Chapter 30

"This is fucking bullshit," Zane grumbles as he throws himself down onto the couch. "She can't be for real, can she?"

"I think she is, little brother," I sigh, perching on the arm of the chair next to him.

"I'm not your little brother." He shoots me a glaring look.

My lip twitches. "Technically, you are."

"Whatever. Just because your dad knocked up my mom doesn't make us anything."

"Why do you hate me so much?" I ask him. I'm not going to tip-toe around anything anymore. Jade wants us to work out our shit, and honestly, I think it's about time we do it.

"Why do you hate me?" he challenges back.

"I don't." I blink at him, confused. When did I ever show anything that would resemble hate? Sure, we bicker and yes, I did kick his ass, but that"s because he started it. I wasn't going to be his punching bag.

"Really?" he snorts. "Fucking my girl, knowing damn well who she was and how long we had looked for her seems like something someone would do to someone they hate."

I sigh, running a hand through my hair as I take a seat fully in the chair. Leaning forward, I brace my arms on my thighs.

"I'll admit, that was a pretty shitty thing to do."

"You think?" He glares at me.

"But I didn't do it because I wanted to hurt you. What was I supposed to do in that moment? The girl who my brother's been pining after, searching for, was right there in front of me. She was everything I ever wanted, and then I realized she was my scent match. I was selfish, okay. I guess a part of me thought if she came back into your life, I'd lose her. It's one thing to have the alpha protectiveness over an omega, but an alpha's scent match? It's unlike anything. You should know that. I saw her as mine, and I didn't want to share or let her go."

"I do know that. Even before I knew Jade was my scent match, I was already protective over her. I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her, before my teenage brain could even comprehend what love was," he grits out. "And then to find out my brother knew about her for six fucking months and not only didn't tell me, but was fucking her? That... that fucking hurt. You took her damn virginity!"

Guilt swims in my gut. "I know. And I'm sorry. I really am, Zane. I didn't do any of that with the intention to hurt you. I was selfish, and I'm sorry. I don't know what I can do to make you believe me or make things better. But Jade is also my scent match. I'm not going anywhere unless she asks me to, and even then, I don't think I'd be able to."

"What if she did tell you to leave? What would you do, lock her up in a basement?" he scoffs.

"Maybe," I deadpan, and his eyes widen. "You do crazy things for love."

"Fucking hell," he groans. "Maybe we are a lot more alike than I thought."

I chuckle, leaning back in my chair. "Maybe we are."

We stare at each other for a moment before he sighs. "I don't hate you," he tells me. "I guess, I'm... jealous? Envious? I don't know. But I don't hate you. Sure, you"re a pompous dick sometimes. You dress too nicely, like, would it kill you to wear a pair of jeans once in a while?"

"Maybe." I grin. "I like my suits." I shrug. "And so does Jade."

"Oh, fuck off."

"Why would you be jealous or envious?" I ask, circling back to that part of his admission.

"Really?" he gives me a droll look. "My mother killed herself when I was a baby. I grew up in foster care my whole life. I never had parents. You had your mother and our father. You had money and stability. You had everything most kids in my position could never dream of. Maybe it's not right of me to be so shitty to you and write you off as my brother over something you didn't have any control over, but I did."

My face is somber. "Trust me, living my life wasn't all that amazing. Yes, I had money. Yes, I was given a job that I now love. But regarding parents? Our father cheated on my mother far too many times to count. He's not a good guy. Not someone you would have wanted to grow up with. Trust me, you're better off not having a relationship with him. Him wanting nothing to do with you? It's a blessing."

"Why?" His brows furrow. "What did he do that was so bad?"

I roll my lips together, wondering how much I should tell him. Fuck it, he deserves to know the truth.

"He was involved in some pretty shady shit. Still is, I'm sure. But money buys silence, and he's very good at silencing people."

"What kind of shady things?"

"There's a lot, but the biggest thing is underage girls."

"What?" he whispers in disbelief. "What do you mean, underage? Like sixteen, seventeen?"

"More like fourteen, fifteen."

His face turns ashen, and he leans forward, putting his hand to his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"I have a lot of evidence hidden away if you ever want to see it."

"Naw, I believe you," he says. "I don't think you would make up this stuff for the fuck of it."

"Do you know how old your mother was when you were born?"

His eyes snap up to mine. "No," he replies slowly. "I don't know much other than she had me, left me in the hospital, and killed herself."

