"All of them?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, Damien is on the call so I can hear and speak to him too."

I frowned. "Why are you ringin' them?"

Alec rolled his neck on his shoulders and grunted, "Shut the fuck up!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Excuse me?"

Alec waved his hand at me. "Not you baby, I'm talking to my brothers."

Oh.

"Why are you shoutin' at them?"

Alec sighed and glared at his phone. "Because they are being very fucking difficult and giving stupid advice."

I was lost.

"Advice? For what?"

Alec gazed at me for a long moment before he said, "Advice on what to do with this... new information."

New information?

"Do you always speak in riddles? I've no clue what you're on about. What new information?"

Alec pinched the bridge of his nose then looked at me and said, "You're Brandy's niece Keela. Your uncle is part of my old life and with Marco being here... It's just not good to mix a Slater in with Marco Miles... The results are never pleasing."

My head was starting to spin with confusion.

"What is your deal with Marco Miles? Can you just tell me because me head is really startin' to hurt tryin' to figure all this out."

After a moment of listening to his brothers Alec suddenly narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Fuck you Dominic! You told Bronagh, so why can't I tell Keela?"

I moved over to the bed and sat down when Alec began to pace up and down the room.

"Yeah, well you aren't here with him. I am. You weren't in a room with him staring at you. I was."

I raised my eyebrows when Alec's voiced cracked.

"Again bro, that is shitty advice."

"What advice are they givin' you?" I asked.

Alec turned to face me and said, "They want me to come home. Tonight."

I forced away the sudden wave of saddens that washed over me.

"Oh... well, you can if you want. You don't have to stay here... it's okay."

I looked down to my fingers and knotted the together.

I heard Alec sigh. "Kitten... look at me."

I couldn't.

I shook my head. "It's honestly okay. You don't have to stay here, don't feel like you have to... I... I release you from your favour... There... You can go back home."

Oh God, I was about to cry.

"I'm not going back home."

I looked up. "You're not?"

Alec smiled as he crawled onto the bed. "You think I would leave you? We have a deal, I said I would escort you to your cousin's wedding and I will... Plus I've a few challenges yet to be completed with you."

I laughed when he waggled his eyebrows.

"Cut the bullshit, Alec! It's too dangerous for you to stay there with Marco on the scene. Think with the head on your fucking shoulders for once."

Wow.

Dominic Slater was pissed, so pissed I could hear him clearly without putting the phone to my ear.

"That's why I'm staying bro, I'm not leaving her in a place where he is."

All of his brothers swore.

"He is not a threat to her. Her uncle is Brandy for fuck sakes. That prick is just as fucking dangerous as Marco!"

What?

"I don't know what has you all riled up, but do not insult me uncle again, do you hear me Nico? That is me blood you're talkin' about."

I heard a growl. "Your blood has never been kind to my blood so why should I be nice?"

A dark look fell over Alec's face. "Because she has no idea about Brandy or who he is. Don't speak another word, I mean it Dominic."

Silence.

"I... We just want you to be safe. It not like we can drive to where you are to back you up. You're in a whole other country Alec."

Alec sighed. "If it was Bronagh would you leave her?"

Nico replied less than a second later, "Not a chance."

Alec smiled. "Exactly. Keela is my Bronagh, bro... I'm staying."

There was a collective group of sighs.

"Stick to Keela, he won't go near her because of Brandy."

Alec smiled and looked to me. "I plan to stick her."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Ryder's voice muttered.

"Can you focus?" Damien's voice asked.

"Fuck that, get balls deep bro," Kane's voice rasped making the brothers mutter curse words.

It barely sounded like him, he must still be feeling sick.

"I'll call you all tomorrow. I've some explaining to do to Keela."

Oh thank God.

I don't think my head could handle being this confused for much longer.

"Call us when it's done."

When what's done?

"Okay," Alec said then hung up his phone.

I fell back and sighed.

"You're the most confusin' man I have ever met."

Alec crawled onto the bed next to me.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to confuse you."

I turned on my side to face him. "So get talkin'."

Alec turned on his side to face me. "I don't know where to start."

"How about at the beginnin'?" I suggested.

Alec nodded his head. "Okay, are you ready?"

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Remember when I told you my mother loved her materialistic things and my dad was only fond of us for our use in his business?" Alec asked me.

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"Well, that business was a business my dad ran with Marco."

Whoa.

"Your da is like Marco?" I asked.

"Was," Alec murmured. "My mom and dad were exactly like Marco, but they got too greedy on a deal and tried to double cross Marco. He knew all about it and killed them both."

Holy Christ!

I covered my mouth with my hand. "I'm so sorry."

Alec shrugged. "It is what it is. I didn't exactly like them, but they were my parents... you know?"

"Of course, I'd question your mental state if you didn't feel something when they... when they died."

Alec swallowed. "I was a little sad about it, not to the point where I cried, but it still brought me down. Damien took it the worst. My little bro always thought our mom and dad would change their ways one day and love us like parents should... It took him a few years after their murders to realise they were the same people in death that they were in life... scum."

Fuck me.

"So what happened afterwards... with Marco?"

Alec licked his lips. "Well, we were a part of the business at that point. Me, Kane, and Ryder at least. Before everything went down we did petty things like small drug runs, weapon runs, and watch duty at the compound we lived in. We all hated it and only did it because we couldn't leave."

I frowned. "Why couldn't you leave? You were old enough to branch out on your own, right?"

"Yes, we were. Me, Kane, and Ryder at least. I was twenty-two when my parents were killed, Kane was twenty, and Ryder was the eldest at twenty-five. "

"So you were old enough to leave... why stay?"

"Because the twins were fifteen at the time of my parents murders. They were even younger when we all started working with dad and Marco. The three of us could have easily left because we were adults, but we didn't because we wouldn't leave without the twins. It wasn't an option, it was never even brought up or thought of. We knew we just had to keep our heads down and work until the twins were older so we could take them and leave. We had a plan to move out of New York after the murders. We wanted out, but something happened with the twins that kept us in New York... kept us tied to Marco."