“Give me a minute or two, okay?” Roy’s face had whitened, and his eyes were sunken and sad.

“What happened?” I said.

“Nothing. Well, not nothing.”

“Which is it?” I asked, rapidly losing patience.

“I… I…”

I sighed. My brother and I had exchanged more words in the last week and a half than we had in our entire lives. A sad state of affairs, one I’d perpetuated myself.

“Roy,” I said, “what do you need? I’ll help if I can.”

“I needed your help a long time ago,” he said with indignation, “but you weren’t there.”

I lifted my brow. “What exactly are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” He clammed up again. “Forget it.”

“You drop that bomb on me and tell me to forget it? No dice.”

“I think I’ll take that drink now.”

I stood. “I’ll do you one better. Lacey and I are going to dinner. Let’s all go. After that, you need to relax and unwind a little.”

“I won’t deny that.”

“I know the perfect place. We’ll go after dinner.”

Taking a younger brother to a strip club was something most guys did well before my age. I’d missed out on a lot by leaving my siblings behind when I finally got out of military school. Roy was such an introvert. I honestly didn’t know if he’d ever even had sex. He hadn’t said much during our dinner with Lacey, and she looked relieved when I dropped her off and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

“Behave yourself,” was all she said.

She didn’t have to worry. Even if I had an inclination to misbehave, which I didn’t, my shy and reclusive brother would have put an end to it. I couldn’t abandon him.

I looked around briefly when we arrived. No Hoss yet. Roy and I found a table close to the stage. Two dancers were already in a clench. My brother’s eyes went wide.

“Have you never been to a strip club?” I asked.

“No, actually.”

“Ever watch girl-on-girl porn?”

“Well…no.”

“Regular porn.”

“Occasionally.”

Damn. I really had neglected him. “What do you do for fun, then?”

“I paint. I read. I have a drink with a few friends every now and then, but not often. I watch movies sometimes. Work out. My building has a great gym.”

My brother looked to be in tip-top shape. The Wolfe genes were good, but I could also tell he’d worked at it. “Do you date?”

“On occasion. Not a lot. Women don’t seem to dig me.”

“I can’t believe that.”

“It’s true. I scare them or something. Every time I get interested in someone, she decides to end it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Roy.”

He shrugged. “Something about me, I guess.”

“Are you…?”