Causing Havoc (38 page)

Yet he'd had no problem sending her on her way.

"No," Dean admitted, "I don't feel the same about al women."

"You don't look happy about it."

"It's unsettling, if you want the truth."

"I don't see why." Cam's smile gentled. "Love isn't on a time line, you know. When it's right, it's right."

Had Eve confided in her? The thought intrigued Dean. "You think it's right between Eve and me?"

"Almost from the moment she met you, she's been connecting with you in a way that I haven't seen

from her before. I think it's great."

In a tone that barely sounded human, Lorna whispered, "I don't see what's so great about it."

Dean glanced at her, and even he was taken aback when he saw that she was nearly beside herself

with unmasked hurt and fury.

Startled, Cam reached for her. "Aunt Lorna—"

"No!" Lorna jerked back and then pleaded with Cam. "Can't you see that he's taking over? It's al calculated and devious. Already he ran off your fiance. Doesn't that matter to you?"

Cam eased away from him. "Dean had nothing to do with that, Aunt Lorna. Roger and I just need to

work out a few things."

"Right." So much scorn dripped from her words. "And just how can you work out anything when Roger is
gone!
"

Cam lifted her chin. "He'l be back."

But she didn't sound convinced of that.

"You should never have al owed Dean to drive him away. Roger would have saved us al financial y."

Lorna's rant became barely coherent. "He offered. He wanted to help. He's rich and kind. An

excel ent catch. Yet over and over again you've turned him away. Then you beg this one to stay?"

The accusation in Lorna's tone strengthened Cam's position. "Of course I want Dean to stay. He's

my brother. He's your nephew."

Fil ed with loathing, Lorna's gaze swung to Dean. "I wouldn't claim him then, and I won't have him

now."

Cam gasped, but Dean just folded his arms, wondering how far Lorna would go. Would she final y

say why she despised him so much? What could a nine-year-old boy have done to earn such

enmity?

"That's enough," Cam said.

But Lorna refused to retreat from her position. "You're being an utter fool, girl. You can't trust him. I know how Grover raised him in his image. Oh, Dean wil play the benevolent big brother just to worm

his way in, but then he'l cal in the debts and kick us al out to the street corner. You wait and see."

Cam looked at Dean, maybe hoping for him to defend himself. But Dean had no intention of doing

so. He didn't owe Lorna any explanations at al .

"You're just like them," Lorna claimed with glee, charging forward to close the space between them.

She shook a measly fist in his face. "You were already too old for me to change, but the girls were

stil babies, untainted by them."

Cam looked between Dean and her aunt with confusion. "Them who?"

From the beginning, Dean had wanted Lorna to admit to his parents' failings, but now ... he couldn't

bear the idea of upsetting Cam.

"Shut up, Lorna."

"You wanted them to know," she accused. "You threatened to tel them yourself."

"I've changed my mind."

"Wel that's too bad for you!"

Cam raised her voice to demand attention. "Tel us
what?"

Shaking al over, Lorna turned on her. "Your parents were immoral drunks." Righteous in her fury, Lorna pressed her fist to her chest. "I tried to protect you from that. It's why I sent him away." One manicured finger stabbed toward Dean.

It didn't matter what she said about him, Dean decided. Cam had faced enough realities in her life. If

possible, he wanted to protect any il usions she had about their parents.

"That's enough, Lorna. Drop it."

As if she hadn't even heard him, Lorna raged on. "That's why T've been strict with you, why T never

indulged you in any way. You have your parents' blood running through your veins, so I couldn't al ow

alcohol to ever—"

"Shut up, damn you." Dean started forward, to do what he didn't know.

Cam stopped him with a hand on his chest. "It's al right, Dean. I already knew. Jacki, too."

Dean stared at Cam in shock. She stood tal and proud, so strong yet sympathetic toward her aunt.

His pride for her doubled.

Lorna went pale. "No." She shook her head. "I got rid of everything. The letters, the photos—"

"Me," Dean added.

"But not the memories." Cam tipped her head with sympathy. "People talk. Aunt Lorna. It was inevitable that I'd hear things."

"That can't be true." She shook her head in denial. "I took care of everything.
Everything.
There's no way. Tel me you're making it up."

