Free Acceptance (Club X Book 5) by K.M. Scott Page B

could imagine this brother doing something like that, but Kane? He was the steady rock among the three of us, and now he was going on stakeouts with Stefan? And why would either of them be part of a stakeout? What the hell was going on?
    As I opened the back door to the restaurant, I said, “I’m not sure I even want to ask what you mean, but I am curious why Kane of all people would be doing something like that, and with you, to boot.”
    Sounding like I’d hurt his feelings, Stefan asked, “Why be like that? Kane and I get along fine. We have for a while. We even do things together.”
    Now it was my turn to laugh. “Really? Since your girlfriend and his wife can’t be in the same place for more than a few seconds, exactly what are you doing together?”
    “So now that you finally caught up with the rest of us this is going to be part of every damn conversation with you? And unlike you, Cash, we can do things without our women tagging along. Seriously, dude, when did you become so whipped?”
    I dropped my keys onto my desk and shut the door to my office. “It’s not being whipped if you really love the person, Stef. So are you going to tell me what you and Kane did that you called me about this morning or are we just going to continue with the insults about my happiness?”
    Stefan sighed like he was six years old again and I’d just popped his balloon. “Jeez, everybody in this family is so fucking testy.”
    “It’s just that I have a busy day ahead of me and need to get going with work.”
    In truth, I had a sinking feeling the story he was about to tell me had to do with Sebastian and the possibility he was our brother, something I didn’t want to think about at that moment. Or any other moment in the foreseeable future. Kane and Stef may have been all jacked up about getting a new baby brother, but I didn’t want to be involved.
    “Fine. I’ll make it short then,” Stefan said in his hurt feelings voice. “We ended up meeting Sebastian Thorne last night and it was going pretty well until Abbi showed up and Kane thought she’d been with the guy. Well, I don’t know about well because he was pretty drunk, but he’s definitely a good time. We still don’t have any real proof that he’s one of us, but he damn sure looks like it. He’s the spitting image of Kane.”
    Whatever he said after Abbi being with the guy who might be our brother got lost in the recesses of my mind. Confused, I said, “Wait a second. Abbi and Sebastian Thorne know each other? Before or after she met Kane?”
    What the hell was I saying before or after? Abbi wasn’t the type of woman to cheat on anyone, and for God’s sake, she adored Kane. Maybe I’d heard Stefan wrong.
    “No, no. Abbi met him just a month or so ago. Odd coincidence, I guess. But that’s not the point of the story. Keep up, Cash. The point is we met him and got to talk to him face-to-face. I have to say I’m definitely hoping he’s one of us now.”
    “Why? Because he’s a good time?”
    The phone fell silent for a moment, and then Stefan said, “Well, yeah. It’s hard being the only person in our family who still knows how to have fun. Marriage has ruined you, and Kane has been a lost cause since the night he met Abbi. It’ll be nice to have someone around who isn’t all about work and home for a change.”
    Sometimes Stefan was still that twenty-one year old punk ass brother who refused to see that life was more than drinking too much and screwing women. I’d hoped Shay would help that, but even after all these years together, she and he seemed no closer to settling down. That only encouraged him to think he could still act like a kid.
    “Well, that’s nice for you, Stef. I’m a little busy today, so have fun,” I said as I opened my laptop to begin my day.
    “That’s it? You’re still not even the least bit interested in finding out anything about this guy who very well might be our brother? I mean, what the fuck, Cash?”
    “Stef,