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A special kind of sugar dances in the back of my mind.

“Duke around?”

Usually, my brother would be right by her side, so it’s odd that he’s not here in the kitchen.

“He’s with Ivan in his office.”

With a tight-lipped smile, she continues filling the jar, but I don’t miss her occasional glance at me. Like she wants to say something, but doesn’t know if she should.

I grab another couple of candies and turn on my heel toward my brother’s home office.

“I’m going to go see what they’re up to. Catch you later,” I say, still feeling her curious eyes on me.

When I’m only steps away from the hallway, I hear her voice.

“Hey, Jett?”

Turning over my shoulder, I meet her concerned gaze.

“It’s not my business what’s going on with you and Fia, but please don’t hurt her.”

The mention of her name, and the thought of hurting her, churn the contents of my breakfast. I wouldn’t ever imagine doing something like that, especially knowing everything she’s gone through.

“I’d never hurt her.” I make sure to put a certain base in my voice that shows her how serious I am.

“Do you…” she pauses, hesitant to even ask the question, but it seems to be the only thing floating around me at any given moment. It’s obvious to me what she’s asking, because it’s the only feeling I can think about.

Without even a quiver in my tone, nothing but pure confidence, I reply, “Yeah, Sisi, I do.” I’m in love with your best friend.

“I figured,” she says with a nod. “Fia isn’t an easy case, but she’s worth it. Fight for her, hard. She deserves love.”

With an approving smile, I continue down the hall, stopping at the half-open door of Duke’s office.

“Working on a Sunday?” I ask before pushing the door all the way in.

In the comfortable leather chair that mimics my brother’s office at Greenway Airlines HQ, I get cozy. What I can’t ignore is the plastered shock on both of my brothers’ faces.

“Uh…no, just signing a few papers.” Ivan hesitates, making my interest pique further.

“What for?” I press, now overly curious.

With a quick close of Duke’s laptop, they both scramble around the desk like they’ve just been caught red-handed.

What the fuck?

“Why are you guys acting so weird?”

They look back and forth for a beat, then back to me with wild eyes.

“We, uh…” Ivan hesitates, then looks back at Duke. He follows up with a nod, and both of them face me again.

“Royce told us about you wanting to look for your parents.”

My stomach sinks. Feelings of betrayal make my whole body tense, but the worry is what stays rooted in place. In front of me are the men I owe my life to. They helped build me. I’d never go against them on purpose, nor would I fight any battle without them.

I just wasn’t sure if this was one that they’d want to suit up and conquer with me.

They’re awful liars. The nicest guys out of the four of us brothers think they can pull the wool over my eyes, the biggest liar of us all.