"'I didn't want to distress you." Cam reached for her. but again, Lorna fended her off.

"You're lying." She blinked hard at Dean. "
He
told you, didn't he?"

"Dean didn't have to tel me." Despite Lorna's rejection, Cam took her hands. "It doesn't matter about our parents, Aunt Lorna. Jacki and I had you, and we appreciate al you did for us."

"Yes." Lorna breathed a little easier. "Yes, you had me. You'l always have me." She tried a smile that barely shifted the distraught lines of her face. "You won't let Dean ruin everything."

Good God, Dean thought. What the hel did Lorna expect him to do anyway?

"You're wrong about Dean," Cam insisted. "He's a good man. I know you did what you thought was best, but you should never have sent him away."

"No, I shouldn't have," Lorna murmured in agreement, her gaze unseeing. "That was a mistake. Now he's back, and he wants revenge.". .

"Revenge?" Cam frowned with worry. "Nonsense."

"He hates me. How could he not? He'l throw me out, I tel you."

From the doorway, Eve announced, "Of course Dean won't kick anyone out. He loves his sisters.

Given half a chance, he'd probably even grow fond of you, Lorna."

With Lorna's every word, Dean had grown more uneasy. He did despise Lorna, and worse, he pitied

her. Combined, they made a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Now at the sight of

Eve, he relaxed. "Hey."

She smiled brightly at him. "Hey yourself."

Something seemed different about her. Or maybe that was celibacy making him feel that way. Dean

hadn't even come close to getting his fil of Eve, and then she'd gotten her period, and—

Eve walked to Cam. "You okay?" she asked softly.

Dean looked at his sister and belatedly noted her pal or. "Cam?"

What had he missed? One moment Cam had been reassuring Lorna, wel in charge of the situation,

and now she looked far too vulnerable.

Big tears wel ed in her eyes. She dashed them away with an impatient hand and met his gaze. "Is

Eve right?"

Confusion swamped Dean. "About what?"

"Oh for God's sake, girl." Lorna patted Cam's hand. "Don't fal apart now. Roger wil have you back.

He'l help al of us with this mess if you just al ow him to."

Cam shook her head at that. "Dean? Do you love us? Jacki and me, I mean?"

That's
what had her al tearful?

Before Dean could find his voice, Gregor said, "Great timin' on my part, don't ya think, Havoc?"

Annoyed at the intrusion, Dean turned his attention to Gregor—and found Simon standing in the

doorway. Next to him, Jacki gawked.

Eve glanced at Simon, looked away, and immediately jerked her gaze back to him again. "Oh my

God."

Blinking away her tears, Cam asked of no one in particular, "Who
is
that?"

Amused, Dean shook his head. Simon always got that reaction from the fairer sex. At thirty-one and

with a mixed martial arts record of thirty-five wins, one draw, and only one loss, he stil looked as

pretty as ever. No cauliflower ears, scars, or outrageous tattoos for Simon.

He stood six feet, two inches tal and weighed 205 pounds, al of it ripped muscle. Natural y swarthy,

with dark brows and dark chest hair, an imposing manner, and a clean-shaven head, Simon grabbed

attention wherever he went.

The baldness was not an accident of nature; long ago Simon had removed al the hair from his head,

and now it had become his trademark look. For some reason, his lack of hair only made women

comment more often on his dark brown eyes.

Thanks to the ladies, Simon didn't get a kick-ass nickname like "Havoc" or "The Maniac." Early in his fighting career, the female fans dubbed him "The Sublime."

And it stuck like glue.

"Ladies," Dean said, noticing that even Lorna had gone speechless and slack jawed, "the man you're al drooling over is Simon Evans, my trainer, manager, producer, and any other job that comes

up."

Ignoring Dean's reference to the attention he drew, Simon looked around the room. "Who's related

to Havoc'?"

Both bug eyed and twittering, Cam and Jacki snuck their hands tentatively into the air.

"Ah ha." Propping his fists on his hips, Simon nodded. "I get it now."

"Get what?" Gregor wanted to know.

"Havoc's tattoo."

