Chasing His Brother's Bride
Chasing His Brother’s Bride – Chapter 13

Brix watched Pia running through the third house the real estate agent was showing them. The first two houses had not given him the satisfactory feeling of a home for his niece. Now however, this one was, in his opinion, perfect. Unfortunately, Pia’s mother was not on board and was red in the face hissing at him like a cornered cat.

“Brix, there are only two of us. We don’t need an eight-bedroom mansion,” she had her hand curled around his bicep as if only the night before she hadn’t been deathly terrified, he was going to blow her brains out. He was half tempted to pull the gun she didn’t notice him carrying and simply make her shut up.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose impatiently, “As I said in the car, when we are here in Boston, Malik and I will need a place to sleep.”

“Then stay at the hotel. I don’t want to live with you two underfoot.”

“Jolie, let me see if I can make myself any clearer than I have the last twenty times you have mentioned this since the first house,” he stepped closer to her, his toes of his black shoes touching her ugly winter boots he was sure she’d bought in a thrift shop, “as of yesterday you and Pia belong to the Cacciola family. She,” he pointed to the child who was now up in Malik’s arms flying around the empty living room like a rocket ship going to Mars, “comes first ahead and before anything else. We,” he motioned between he and his friend, “were robbed of five full years with the first grandchild to my father and my father has given an order, a very explicit one, to ensure you are provided for, taken care of, given every single comfort in life for no other reason than birthing a child a monster put into you and not aborting our family.”

She swallowed at his words as his fingers clenched her jaw. He could see the fire in her eyes at his quiet response to her pleading and found himself, strangely curious how far she would push back. She was feisty, in spite of his dead brother’s attempt to destroy her spirit.

“I will not object to you providing a home for Pia to live in,” she spoke through gritted teeth as if simply saying the words were causing her excruciating agony, “but I draw the line at a house where you will be staying. I don’t want you in my house.”

“You would put family in a hotel?” he lifted an eyebrow sarcastically. When she nodded vigorously, he fought to not laugh at her, “When I am here, I want to spend as much time with Pia as humanly possible. Will you allow her to come stay with me at the hotel for the entire duration of my stays in Boston?”

“No.”

“Then a room here in your home is the compromise.”

“This is ludicrous.”

“What is ludicrous is fighting over an issue you have zero percent chance in winning. You may as well stop now. It is childlike and foolish. Give it up. Do as you are told, Jolie. It is not up for debate.”

She stormed away out the back door into the yard.

Malik shot him a look which told him he’d overheard the heavy hand he had used on her yet again. His friend was not impressed with the way he was so callously stomping all over her wishes and desires but at the end of the day, Pia needed a secure home. Malik was soft on the woman and his annoyed glare at Brix told him they’d have words if he didn’t fix it.

He gave a resigned sigh, followed her outdoors, and found her sitting on a porch swing. “The swing is wet. You will catch your death out here in the cold on wet wood.”

She ignored him, her arms folded mutinously over her chest, her eyes staring at a tree in the distance. He followed her gaze, “the tree would give nice shade for a swing set and jungle gym for Pia.”

She set her jaw.

He squatted down in front of her, “Jolie, I am not the enemy.”

“No? Pretty sure I spent six years running from you and your family because you are indeed my enemy.”

He clicked his tongue, “you need to adjust your train of thought. My role is to ensure you are safe and secure and no harm comes to you. It has not today, nor has it ever been, my intention to hurt you.”

Her eyes were distrustful as she glared at him. “Really? Because when I was semi-conscious in the hospital and the doctors and nurses were talking, I know I heard them say more than once you were coming to talk to me and they were insinuating talk meant kill.”

“Why would you think this?”

“I was the last one to see him alive.”

“Valentin made mistakes Jolie. While we did question your involvement in his death, even if you had killed him, his own father would have turned a blind eye.” He reached forward and forced her to look at him, a gentle but firm hand on her jaw. “He deserved death for what he did to you. None of us dispute this. Our biggest concern at the time, apart from your health and wellbeing, was to find out what had happened to the money and the drugs because it almost caused a war with a cartel we didn’t want to fight.”

“You thought I took the money,” she sniffed angrily.

“Do you blame us? You disappeared better than Houdini. We presumed you were using the money you stole to stay hidden.”

