Inevitable (Stonewood Brothers, #1)

by Shain Rose

“You go by Whitfield, Peaches, or Sweet Sin to me. It will never be anything else.”

“Never!” Her eyes darted away. “Sometimes. I don’t know! Only when I’m in small places or when I feel trapped.” She whipped around to pace away from me and then paced back to get right in my face. “Don’t you dare tell Jay.” Her words held more warning than I was used to, and I’d negotiated with some of the most powerful people in the world.

It took Frank threatening her well-being to realize I didn’t want to be any of that. I just wanted to be with her, but it was too late. I had gotten roped into something I was too immature to handle.

“She had to face everyone and tell them why you left, why she wasn’t good enough for you to stay, why you visited the guy who burned her house to the ground and almost killed her. I had to listen to her cry at night and try to explain why you left. She might not act like it, but she’s still broken.”

“Brutal.” Our eyes met. I could see there was an unspoken agreement there. Katie was a fierce best friend, the only one I would want for Aubrey.

“Fuck you, Brey. Get your shit together. This is a fucking bad idea, and if Rome is the only one who agrees with me, so be it. Jax is a bad toxicology report waiting to happen. You were addicted once and the next time you get addicted, you won’t survive it.”

Rome and I, we’d been a team, blocking out the world for a long time together. I was going against that, and I knew letting the world in—letting my heartbreaker back in—didn’t sit well with him.

Love was an addiction and overdosing on it left bad toxicology reports, destruction, and fatalities.

“It’s still one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen in this world and one of the only things I can’t seem to live without. No matter how fucking hard I try.”

Rome: Just left a married woman’s house. You don’t want to know ... Can we reconsider not hooking up anymore? :-P Aubrey: Throw me to the curb and get served. You’re on your own.

“Because I need to know how long it's going to take me to erase every time you were with him from your memory.”

“That’s not what friends do. Friends actually encourage friends to go get some wherever they can so they aren’t drooling over some unattainable man that has the ability to ruin them.”

“Your mom loves Frank’s girl like her own, Jax,” he warned. “Yeah, and I love her more than I do my music, my life, and my damn soul combined,” I answered back.

He grunted, and I left him to his own thoughts because I had my own thoughts to sift through that day. I had to come up with a plan to cut ties with Frank, fulfill his requests, and protect the damn spitfire that had me wrapped around her finger.

Before we even made it there, a scrawny little girl with brown hair down to her waist came running out in her signature purple shoes. The shoes were worn down and didn’t match her blue T-shirt and jean shorts. Yet, not one of us could talk her out of wearing those shoes ever.

“After I stiletto stomped his ass and insinuated that you were sleeping with Rome, I figured he would be heading next door. When I didn’t hear a fight break out, I was pretty disappointed.”

“It sounds stupid, I know, which is why I’ll never repeat this, but I know I’m right. He’s testing me to make sure I’m being your best friend and busting his balls still. And it kinda makes me not hate him.”

“Only a little! I only don’t hate him a little!” “What?” I practically yelled. “I know.” She put her hands up to her face. “I still think you should boot his ass out of your life but …”

“Maybe you should boot him after you give him a shot to make it right.”

“No. You don’t know. You’re stronger than you think, girl. I don’t doubt that you can handle it. I know you can. I doubt that you can walk away without caring. You can’t detach from your emotions like that. Most people can’t.”

“Brey, you can’t learn that. I’m detached because it’s all I’ve ever known. It’s also what I want. My detachment is my survival. Your love is yours. You love. I don’t. And it’s okay to love. It’s why we balance each other so well.”

“What?” She shook her head like her own voice was too loud for her. Then she whispered, “I seriously feel like a boulder rolled over me. Indiana Jones’s boulder.” She groaned and threw her arm over her face as she plopped back down on the couch. “You are a masochist, you know that?”

We owned one another. Our souls were burned together, welded and molded by so much molten emotion that no one—not him, not Jay, not even fucking Frank—could split us up. I knew, because I had tried to split that bond myself.

He looked her up and down. He took his time with her, raked his gaze over every inch of her and if I hadn't known them better, I'd have thought there was more to their story. The sexual tension was so thick, I wondered if I'd missed something. “Yes, she is very weirdly persuasive.”

