Another eye roll from Samantha, and a nod from Cade.

“Then, he wasn’t so big on sharing. So he kept it a secret.”

“A secret? Why?” I’m rearranging my opinion of Jay again—from everything we’ve heard, I would have expected him to shout it from the rooftops.

“Probably for the same reason. The sharing thing—that was his rule, you know? So he couldn’t exactly say, ‘just kidding, changed my mind, and now Katie’s with me—and only me.’ He’d been adamant, you know? Like, if you didn’t share, you were betraying the brotherhood.”

Betraying brothers, I think, where have I heard that before?

“And Katie, she was”—he gets a dreamy look, but then notices Samantha glaring at him from the corner of his eye—“a lot of guys were into her.”

“So that’s why you stay here?” Teddy asks. But before Cade can answer, he turns to Samantha. “I imagine,” he says softly, “you don’t feel too safe at that house.”

Samantha nods. The fury is gone, and something a little hurt has crept into her face. Cade, I think, must have never put two and two together. What being at the house would have been like for Samantha. All the brothers just waiting for their chance, feeling entitled even. I bet she never accepted a drink from any of them and locked Cade’s door at night. But if Jay was in the room?

“What about Michael?” Teddy asks.

Something shifts in Cade’s face.

“What about him?”

“We’ve had reports that he could be violent.”

For a moment, Cade closes his eyes, and I wonder what he sees, but then he shakes his head. “I don’t remember anything like that.”

Liar, I think. And then, Why?

“Did any of the other brothers know that Jay was with Katie?”

Cade sighs and rubs a hand over his face. “I don’t know. I haven’t been there much this year. After—” Another look at Samantha, but she’s still not meeting his gaze. “Anyway, I pretty much only go to mandatory stuff so I don’t get kicked out, but I think, I don’t know,” a small shrug, “I think I might not renew my dues next year.”

“Really?” A hopeful, almost loving glance from Samantha.

Cade smiles. “I think I’ve outgrown them.” A flicker of something in Cade’s voice. Defiance? Sadness? Love? I can’t tell, but Samantha’s back in his arms in a flash. I can almost hear her—You’d do that for me?—but she doesn’t say it. She just beams at him.

Teddy clears his throat. “Thanks, you’ve both been really helpful. I’ll just—”

They’re kissing now, short little bursts, but only increasing in intensity.

“Right, I’ll leave my card here.” He puts his card on the coffee table. “Give me a call if you think of anything else.”