“What if I had? What if I had taken the money and run? If you had found me yesterday and I’d taken the gold and spent every penny?”

He chuckled, “are you asking if we would have buried you?” His thumb stroked her cheek, “Jolie, you would have been asked to pay it back at worst but the reality is, we needed to know whether it was Val or one of his men who took the money. I suspected Val but my father was hopeful it was not. However, we would have wiped it off the books, especially knowing of Pia. Any funds you used to keep my niece alive were well spent, even if you would have taken it.”

“You’re really not going to kill me and take Pia?”

“No!” he laughed outright, “she is a happy, healthy little girl, despite having to wear second hand clothing and go to public school.”

“What’s wrong with public school? I went to public school.”

“You weren’t a five-year-old millionaire, now where you?” he mocked her. “Jolie, Jolie, Jolie,” he made sure she heard him when he spoke, “I can be the world’s hardest and cruelest man. You can ask my enemies. You can ask my friends. Malik himself says I am the biggest a*****e on the planet. I do not tolerate disrespect. I do not tolerate being lied to. I don’t like games or foolishness. All of this aside, I can also be the best friend you will ever have. I’m loyal to a fault. I will fight to the death for my family and those closest to me. There is nothing I won’t do to make sure those I love are safe and secure. You and the little girl playing Martian princess are now my family and it means I will be taking my role as your protector very seriously.”

She nodded and exhaled, “it’s all so much so fast.”

“I agree but the minute word gets out we have a new Cacciola child in our family, there could be danger to her and thus I want her protected. Can you understand this?”

“Yes.”

He dropped his hand from her chin, “now, I do have a question. What is with all the daddy stuff?”

“Ugh,” she flung herself backwards, propelling the swing, “on Valentine’s day a few weeks back, one of the girls in her class had a big display from her father. He brought her roses and a teddy bear and a box of chocolates and a big sign asking if she’d be his Valentine. It was grandiose and weird. He barely gets visitation rights with Felicity but Pia took one look at the way Felicity responded to her daddy and it’s all she’s been talking about since. I’m quite certain he’s done time because he’s got the edge, you know, but he’s big and strong and tosses Felicity in the air and Pia is quite jealous she doesn’t have the same.”

He tensed at the words, “You think he was in prison?”

“He doesn’t give off warm and fuzzy vibes and Felicity’s mom makes sure she is nowhere near the school when it’s his day to pick her up. I don’t know. It’s clear he loves his kid and it’s all Pia is seeing.”

“Well, I am sure in a few days her desire to call me and Malik daddy will wear off. In the meantime, let it play out. It’s not hurting anyone. Each time you cringe and shrivel up your nose, it makes her want to do it more.”

“I don’t shrivel my nose!”

“You do. Like you’re smelling funky cheese.” He saw her lips twisting as she fought not to smile. “A blue stilton perhaps?”

“Very funny,” she nudged him with her foot. She studied him for a few seconds and then frowned, “you know, he really hated you.”

He knew who she meant immediately. “I know. He was jealous because I am the first born. His mother insisted every day from the minute he was conceived since he was not illegitimate then he should be the next in line to own the family.”

“He painted a very different picture of the man in front of me.”

“I am sure he did.”

“Did you ever kill a man with a steak knife at a family dinner?” She blurted out and then covered her mouth with her hands. “I’m sorry. Forget I asked.”

He knew his face had gone stony at her question because fear as tactile as the swing she sat upon was rolling off her.

“I’m sorry, Brix. I heard the story so many times and –”

He took a breath and took her hands, “please tell me what he told you.”

“You were at dinner. A man said something rude to your dad and you grabbed a steak knife, plunged it into his heart and killed him.”

He sighed, “it is not accurate. First, let me assure you, stabbing a man through the chest with a steak knife would take a considerable amount of force when you consider how well protected the heart is. It is covered by a bony cage. Should you ever feel inclined to put a knife in my chest, you won’t be able to do it.” He winked at her gasp. He put his hands against her knees to keep the swing from moving, “my father had an associate to dinner. He was a man my stepmother had a relationship with long before she knew my father but business is business and so he was at the house. The man disrespected my father and stepmother by suggesting as part of a business transaction, he should give my stepmother to him for a night. Before my father could react, the man then pulled a gun and leveled it at my younger brother’s head who was seated beside him and said he would settle for simply shooting the son who should have been his. I put a steak knife in his neck, not his chest, cutting his jugular and ending his pathetic and weaselly life on the spot before he killed Val. In hindsight, I should have let him pull the trigger first and then killed him.”