"She was fourteen. Had you when she was fifteen. I found out after doing some digging that your mom was the child of a family friend. She grew up around him, and when she was old enough for his liking, he made his move. Then he paid a pretty penny to keep her mouth shut. Later on, when she told him she was pregnant with you, he paid her even more money to take care of it. If you know what I mean."

"That sick fucking bastard!" he snarls, jumping to his feet. "She obviously didn't do it, though."

"No." I shake my head, feeling so damn sorry for the kid. "I don't know much regarding that, but I'd like to believe she loved you. That she wanted to wait until you were born. There are records of her going to get mental health help, a few stays in the psych ward. What he did to her, it messed her up real bad. And when you were safe, she ended her pain."

Angry tears cloud his eyes. "Why wasn't he arrested? Why is he still free! He's a sick fucked up monster." I'm about to answer when he does it himself. "Right. Money." He grabs a vase and tosses it against the wall with a roar. "Fuck!"

I wince, flinching a little bit, but I say and do nothing. "Why were you looking into him? What made you want to find all this out?"

I lick my lips and take a deep breath. "One day, I was at his place. This was after my mother and him split. She was still living there, spending his money freely, but always gone on some trip. Anyway, one night, I woke up to go grab a glass of water and a late night snack. When I came down the stairs, I saw my father talking to a few of his friends. They were all dressed nicely, standing by the front door. That"s not what got my attention, it was the fact that each of them was overly friendly with the girls that were with them." My own stomach lurches at the memories I've been forced to keep reliving in order to find something to put that monster behind bars.

"They were around sixteen. All in dresses, looking sweet and innocent. Just how he likes them," I spit. "I waited at the top of the stairs until they disappeared down to the basement. After, I snuck down and listened at the door. I wish I didn't."

I look away, closing my eyes as their cries of pain and pleas to stop fill my mind.

"After I understood what was going on, I hid. I was too afraid to do anything else. An hour later, they came upstairs, and all the girls looked empty. Like they lost a part of themselves down there. But our father and his buddies?" My lip curls as pure fury fills me.

"They had these smug looks on their faces like they were so fucking proud of themselves."

I look over at Zane, and he looks three seconds away from taking off, finding the bastard and killing him. "And you did nothing?"

"What was I going to do!" I shout, hating the look of disdain on his face. "I was twelve. I was only a kid. He was this big, powerful man who was loved and adored throughout all of Hollywood. No one would have believed me. It would only have gotten me killed. But I also didn't just let it go."

"What did you do?"

"I've spent years slowly collecting evidence. And when I find enough, I plan on ending him."

"Like... getting him arrested?" he asks, anger still radiating off him.

"Prison would be too kind to him," I respond in a dangerous tone. "He would use his money and connections to get out. No. I think dear old Dad plans on killing himself, you know? That all the guilt over everything he's done to all the people he hurt got to him. He couldn't live with himself anymore. But he wanted the world to know just how fucked up he was and wanted to make sure all his victims and their families were well compensated."

Zane's face slowly splits into a devilish grin. "Oh, big brother, you are one diabolical man, aren"t you?"

I shrug. "There"s a lot you don't know about me, Zane. But I'd like for that to change, if you"re willing."

"I could be persuaded," he says, crossing his arms. "But answer me this first. Those assholes who's asses I kicked, what happened to them?"

"They were taken care of. I know a guy." I grin. "I know a lot of guys."

"Fucking hell, Calvin. You scare me, you know that?"

"What"s the good of having all this money if I can't make the world a little bit better?"

"I'm in." Zane grins. "Whatever it is, I'm in."

"What about Jade?" I ask. "What would she think?"

"What would she think about you killing people?"

"How do you know I kill people?" I raise a brow.

"You just said so." He glares at me.

"No." I chuckle. "I said I know people."

"Don't play that mind game bullshit with me," he growls.

"Fine," I sigh. "For the most part, I do pay people to do my dirty work. But sometimes my hands get dirty. Trust me, when father passes away, my hands will be stained a glorious shade of red."

"And that's what I want in on." He gives me a hard, determined look. "I want justice for my mom. She wasn't able to get it for herself, so I'll give it to her."

"Alright." I nod. "When the time comes, I'll let you know."

With that, he nods.

We sit in silence for a while before he speaks again. "If I was never meant to exist, why did he sign me to the label?"

At that, I grimace. "That would be me."

"You signed me?" His brows furrow.

"There"s more I haven't told you," I admit.

"Just fucking great," he growls. "Well, don't hold back now."