I searched for the feeling of guilt for going that far with him over the phone. I’d never done anything like that in my life. Never even ventured into that type of territory and instead of testing the waters, I’d thrown caution to the wind and dove all the way in.

Jay was home, my anchor, my foundation. He lifted me up just as much as I did him. He'd celebrate the moment with me but he'd also worry about my panic.

Jett didn't know much about me, yet he knew everything about everyone.

I wanted to ask how it was all possible. Since my mother passed, I’d given annual donations, but there was no way that money could have covered an expansion. I knew my contribution only helped Margie keep things running. I hoped soon enough I would be able to do more, but it seemed someone else already had.

“Well, we will thank that pretty boy, Jay, one day when he comes back to visit but he wouldn’t even know we were here if it weren’t for you.”

“Of course, he did. I’m convinced he thinks that Ollie is his long-lost spirit child.”

Margie shrugged. “This place is for kids. I need to expand so there can be room for women too. Everyone should have a place they feel safe.”

Together, we lived and burned brighter than my life could ever be without him.

“Fine. Logically, I'm territorial of you. Even though it was six years ago since you were exclusively mine.”

“What do you need, Jett?” “I need you to release my client so she can come work over her investment portfolio with me.”

“Aubrey, you there with my brother?” I scrunched my nose and squeezed my eyes shut wanting to die from embarrassment. “Yes, I'm here,”

“I’ll fit you in later this afternoon. Just come to my office when you get a chance. You can talk with Jay later about the relationship you have with Jax. He seems to look like he needs an explanation. Anyway, I have to go, I have another meeting.”

“Why are you fighting this so damn much?” He ran his hands through his hair and left it sticking up as he took a step closer to me. “Just stop thinking about it and see where we go.” His last word was a whisper. “Please.”

“You did. You overcame him every day by surviving him and being there for your mom. I met my worst fear and that monster when I was eighteen, running into that fire. Before that, I’d only been scared to let my dad down or scared my mom would ground me for some shit. One day I was living an easy life, the next I was standing between you and death.”

“I lied, Whitfield!” he practically shouted. “I left Frank to die in that room. I did it on purpose.” “I know.” He stumbled back. “You don’t know. I’m saying I decided he didn’t need to live. I fucking wanted to kill him.”

“It wasn't just about knowing you could move on without facing him because I couldn't. It started out like it was about you, and now, it’s an addiction to bring him to his knees, to leave him with nothing.”

“Caden, Bastian, meet my crew from back home.” He lifted his chin to introduce all of us. When he got to me, his arm wrapped around my shoulders, “Brey's my on-and-off lover according to tabloids.”

“I know all your secrets, Bastian. Remember that when you’re with her. And, Vick!” he yelled, searching our tables. She popped up from Caden’s other side, smiling wide. “Go with Brey to dance for a while.”

“You’re right. I don’t belong here.” He stayed close. “Where do you belong then? I want to know so I can be there.”

“She’s not a girl. She’s the girl. My girl.” His words should have embarrassed me but goosebumps flew up my arms and my heartbeat picked up speed.

His voice, his stare. Everything drew me to him. And I just knew, us together, we were this magnetic force that repelled anyone else. Jax alone was a force to be reckoned with, but our energy was impenetrable.

“He reminded me that we’re casual and convenient. That I’m only here tonight for the media.” She looked out of the side of her eye and smirked at me again. “We’ve always had a relationship of convenience. I guess it’s casual now too, considering he wants to make your history a part of his present life.”

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to tell Jax that he was mine and only mine.

She had a point. For anyone else, I would have moved on. Aubrey wasn’t anyone else though. She’d been the girl I grew up with, the girl I wrote songs about, and the only one I ever loved. She wasn’t anyone else, she was everyone else to me.

When Rome’s stare met mine, neither of us looked away. The silent understanding that we had come to ping-ponged between us. He loved her, maybe not in the way that I did, but it was there. Its presence boiled my blood. My infatuation with Aubrey swirled around in a cloudy, thick mist, mixing with jealousy.

My brother and Rome showed up at her side almost immediately. Katie and Vick weren’t far behind as she crossed her arms like a petulant child. She’d created a family, an army, some sort of cavalry that would have been intimidating to everyone else. Probably formidable, and almost impenetrable in most circumstances.