Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 153

The second I close the door to the cabin, I’m hit by a wave of too many emotions.

Rage. Worry. Relief.

Rage that I had to hurt a wolf to save a bunch of clueless idiots. That I got scratched up because they couldn’t follow the simplest of rules. Relief that I’d at least had the presence of mind to tell Max to look after Penny. And a weird kind of anger that it felt better to ask Max to watch her than it would have to ask my own brother.

But the second I laid eyes on Penny, everything else faded into a single, all-consuming panic.

She’s shaking. Not just her hands, but her whole body, trembling from head to toe, like she’s just been thrown into ice water. Her eyes are red, her cheeks flushed, and she’s still breathing too fast.

I can’t think.

I have to know what happened.

I’m still holding her against me, one hand splayed across her back, the other on the back of her head. She’s small, so fucking small, and fragile, and I have this wild, desperate urge to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go.

But I need to know.

I need to know what happened.

I step back just enough to look at her face, and then, without another word, I bend down, grab her by the waist, and lift her into my arms. Her legs instinctively wrap around my hips, her arms around my neck, and she lets out a tiny, startled breath as I carry her to one of the beds.

I set her down, but keep my hands on her, one on her waist, the other brushing her hair back from her face. Her wide, green eyes are fixed on mine, and she’s still shaking, still struggling to breathe.

I sink to my knees between her legs, my hands sliding down to rest on her thighs, spreading them just a bit.

“Penny,” I say, my voice low, rough. “I need you to tell me what my brother did to you.”

She blinks, her lips parting, and for a second, she just stares at me like she’s not sure if she heard me right.

“It’s... it’s hard to say,” she whispers, her voice trembling.

I rub my thumbs over her thighs, grounding her. “Try, princess.”

She takes a shaky breath, then another, her eyes dropping to my hands on her legs. I can see the way her chest heaves, her pulse fluttering at her throat.

“There was a video,” she finally says, her voice breaking on the last word.

Every muscle in my body tenses. A video? What the fuck kind of video?

She’s shaking harder now, her hands gripping the edge of the bed so tight her knuckles have gone white. I force myself to stay calm, to keep my touch gentle, even though my own heart is racing, my pulse roaring in my ears.

“What video?” I ask, my voice still low, but a little sharper now.

She swallows, her throat working hard, and I can see the tears welling up in her eyes again.

“It was... the video of my fall,” she whispers, her voice cracking.

I feel a different kind of rage flare in my chest, hot and vicious. Someone filmed her fall? They filmed that? Her hitting the ground, bleeding, unconscious? What kind of sick fuck does that?

I tighten my grip on her thighs, just for a second, and she whimpers, her eyes going even wider. I force myself to loosen my hold, to stay calm, to keep my voice steady.

“Who the fuck showed you that?” I grind out, my teeth clenched so hard my jaw aches.

She shakes her head, fresh tears spilling over her cheeks. “That’s not... that’s not the worst part.”

I feel a cold, twisting sensation in my gut.

“What’s the worst part?” I whisper, my hands sliding up to grip her waist, her trembling ribs beneath my palms.

She struggles to catch her breath, her whole body shaking now, her eyes wide and unfocused.

“In the video,” she says, her voice breaking completely. “You can see whose phone it was. The one that rang. The one that distracted Luc.”

My heart stops.

She looks up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips trembling.

“It was Zoe,” she chokes out, her voice barely more than a whisper.

I go still.

Zoe.

Zoe?

The pieces fall into place in my mind, sharp and jagged and horrifying. Zoe. The girl who’s been hanging all over my brother. The girl who’s been giving Penny death glares since the moment we got here. The girl who Tyler’s been acting so fucking weird about.

Zoe.

Penny’s small hands are gripping my shirt now, her tears soaking into the fabric, and I can feel her shaking under my touch.

“What else?” I say, my voice low, tight, barely controlled. “What else happened?”

She hesitates, her gaze flicking away from mine, like she’s afraid to say it.

“Penny,” I growl, my hands tightening on her waist. “And what?”

She lets out a shuddering breath, her shoulders heaving, and then, in a broken, trembling voice, she whispers, “I ran to his room... to tell him... or because I was... I was just so... and then...”

Her tears fall faster, her whole body trembling in my grasp, and I can feel the rage building inside me, hot and dark and uncontrollable.

“And?” I press, my voice a low, dangerous growl.

She squeezes her eyes shut, a sob escaping her throat.

“He was... He was kissing her,” she whispers.

My blood turns to ice.

Every muscle in my body locks up, my vision going white around the edges. I stand up so fast the bed creaks under her, and I take a step back, my fists clenching at my sides.

I have to go.

I have to find him.

I have to make him regret every single decision he’s made in the last few months.

But before I can move, Penny scrambles off the bed, her small hands grabbing my arm, her tear-streaked face turning up to me, her eyes wide and desperate.

“Please don’t,” she begs, her voice breaking. “Please don’t leave.”

“Penny,” I grit out, my jaw so tight I can feel my teeth grinding together. “He needs to be put in his fucking place.”

“No,” she whispers, her hands tightening on my arm. “Please. Max already punched him.”

Good, I think, but it’s not enough.

I look down at her, at the way she’s looking up at me, like I’m the only thing holding her together, and something shifts in my chest, something I can’t even name.

“I'm done, Asher,” she whispers, her voice raw, shaky. “I’m done. He cheated on me. He knew about the ringtone. He neglected me for weeks. I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want him near me. He’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

She looks up at me, her eyes shining, her cheeks flushed, her lips trembling, and I feel something crack open in my chest.

She’s not with Tyler anymore.

She’s not with my brother anymore.

And I’m holding her. I’m the one she ran to, the one she’s clinging to, the one she’s trusting to keep her together.

How the hell am I supposed to say no to that?

So I let out a long, rough breath, step back from the door, and reach down to scoop her up into my arms again, her legs wrapping around my waist, her arms around my neck, her small body curling into mine. I sit back on the bed, holding her as close as I can, my hands splayed across her back, my lips brushing her temple.

“I’ve got you, princess,” I murmur, my voice rough, my heart thundering in my chest. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”

And I mean it.

God, I mean it.