“How old were you?”

“Fifteen.”

“At least that part of the story was accurate.”

“Our lives and our business are hard ones, Jolie but we have rules. One of them is to make sure our women are kept out of the business. Children do not become involved until they are old enough to understand the ramifications. The girls are never allowed to be part of business. Innocents are never touched. Ever. We do not hit women and children. My father, as hard of a man as he is, has never once laid a hand in anger on my stepmother and he has drilled it into me since I could talk.”

“Where did Val go so wrong?”

“His mother,” he made a face, “is one I might have considered beating into the ground. My father shows considerable restraint where she is concerned. She came from a harder yet far less successful family than ours. She was slapped and beat every day of her life until she was with my father. Her automatic reaction to almost any emotion is to slap, punch, kick, spit, and stab. My father has had more stitches in him from her violence than from his entire life in this world of brutality and even to this day, he feels by giving her gentle loving attention it will heal her. I once watched her pull a gun on him. I personally would have shot her and been done with it. She’s a headache of the worst kind. However, she is my stepmother and their marriage is none of my concern.”

The sound of Pia screaming for them made him look towards the closed door. “Now, enough of all of this for the rest of the day. We are buying the house, no?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” he laughed as he pulled her into a standing position and then into a tight hug, holding her still body against his chest. “Are we good?” he questioned as he held her.

“Yes,” she whispered softly.

“Shall we go let Pia pick which room she wants for her own?” He looked down at her and stepped backwards.

“Fine but I still stand by my argument I don’t like the idea of you and Malik underfoot.”

“Then you will really hate knowing we always have at least two guards in the house with you at all times. We will set up a surveillance room and security bunker in the basement.” He nudged her with his shoulder sending her sideways. “It will all be easier if you accept the help, accept we are family now through Pia and accept I am not going anywhere. You are stuck with us.”

She gave a loud sigh, “fine but can we at least negotiate on the number of toys you’ve promised her? You’ll turn her into a brat.”

“She’s precious and wonderful. She could never be a brat.”

“Because I keep her grounded and real. If you start buying her the moon, she’s going to be the world’s biggest a*****e.”

“It will never happen because she has you for a mom. You’ll keep her on the straight and narrow.”

She wriggled as she walked into the house and he watched the movement with humor. “My butt is wet from sitting on the swing.”

He leaned back to look and laughed, “it certainly is. Good thing our next stop is shopping for new clothes.”

“We don’t need new clothes!”

He entered the house and gave Malik a thumbs up to let him know she was on board with the house. Yet, she was immediately spouting off all the reasons they could make do with what they had and he considered she had been quite possibly put on this earth to try his patience. Never had a woman argued with him as much as this one did and he found himself understanding why he had never dated anyone like her in his life. She was exhausting. Still, he admitted to himself as she took Pia by the hand and raced up the stairs to go pick out her bedroom, it was by far the best day he’d had in years. There was something to be said about the laughter of a child echoing off the walls.

“She came around?” Malik asked approaching him from behind.

“Yes. She still thinks we’re here to kill her.”

Malik chuckled, “she’s not very trusting.”

“No s**t. Can’t blame her.”

“We’ll wear her down. She started to mellow out in the car.”

He punched Malik’s shoulder, “as if. You freaked her out telling her we have threesomes.”

“We do.”

“She didn’t need to know.”

“I don’t know. I think she’s been imagining the three of us all afternoon.”

He frowned and dropped his mouth open. “What? No way. She finds us repulsive and she’s not my type either. I would never …” he trailed off as he looked disgustedly in the direction of the stairs. Shuddering with what he insisted was revulsion he left Malik smirking on the landing. “I’m going to find my niece and pick out my own room. Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself.”

“Not your type?” Malik called up the stairs after him. “You forget I know you better than myself. You haven’t been able to take your eyes off her for longer than a minute and I know you were just looking at her a*s. I think you’re both protesting a hair too much.”

“And I think the new house is going to have b***d spilled in it before I have the keys in my possession,” he called back with a twist of his lips. Sometimes, having your best friend around all the time, was a pain in the a*s.