Page 81 of Her Wicked Hero

Zed stared at the younger man who was surely his blood.

“No, I didn’t, Hunter,” he said hoarsely.

Hunter’s gaze lasered in on him. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“I should have done more.”

“Jesus Christ, I wouldn’t be sitting here today, waiting for my woman to come out of Nordstrom’s if it wasn’t for you. What the hell are you talking about, Zed?”

“I can’t be sure because I was only eight, but I’m pretty sure you and your mom came to my mom’s funeral.”

Zed waited. He watched as Hunter processed the information.

“Are you sure it was me? My mom?”

“No.” Zed answered. “Yes.”

“Now you’re just giving me whiplash,” Hunter laughed easily. “Zed, you’re about ready to give yourself a heart attack. Just spit out whatever it is.”

“I’m pretty damn sure you’re my brother. I’ve thought that for years. I heard my mom talk about a man named Carlos as my father.”

“The name on my birth certificate under father is Hector Nuñez,” Hunter said slowly.

“I know.”

“Zed, if you’ve checked this out, you know we’re not related.”

Zed stared Hunter straight in the eye. “We are. You’re my brother. I know it now.”

“How?”

“These feelings are truer than anything written on a birth certificate. I just know. We can have a DNA test done.”

Hunter’s black eyes stared at him for long quiet moments. Then he grinned.

“The girls are going to love this.”

“You don’t understand, I should have done more―”

“Not this shit again. As your baby brother, it’s my job to get you to loosen up.”

Zed leaned forward on his elbows. “Listen, I’m serious.”

Hunter leaned forward too. He stared fiercely into his eyes, “I’m serious too, Zed. In my book, you’ve always been my big brother. Why do you think you were the first person I called when I needed help with Aliana? If there’s blood involved, that just means you can donate a kidney. Not one other thing has changed. I love you.”

Zed swallowed. Ah hell, he was going to lose it.

“What’d we miss?” Marcia asked as she dropped a shopping bag into his lap, her eyes surveying Zed’s expression, then turning to Hunter.

“I have a brother,” Hunter laughed as he pulled Aliana down beside him.

“The red one,” he called out from the bedroom.

“You peeked,” Marcia protested. She’d thrown the Nordstrom bag on his lap at the restaurant earlier that evening because she wanted to lighten the mood. She hadn’t expected him to look inside. Marcia shimmied into the slim, red sheath dress and walked out of the bathroom. Zed was lying on the bed with his hands behind his head. He looked like a sultan. Actually, he looked like a relaxed and content man, and Marcia couldn’t be happier.

“God you’re beautiful.” She saw his truth shining from his eyes.

The back of her neck prickled, and she turned around. She saw another frame next to the picture of his grandmother. It contained an old photo of her. She walked over and picked it up. Margaret Brockman had taken it years ago. She turned to Zed.