10. No Distractions...
1228 Words
~XANDER~
With Andy taking me towards the direction of the study, I knew what he wanted to talk about was serious. And it was something he didn't want any ear to hear. The door of my study was soundproof, so anything done or said there never got out.
We entered, with me trailing behind him. I shut the door immediately I got in and made straight for my mini-bar. I had a mini-bar both in my room and in my study. There were times I would be neck deep with work that I wouldn't want to step outside. So, if I needed liquid courage I didn't need to go far to get it.
Well, that was a few months back when I still spent time here, and not in my private condominium. But I figured things would change from now on.
Speaking of change, Ace had never openly argued with me, playfully or not. But what he did back there... Being so defensive and overprotective... Coupled with his comment at the office earlier today about his guest being special. It was all starting to make sense.
Still mulling over that, I poured myself a glass of cocktail wine, reckoning that subtle alcohol would do after the one I downed upstairs before going in to shower.
I offered Andy a glass and he waved it away. "Nah. I'm good. Maybe after we were done talking."
I raised my gaze, leveling it on him as I took a slow sip of my drink, wondering what was so important that Andy didn't want the intrusion of a drink.
"I'm all ears, brother." I urged him on, unwilling to be kept further in the dark.
A half smile crossed his lips as he eased away from the wall close to the door and started walking towards me. He was buying his time.
I knew Andy as well as I knew the back of my hand. We had been inseparable ever since his parents took me in from the orphanage— where I stayed from the time my parents were brutally assassinated.
He ran his father's business, and through the help of him and his father, I was able to build mine from scratch to what it was today. Well, that was before his parents—my foster parents— got involved in a plane crash. Andy and I had been each other's backbone from then till now.
"What was that back there?" He asked, taking a seat on the other side of the desk. I knew he was taking his time. And who was I kidding to forget for a second how inquisitive my foster brother could be?
I gave him an indifferent one-shouldered shrug. "Ace being clueless as usual."
A soft chuckle escaped Andy's lips. "You think he was being clueless?"
"Mmm-hmmm," I hummed, taking another sip and settling down opposite him, taking the bottle and glass with me.
"And what were you?" He leaned against the table, peering at me through his double eyelids— just like mine.
A lot of people said we look like real brothers. Well, I couldn't deny that because there were a lot of features of his that mirrored mine. Like his double eyelids, chiseled jaws, broad, muscular physique, and stunning face, but not the eye color though. His was brown, just like his mother's.
Oh hell! I had been so wrapped up in my comparison that I forgot his question.
My brows drew a V line in question. "What do you mean by what was I?"
He leaned back and started drumming his fingers against the desk while regarding me.
I let out an exasperated sigh after a few seconds passed. "Do you want to talk, Andy, or what?"
"You were bantering words with her over protecting a girl, Alex. That isn't like you, brother." He pointed out and the realization hit chilly, sending a shudder through my spine. He was trying to pass a message across. A message I knew all too well.
"You have never been one to indulge Ace in matters concerning girls. Heck, you even left your house for him so he could entertain his overnight guest without interruption."
"What are you getting at?" I asked, peering at him, even though I could very well guess what. Luna was making me into what I wasn't.
"You can't care for anyone, or let your guard down no matter what, especially at this point..."
I pressed my lips together, anger brewing inside of me. The reason for the anger was still unknown. "Who said I am letting my guard down?"
A sharp exhale tore through him as he leaned closer again, staring intently at me. "You can't show your enemies any weak points. You very well know that you are surrounded by them, don't you?"
I hissed. Congratulations for reminding me of that which I was trying to convince myself about. But I wasn't about to admit that to him.
"Luna is not my weak point!" I half yelled, hitting my fist on the desk. Was I overreacting? Hell yeah! "What on Earth would make you think that?"
"You are jumping into an argument with Ace over protecting her, even though Micheal didn't ask you to."
"She's under my roof." I all but thundered.
"And what happened when Ace jokingly suggested taking her away?" His brows arched.
Another hiss escaped my lips before I snagged the glass of cocktail in front of me and chugged down the content in one gulp. I was getting pissed. Andy was bloody stating the obvious, and nothing annoyed me more than that.
"She was almost raped today by her ex. I decided to take it upon myself to see to her protection." Every fiber of my being knew that wasn't true. It wasn't just the need to protect that I felt towards Luna. It was so much more, I knew it. But what I didn't know was how the hell did it happen?
Andy regarded me with a look etched with suspicion. "Are you sure that's all there is to it, brother?"
I matched his gaze with a scowl. "What else do you think there is? That I'm smashing her?"
A soft laugh escaped his lips just at the same time a mock laughter echoed in my head. Smashing her... That I did last night, and still wanted to.
"I didn't say that." Andy raised both hands in submission. "Besides, it seems Ace already has eyes for her. He didn't even deny it when I asked whether the two of them were something."
Wordlessly, I took another sip of the cocktail, my jaw clenching at the possibility of Andy's words being true. I already had that speculation.
"Does that worry you?"
I glanced sharply at Andy as his question registered. "The heck, man..."
Andy veered back, sporting a mischievous smile. "Just asking, brother. But seriously, don't let her catch your interest. Not now that we're already closing in on the people who murdered your parents. We don't want any loopholes. No distractions."
Loopholes... Distractions... That caught me. I had been on the revenge mission with Andy and the underground Mafia syndicate we ran, for years, seeking out the killers of my parents.
Now that we were close, would I let this strange feeling of mine get in the way and cause loopholes, much more distract me?
- Writer