Alarmed at the direction of Simon's thoughts, Dean warned,
"Don't,"
but he was too late.

"Three vines," Simon explained, tipping his head toward Dean's biceps. "Two of them real dainty with rosebuds, one al covered in thorns."

Gregor said, "So?"

For years the other fighters had heckled Dean about his tattoo, curious as to what meaning, if any,

inspired the design. Not once had he ever laid claim to any muse beyond the ignorance of youth.

And now Simon planned to expose him.

Hoping to miss this little unveiling of truths, Dean began gathering up his tools.

"It's Dean and his sisters," Simon announced.

Shit, shit, shit.

As he felt the burn of curious gazes, Dean's heart landed in his stomach.

"And now that I've seen his sisters," Simon clarified, "I know exactly which vine represents Dean."

At that point, Dean would have walked out, but Eve, Cam, and Jacki blocked his way. They had that

ooooh look that women sometimes got when they thought a man did something that they al found

endearing.

"It's nothing," Dean ground out. "Don't make it into something, because it's not."

"Nothing at al ," Cam whispered, stil smiling in that sentimental, touched way.

For her part, Jacki grinned wide enough that he could see her damn molars. "I'm glad you got the tat

before you met me, otherwise I might have been the thorny vine."

Grinding his teeth together, Dean saw Eve watching his sisters like a proud mother, and that, more

than anything else left him livid.

Shoving the half-empty bucket of compound mud at Eve, Dean shouldered past his sisters.

He paused by Simon only long enough to ask, "You heard anything yet on that business I asked you

to check into?"

"I'm expecting a cal soon."

"How soon?"

"Anytime now."

Dean nodded. If Roger had anything to hide, he'd find it. "Let's go, Gregor."

"Go where?"

Stepping into the hal , Dean said, "To a gym. I already scoped one out."

"You did?"

"Yeah. And now that loud-mouthed Simon is here, we can get that promised sparring out of the way."

He didn't wait to see if anyone fol owed him or not.

He was too embarrassed.

He even had the awful suspicion that his face might be red.

As Dean strode away, he heard Gregor say, "Wel , hel , Simon. I don't want to spar with him now,

when he's in this crappy mood. He'l kil me."

"Idiot, he's going to kil you anyway." Simon started after Dean. "But that's the best way for you to learn."

"How," Eve demanded from close behind, "can Gregor learn anything if he's dead?"

Wanting to put distance between them al , Dean bounded down the stairs, reached the kitchen,

and... wondered where he should go next. He didn't want to just walk out on Eve. The backyard looked

private, but he'd have to wait for her to lead her there. He looked at the laundry-room door, the family

room . .. wel hel . He stopped in the middle of the floor.

He didn't run from anyone.

Okay, he'd never run from a
man
. But sisters were no different, at least not in that respect. Running was chicken shit, no matter who chased you off.

He had no reason to be embarrassed. He'd been fourteen when he got the idiotic tattoo, and in the

fifteen years that fol owed, he'd never gotten another.

Everyone made melodramatic, foolhardy mistakes in their youth.

While waiting for the others to catch up, Dean leaned against the counter, crossed his ankles, and

pondered his new circumstances.

Did Eve love him? He hoped so, because Cam was right—he loved her. He more than loved her.

He needed her.

Somehow his life had turned upside down on him.

Like the Pied Piper, everyone fol owed where Dean went. Within seconds, the kitchen overflowed

with bodies, and the din of various conversations fil ed the air.

Lorna continued to mutter, more to herself than to anyone else. Cam and Jacki, while stil sneaking

rapturous glances at Simon, discussed the idea of Dean moving in. Gregor warned Simon that Jacki

was off limits so he might as wel not get any lurid thoughts, and Simon told him to go screw himself.

Only Eve came close and that was to say, "You have to tel your sister about Roger. It's been three

days, and he's not back yet."

"Nag, nag, nag." God, he adored her.

She frowned at him. "Are you real y going to fight Gre-gor?"

"Sparring is not fighting, but yeah, I am. I need to let off steam and there's no better way than

pounding on Gregor's hard head."

Eve touched her fingers to his chest. "Oh, I don't know about that. I can think of a better way."