Yeah. I really knew.

Her gaze shifted, growing more alert, and she lifted her head once more. “Is that what you’re doing with Sunday?”

Nope. All my bullshit and hoopla, this was the reason Bren called me and not the others. Studying her, I don’t think she even knew it either.

Sunday.

There was also this damn pinching feeling, just behind my ribs. Didn’t know what it was. Thought a couple times about heading to the doc, but started to realize it only showed when I started thinking about Sunday. When she left my mind, so did the pinching. Now it was back, and I knew the source. That didn’t mean I liked it. It was still annoying.

“Sunday never wanted me full time, not really.”

Bren frowned. Concern darkened her gaze.

I looked away. The pinching just got worse when I saw the pity. I didn’t need to be pitied.

“I don’t know why, to be honest. Not sure if I just wasn’t good enough for her, or if it was something else. I always thought maybe she worried because she wasn’t in our crew, thought maybe why try going the distance if she couldn’t get all the way in? Tried to tell her once it wasn’t like that. I could have a girlfriend and she’d just have an automatic family, but nah. That was in school. She wanted to be popular, she told me later that she couldn’t fully be popular if she was dating me. She needed to date someone like Cross or Jordan.” I looked at her now, and the pinching tripled. Bren’s eyes were filled with concern. She was hurting for me. I added, my voice getting rough, “The leaders, ya know? The pretty boys, too.”

“Zellman,” she breathed out.

“I got it. I did. I’m not a leader, but damned sure if I’m not the guy they want backing them up.”

“Zellman.” She grabbed my arm and leaned in close, almost right in my face. “When did she tell you this?”

The pinching was now piercing me.

I shrugged. “Don’t remember.”

“When?”

I did remember. Just wished I didn’t. “April, I think. Early May.” May 3rd, to be exact.

“She was already pregnant.”

Wait. What?

I frowned at Bren.

She was trying to hold back a grin. Her hand tightened around my arm. “She already knew by then she was pregnant. Drake had broken up with her. She was trying to push you away.”

No…

Could…

Really?

I scooted back. I didn’t know why, but I needed space. Bren let me go, watching me. Her little smile faded, slowly.

“It was always on and off with us.”

“Yeah, because Sunday’s kind of a bitch, but she’s always cared about you. I know that for a fact.”

It hurt too much, thinking the other way. She was pregnant, man. Having another man’s kid, a guy who was also in the pen. A guy who was known to be a snitch, and we all knew it was only a matter of time how long he lasted in there.

That was Sunday’s baby daddy.

“Bren.” My voice broke. I shook my head. “I can’t—she can’t—”

“It’s okay, whatever you’re thinking in your head. You do what you want, what you need, but Sunday’s not with you because you’re not considered alpha enough. That’s ridiculous, and you are a pretty boy, too. We can take a walk on your campus and I know you’ll get five numbers without even trying. That doesn’t happen to not-pretty boys, and you know it.”

Well. Yeah. She had me there.

I never had a problem getting a girl.

I eyed her, half-grinning. “Did we just become best buds?”

Bren started laughing.

I added, “Cross and Jordan might have something to say about this. They won’t be happy. It’ll mess up the entire group’s dynamic. Does this mean I get to bone you?”

Bren’s laughter stopped and her fist flew out. She landed a good solid one across my jaw.

Too far. I rubbed at it, grinning at her. “There’s that line you keep mentioning.”

“You think?”

But she was smiling, and that was really the reason she called me.

I did my job.

CROSS

“Dickweed.”

I was leaving the library and sighed because, of course, we had psych together earlier and he ignored me. He’d been ignoring me since we cut him out of handling Harper, but now my brother was wanting attention.

I stopped. I considered it.

Fuck it. I kept going.

“Hey! I said DICKWEED!”

I whirled around. “Keep fucking insulting me, and we’re going round two.”

Blaise slowed to a stroll, that same damned fucking smirk there.

He did it again.

I wanted to deck him just for that.