"I knew about you for about two years before you signed with the label."

"What!" he shouts. "What the fuck, man? How?"

"You and the guys used to put music out online. Well, my job was to find new talent for the label. Sometimes, I'd search up bands on YouTube channels, and I came across yours. At first, your music pulled me in, but as soon as I locked eyes on you, I couldn't leave. You looked so much like me, it was crazy. It got me thinking and after some digging, I found out about your mother, you being born, and how you were placed in foster care."

"So you knew about me and you didn't do anything!" he yells, chest heaving with anger. "You could have gotten me out of foster care!"

"Oh, come on," I scoff. "Are you telling me you would have left the guys behind, left Jade?"

That shuts him up real quick.

"Still. You could have at least made yourself known."

"And risk that bastard finding out? No chance in hell. He would have tried to take custody just because he could, and you wouldn't have any control over your life. He would have seen your talent and exploited you."

"Why would he want anything to do with me then, when he didn't when I was born?"

"Because, back when you were a baby, you were a mark on his pristine image. Once he knew what he could get out of you, you would have been his prized cash cow."

"So then you went ahead and signed us to the label? If you wanted me to stay away from him, why bring me in! I don't get it."

"Because I own half the label," I explain. "When you were of legal age and old enough to make your own choices, I saw your demo pop into my email, and I snatched you up. I signed you myself. Yes, the label's name was on that contract, but I owned your band. Not him. He had no control over you. Yes, he gets part of the money, and that's the only reason why he's left it alone. He fought me on it at first, but I had to lie through my teeth and make it seem like I was playing his game to get him to fuck off."

"So you"re in charge of our band." I nod. "Not him." I nod again. "Wait, so why did he hire Gianna, if you're in charge of the band?"

"Because Gianna seemed like a promising manager. She was fresh out of college, had a good head on her shoulders, and was ready to do the job. On paper, she looked perfect. I wanted to give her a chance. And she was the perfect fit, wasn"t she?"

"Until Jade came into our lives, yeah," he grumbles.

"Right. And even though he suggested her, I was able to fire her from being your manager. The only reason why she's still on this damn tour is because our dear old dad hired her as the social media rep. I could fire her from that too, but that would bring too much attention to you guys, and I need him to stay off my radar as much as I can to have my end goals work."

"Fucking hell," he groans, sitting down on the couch and putting his face in his hands. "This is a lot of shit to take in."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I don't regret telling you."

He sighs, runs his hands down his face and looks at me. "I'm glad you did." He waits a moment. "So, you really aren"t a bad guy, are you?"

"That depends on what you consider as a bad guy." I shrug. "I'm not perfect, I'm not some stand up man who follows the law. But I also don't hurt innocent people. I'd rather make the ones who hurt them pay."

"Damn it." He groans, leaning back against the couch. "Why did you have to end up being so... cool?"

That gets a laugh out of me. "Never thought you would say that."

"I didn't." He glares at me. "It never happened."

"Of course."

"So... Jade," he says, narrowing his eyes. "Guess I have to share her, don't I?"

"I'm afraid so." My lips twitch.

"Guess she could be scent matched to a worse person," he mutters.

"I mean, she is." I crack a grin. "You."

"Oh, fuck off." He flips me off before tossing the couch pillow at me. I chuckle and catch it.

"Do you think she's going to leave us if she ever finds out the things I've done?" I ask him because in reality, he knows her best.

"The killing thing?" he asks, and I give him a subtle nod. "Nah. We had a talk the night of her attack, and if anything, I think the idea that I almost killed them got her all wet." He chuckles. "I think our omega is a lot naughtier than we thought."

"Fucking hell." I chuckle. "She surprises me every day."

"Me too. There's a lot I'm still getting to know about her, but at the end of the day, she's still the same girl who gave me a reason to live."

"So, where does this leave us?" I ask him.

"Guess we're sharing an omega. So, like, welcome to the pack or some shit?"

That has me laughing again. "Thanks for having me."

"Did we kiss and make up? Because there"s no way I'm losing my sex privileges."

"Yeah." I chuckle. "I think we did."

"Well, nice talk, big bro. I'm going to find my lovers," he says, jumping to his feet.

"You better not fuck on my bed!" I shout as he takes off out of the hotel room.

"Sorry, can't hear you!" The door closes, and I groan.

That went a hell of a lot better than how I thought. Now, the question is... do I tell Jade that I'm technically a serial killer or not?

Ugh, that"s a problem for another day.