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I sigh in defeat, silently cursing how well he knows me. “What I did could barely be considered a background check.”
A deep chuckle rumbles through him as he shakes his head. “Uh-huh. Fucking spill.”
“No, seriously. I mean, I checked out the basics. Never been arrested. Got a parking ticket last year. Straight A’s at Berkeley. Other than that, I left it alone.”
“So, boring as fuck is what you’re telling me.” Rico hits the blinker, switching lanes to exit the highway into Dutchess. “Doesn’t seem like J’s style.”
“Baby J deserves a little boring, Rico. My sister’s had enough excitement to last a lifetime, and not in a good way.”
“I get that. So, she’s settling down and what? You turn over a new leaf where you don’t require a background check spanning three generations and a full body cavity search in order to date your sister?”
“I think you and I both remember what happened the last time I meddled in J’s life.”
Rico’s face drops, his fingers flexing around the steering wheel as he suddenly refuses to meet my gaze. “You’re not responsible for that, Nick.”
“Everything I do impacts her life simply because of who she is to me. She’ll never be able to outrun or escape it. The least I can do is give her a little privacy when I’m able.”
“You’re too hard on yourself. You did what you had to do to keep her safe. Jesus, Nick, you make millions, and you still wouldn’t move out of your parents’ house as long as she was still living there.”
“The only reason I have to keep her safe is because I decided that I’d rather run a fucking drug ring than pursue literally any of the other endless opportunities I had available to my privileged ass.”
“Okay.” Rico turns into our mile-long driveway, throwing up the peace sign to the on-duty guards as we pass. “It’s too fucking late to dissect our baggage on that level. So, Imma need you to repack that misplaced self-loathing bullshit for the night, and we can revisit it when I am way more rested.” The driveway branches off into a giant circle in front of the house. Rico follows the turn, coming to a stop in front of the large stone steps.
At 8,000 square feet, the house he, JP, and I share is fucking huge. I technically own it, but I would go crazy if it was just me here by myself. It’s big enough that Rico and I each have our own wing, while JP lives in the 3,000 square foot guesthouse out back. I’d welcome him in the main house, but he called dibs on that shit the second he saw it. I bought the property after Baby J left for college. Our parents were gone a lot for business, and I didn’t like J being alone any more than she had to. Especially not after what happened her sophomore year of high school.
“Okay, look.” Rico shifts the truck into Park and cuts the engine. “Before we go in there, I need to give you a heads-up.”
“Dammit, Rico. There’s girls in there, aren’t there?” I groan, dropping my head back against the seat.
“Yes, and I don’t want to hear an ounce of shit outta you. You were way too torture happy tonight. You need a different way to blow off steam, and I just so happen to have one in the form of an Arianna Grande doppelganger.”
“You know I don’t like when you let people into our space when we’re not here.”
He waves me off. “Tyler’s on duty tonight. They’ve only been here twenty minutes, and he’s keeping an eye on them. Fair warning, there’s three of them because I thought JP would be back by now, but it looks like he’s gonna be a while so, congratulations, you have two.”
“I’m really not in the mood, Rico.”
“Well, you better get in the mood. If not for yourself, then for her. She’s already here. You deny her now, and you’ll give the poor girl a complex.”
“You called her for sex, and she showed up ready to fuck somebody she’s never met before. I’m pretty sure that indicates a complex is already present.”
“Even more of a reason not to turn her down.” He gestures toward the house dramatically. “She’s already in such a fragile state!”
I laugh, scrubbing a hand over my face as I shake my head. “What the fuck am I gonna do with you?”
Rico claps me on the shoulder. “With me? Nothing. You’re gonna go inside and let two beautiful women fight over your dick, Nick. I promise you—bigger sacrifices were asked of better men today. Now, let’s go.”
CHAPTER 3
NOW
NICKY
We make our way through the foyer and down the hall, passing Tyler on our way in. Giving him the pound, I greet him before dismissing him back to his post outside. He nods in acknowledgement, though momentarily lingers, eyes flickering back toward the arched entrance of my rec room. Something akin to longing briefly swirls within his dark irises, then it’s as if he comes to his senses and quickly vacates the house.
Entering the space, I’m instantly met with the sight that is undoubtedly the reason Tyler was so hesitant to leave. On my oversized sectional, just as Rico promised, there’s a stunning naked brunette that could easily walk the Victoria’s Secret runway show. And, true to his word, there’s a blonde accompanying her donning nothing more than a pair of lacy black boyshorts. I’m sure she’s equally attractive. However, I can’t speak with certainty, considering her face is currently buried between the brunette’s thighs.
JP’s gonna be so pissed he missed this.
