful I came here instead of going straight to the police station the moment I could stand on my feet all those years ago.” Asides the croakiness in his voice, he sounds just the same way he did the last time I heard his voice. “I came into town some days ago when I saw you three on TV. Made some calls, found out where you lived, and thought I should come say hi,” he pauses and looks around. “Where is Jay?” He asks. Jay is short for Jaxon. “Isn’t he going to come see dad?” Ronan loses his shit immediately. The next thing I know, I’m being pushed to the side as he grabs Luke by the collar, lifting the lean man off his feet. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re here for, but you better stay away from my brothers and I. Or I’ll…” “You’ll what?” He cackles. There’s an amused glint in his eyes that makes my stomach turn. “Kill me?” But it’s not Luke I’m worried about. It’s Ronan. From behind, I can sense the fear, I can feel it in the way his hands tremble as his grip tightens around Luke’s collar. He hasn’t been physically violent with anyone in years. Somehow, Luke manages to bring out the worst in him after showing up for less than five minutes. That’s how awful Luke HawkThorne was, how awful he made us. “You’ve been down that route before, son. It didn’t go so well for you now, did it?” He’s scared, but he’s doing his best to keep it away from me. He always has. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m Jaxon,” Ronan speaks through clenched teeth. “I will put a bullet through your skull, and I will do a damn good job at sweeping your death under the rug.” I knew my brother enough to know he meant every word. Still, Luke would not be intimidated. “I have friends waiting for me to come back home, Ro. If I’m not back in twenty minutes, they go to the police with everything I know, everything I’ve told them,” He laughs. It’s a rotten sound I’ll do anything to never hear again. “Can you imagine what it’s going to be like? Three orphaned boys adopted by two kind souls killed their foster mother and staged it as a suicide,” No. “And when their foster father confronted them about it, they tried to kill him and dump him in a sewer.” Fuck! I tapped my fingers against my sides continuously. I had to keep my hands and body busy to stop myself from going insane. “Why are you back here?” The question leaves my lips before I can stop it. “What do you want?” Luke turns to look at me. His blue eyes light up as a proud smile slowly creeps into his cheeks. “Malachi. Always the sensible one. Would you ask your brother to put me down so we could talk? You know, like civilized gentlemen?” I swallow hard. “Ronan,” “Don’t even think about it.” He barks at me. “He’s not going to leave until he tells us what he wants,” Ronan doesn’t budge. “Let’s just hear him out,” It almost sounds like a plea, and it’s only then my brother lets Luke’s legs touch the ground. I’m sick…so fucking sick of seeing his face. Frail hands reach for the collar of his faded brown shirt. He adjusts it, brushes past Ronan, and heads straight for the most luxurious couch in our living room. Luke settles into it, crossing one leg over the other like he owns the fucking place. A sloppy grin lines his lips as he zeroes his gaze on me. “Now we’re talking.”