Page 55 of Last Mile

Deacon snorted. “Sorry, man, but there’s no way in hell Bishop is just friends with this chick.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is that so?”

Deacon nodded. “I might not be your blood brother, but we have one thing in common. We are incapable of being friends with a woman.”

“I’m friends with Annabel and Alexandra,” I countered.

He rolled his eyes. “That’s different. They’re both taken. This Sam chick doesn’t have a man anymore, does she?”

“No.”

“Then you do want more with her,” Deacon said.

Rev and the others leaned forward in anticipation of my response. I sighed. “Fine. I do want more with her. And by more, I mean more than just fucking her.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the room after my declaration. Glancing around at my brothers, I demanded, “Jesus Christ, would you stop staring at me and say something!”

A huge grin spread on Deacon’s face. “I’ll be damned. Our little brother is all grown up now.”

When Rev nodded in agreement, a growl erupted from me.

“Seriously? I’m twenty- fucking- five.”

“Maybe you’re that old in years, but until you’re ready to open yourself up to another person, then you’re just a kid,” Rev said.

“You two are full of shit.” I looked to Boone and Mac. “What about you?”

Boone smacked me on the back. “I gotta agree with them. Being a man ain’t about fucking every piece of ass that moves. A real man has opened his heart up at least once to be shredded by some bitch. Some of us luck out more than others and have the first woman we open up to be the only one for us. But then others have to suffer through heartache.” He winked at me. “Now it’s your turn.”

I furiously rubbed my face as I let their words sink in. “I’m so screwed,” I muttered.

“Yep. But don’t worry. It’s a good screwed,” Rev said.

After bringing my hands away from my face, I asked, “But what about Marley?”

“What about him?” Deacon questioned.

With a grunt, I said, “You can’t be such an unfeeling asshole that you wouldn’t have an issue dating one of your dead brothers’ girlfriends.”

Deacon placed his hand on my shoulder. “I think you’re missing the vital point here.”

“And just what would that be, Mr. Know-it-all?”

“The fact that Marley is dead.”

“Uh, I think I’m aware of that one,” I snapped.

Rev sighed. “I think what Deacon was trying to say is that even though Marley is dead, you and Samantha are still alive. As hard as it is, life goes on, and people move on. Look at Kim and Breakneck. Case was Breakneck’s brother, and he’s okay with dating his widow. And as far as the Raiders are concerned, we know that they weren’t sneaking around together, because Kim was so committed to Case.”

Cocking his head, Deacon eyed me suspiciously. “You two weren’t hooking up behind his back, were you?”

“Fuck no!”

“Were you scamming her while he was alive?”

Avoiding his stare, I said, “No.”

“You’re lying,” Deacon countered.