Next Stop Love, #1 by Rachel Stockbridge

Author:Rachel Stockbridge [Stockbridge, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rachel Stockbridge
Published: 2020-07-19T21:11:17+00:00

Fifteen

Beatrice sank into the nearest chair. Her legs shook too much to support her any longer. This wasn’t like the arguments she mediated at home, where she could function as a neutral third party. Where she could shut down her own feelings and steer the fight into some semblance of rationality.

She was smack in the middle of this one.

“I don’t understand,” she said, pressing cold fingers to her cheeks. She couldn’t look at Greyson. A weird combination of guilt, nerves, and resentment made it impossible to look at anyone. Her eyes settled on the pepper mill near the end of the table. “You—You never told me you had a step-brother.”

“It’s a sore subject,” Greyson replied, gripping the back of one of the other chairs. He tapped a hard staccato rhythm with one finger. “We . . . don’t get along very well.”

“Really,” Kinsey said, crossing her arms beside Beatrice. “You seemed so happy to see each other.”

“I don’t understand,” Beatrice said softly, trying to sort the chaos into some kind of pattern. How hadn’t she known they were step-brothers? She’d mentioned Greyson to Julian before. She was sure of it.

Except, now that she thought about it . . . maybe she hadn’t. Whenever Greyson came up in conversation, she’d just referred to him as her boyfriend. And the one time Julian mentioned having a step-brother, he hadn’t offered a name either.

Greyson released the chair and crouched at Beatrice’s side. “I’m sure this wasn’t your fault,” he said in a low voice, freezing her in place with his gaze. “I know Julian. He has no trouble convincing people he’s just a good guy who’s down on his luck. But he’s bad news. You shouldn’t be hanging around with him.”

Beatrice flushed. She wasn’t stupid. She knew Julian had a rough past. He got quiet and tense as they neared the city every day—he’d stop drawing, his pencil tapping a rapid rhythm against the paper as he scanned the faces of the people around them, and it took him an extra beat to respond if she asked him a question. That tension tended to still be with him when they got on the train back home. For goodness’ sake, they’d met because he was fleeing a guy he claimed was capable of killing both of them. That didn’t exactly scream wholesome lifestyle.

“What do you mean, ‘bad news?’” Beatrice asked, gripping the seat of her chair with both hands.

Greyson sat back on his heels, a warning flashing in his eyes. “I guess he didn’t mention to any of you about how he got in trouble with the FBI for running drugs for a gang.”

“Are you serious?” Nath asked.

“No,” Beatrice said in flat denial. She didn’t care if Greyson got angry. Julian may have had a tough life, but he wasn’t a criminal. He just wasn’t. “No way.”

Greyson’s expression softened into something close to pity. Beatrice turned her head sharply and blinked away an unexpected onslaught of tears.

“Okay.” Greyson stood, rubbing his face. “Maybe I’d better explain.

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