“What do you want?” I snapped, knowing we were getting attention and knowing some of them were giggling girls and frat douchebags, because when I was around my brother, we were attention magnets. His soccer stardom had been growing since we started school, and half the guys around knew Blaise from Zeke. Another idiot that I couldn’t stand, which brought me back to—why the fuck was I standing here?

I turned, starting to leave.

“Okay, okay!” Blaise was laughing. He held a hand up. “Jesus. Peace, fucker.”

I growled. “Stop pissing me off, Blaise.”

“I’m just messing with you.”

“I’m just getting sick of it.”

“Okay, okay.” He drew up next to me, lowering his voice. “Zeke texted me. Harper’s back and called a house meeting. Zeke’s worried about what’s going to go down there.”

I drew up short. All kinds of alarms were starting to sound in my head. “I told him not to talk.”

“Guess he stopped caring?”

With everything going on with Bren and her job, Harper had somewhat slipped my mind.

Blaise asked, keeping his voice low, “Anything new from the dad front?”

I shook my head. “No, and if there was, Channing would’ve called.”

“So what are you thinking?”

What was I thinking? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I started walking forward.

“Hey.” Blaise darted to keep up with me. “Are you going to the frat house right now?”

I threw him a frown. “Why would I do that?”

“Why?” he scoffed at the same time a couple girls waved at him, saying hi. He ignored them. “Because your girl beat the shit out of him for your other friend because of his girl. Are you following the dots? You guys are involved.”

“We’re not involved.”

“How do you figure?”

I stopped and let out a breath. “He called a frat meeting. I have nothing to do with his fraternity. Zeke does, so that means you do. I draw the line there. I can barely stand you, but no fucking way am I wading in to help Zeke. No matter what bullshit loyalty he has to you or you have to him, he’s been a pain in my ass and Bren’s ass since before you arrived in town. So, yeah. I don’t give a shit. You go to the frat meeting and do whatever you want.”

I took off, hearing him bite out a growl behind me.

I kept going. I meant what I said.

“I want him out of that house.”

I didn’t stop, saying over my shoulder, “I don’t care!”

“He’s going to be a problem for Zeke if he stays.”

Aaand again, “I really don’t care!”

“Agh! Fine! What do you want?”

I stopped walking, and turned back, my eyebrow cocked up. “Say again?”

“What do you want?”

“Want?”

“Yeah. What do you want?”

I frowned. “Why are you up my ass to do this? What do you think we can do to help with this?”

Blaise frowned at me, his head cocked to the side. He seemed to be thinking, then he held a finger up. “You’re right. I’m thinking of this all in the wrong way. Thank you.” He flashed me a smile before backing away. “Oh, hey. You coming to my soccer game?”

“You play today?”

He dipped his head down. “Seven.”

This was another annoying fact about him. He was fun to watch. Even Bren enjoyed going to the games.

I growled, biting out, “We’ll be there.” His smile was blinding. So was how fucking smug he was. “Sit with Aspen, could you? Some of her friends are heading home for the weekend. They won’t be there.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

He took off, and my phone started buzzing in my pocket, so I pulled it out.

An unknown number flashed over the screen.

“Hello?”

A voice said from the other end, “This is Bren’s boss. I believe you have something of mine.”

He was waiting by his truck when I pulled into the parking lot.

I didn’t know why he asked to meet here, outside PubTown, but I went. I was figuring not meeting in his parking lot was better odds for me? Either way, I wouldn’t be alone for long. I called everyone, giving Bren the option if she wanted to come and hear what he had to say, or head to the soccer game to sit with Aspen.

She hesitated, and that told me so much.

I wasn’t totally surprised when she said, “I don’t trust Jordan and Zellman with Aspen.”

She hung up and the dread that’d been building since seeing her dad’s face pinned on this guy’s wall just doubled. Bren was choosing to step back, something Bren rarely did. The last time she did it willingly was the night she told me she wanted to be a normal high school senior for a night, not chasing after her drug-dealer ex.