As they walked away, his chest hurt like he’d come home with a gunshot wound. With a sigh, he rubbed his neck. Time to hide in his cave and get his shit together.

Naturally, that was when Gabe moved forward and told the others, “Give us a minute.”

After a second, Caz returned to cleaning up the patio while the rest headed back to their houses.

Considering the shit expression on Gabe’s face, Hawk planted his feet solidly on the ground.

“Leaving without warning.” The cop looked Hawk up and down. “Guess I expect that kind of dick move from you.”

Hawk’s jaw clenched. When his brother got on his high horse, the need to plant a fist in his face grew almost intolerable.

“Not sending word if you were alive,” Gabe growled. “Same.”

Hawk crossed his arms over his chest and set to endure.

“What you did to Kit—that was fucked-up.”

Hawk winced. “Yeah, okay. I thought… I misread the situation and yeah, I fucked up.”

“No shit. She liked you and thought—”

“Bullshit.” Hawk dropped his arms, his hands fisting. “She’s terrified of me. Women don’t ‘like’ me.”

“Bullshit yourself.” Gabe’s brows drew together. “You’ve had a shitload of women.”

“Tag-chasers and the ones who get off on being scared. No one wants more than a fast fuck.”

“Don’t give me that poor pitiful me crap.” Gabe shoved him back a step. “You’ve had girlfriends. Like back in Nicaragua with Jami—no, Jazeera, that was her name, right?”

Jazeera. The memory of the dark-eyed beauty was a bucketful of bitter dumped on his head. He’d dated her for a month while the merc team recovered from a job and set up for the next. One night, he drank too much—they both had—and told her he was falling for her. She’d laughed at him. “No, no, big man. You’re a god in bed, but not for serious. I just wanted a way to get in with your magnificent brother. Mmm. That Gabe, him I could marry.”

And Gabe couldn’t even remember her name.

“Yeah, bro. Jazeera.” Hawk’s soul was turning to ice. “She wanted to marry my magnificent brother. I was just a stepping-stone to get close to you.”

No woman wanted Hawk for more. They wanted Gabe. Caz. Bull. All his life, he’d fought the envy. He loved his brothers. Would die for them. But…that shit with Jazeera? That’d gutted him.

Gabe stared for a second, then blew it off, the fucking asshole. “That doesn’t excuse the crap you pulled with Kit. I can’t believe you—”

Hawk’s control snapped. His right hook impacted Gabe’s self-righteous chin, getting the bastard out of Hawk’s space real nice.

Gabe rubbed his jaw and growled, “Like that, is it?” He waded in, swinging fast and furious.

And then it was down to it.