The moment Erik Logan stepped out of Carmen's suite, he hadn't expected to come face to face with an annoyed Ronin Logan, and before any explanation or any word at all could be exchanged, Ronin grabbed Erik by the lapel of his suit and dragged him down the long corridor, into the elevator, and across the upper deck once they made it to the closest one.
Despite the side of his body still feeling like someone had stabbed him all over again, Ronin gave a hard thrust to his older brother in the chest and scowled. The rough ocean breeze whipped his hair to the side.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Now, annoyed, too, Erik straightened his blazer with a jerk of his shoulder. "Why the fucking do you care?"
Ronin glowered, before looking away, as if it were too hard to explain that part, as if he didn't know the answer to that question himself, as if he had tried and failed, and now he was embarrassed because it was such a simple question.
Why did he care?
It shouldn't have been that hard to answer. Only, it was, the hardest of all.
Ronin scoffed, shaking his head. He shifted his gaze back to Erik, taking one very dangerous step closer. "Why do you care?"
Unlike his little brother, Erik was neither shy nor embarrassed to face the question. "Because I'm not an asshole like you," he spat out. "I do care about people, and their feelings, and what they are going through. Unlike you, Ronin, and your needless attitude, I'm not against giving people the benefit of the doubt."
"Actually, you're not wrong," Ronin cocked his head, looking cynical. "I really don't care, like I don't care about the trash that just came out of your mouth, the nefarious deals you have been doing behind Dad's back, or all those women you're fooling by gloating that you're going to inherit all the business after his death. You're right. I don't care."
Then, Ronin stepped a little closer until Erik had no choice but to take a step back. There were times when Erik cursed himself for being a tad shorter than Ronin. This was one of those times. And he hated it.
"But there's one thing I definitely care about," Ronin snarled. "And that is to keep your fucking claws away from her."
Erik hadn't expected such a reaction from Ronin when it came to Carmen, but man, did he love it. Finally, there was something the older brother could squeeze to make his little brother squirm.
"I don't know, Ronin." Suddenly, the tense air around Erik changed, and he inhaled a deep breath into his lungs as if he finally remembered they were in the middle of the ocean and he needed to relax. He shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I kind of like Carmen."
"You're only saying that to piss me off."
"Is that working?" Erik raised a brow, leering. He took a moment to glance at the ocean around them—the dark sky and the bright moon playing hide and seek with the clouds—before turning his back on it and feeling the metal rail behind his back. "Besides, you're a little too late for the party, brother. You want Carmen? Get in line. Because right now, someone else has their eyes on her. And you know what's the worst part? You stand nowhere in front of him. You have nothing on Simon Walsh. You might have a good eye, I'll give you that, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is who gets to take the trophy home. And Simon Walsh always takes the trophy home. Always. You don't need a reminder of how he whisked your cute little would-be bride away from right in front of you, now do you?"
Ronin couldn't forget, and that only made him angrier. "You think it's funny, don't you?"
Erik made a half-hearted attempt to hide his grin. "It's not. I swear. But when someone's bride runs away minutes before saying her vows, let's be honest, people tend to find it funny."
"And here I thought we could save this ship of brotherhood from sinking. I guess that's a no."
Erik's grin faded, as did the glitz in his green eyes. "Well, you're a little late for that, too. It pains me to be the bearer of bad news, Ronin, but the day you replaced Carmen with your stupid runaway bride, you kind of violated the bro code."
No matter for a moment, but Ronin's shoulders eased and he couldn't meet the ferocity of Erik's gaze. "I didn't know, Erik. How many times—"
Erik cut him off and snapped. "It doesn't matter. Thanks to you, she will never look at me the way I want her to. All because of your stupid-ass attitude. All because of your pointless accusation."
Erik was ready to leave. He had said what he wanted. Maybe not everything, but enough for Ronin to not bother him for a while. The guilt could do that to a man. The guilt of coming between a story that could have been a happily ever after. The guilt of ruining that one thing that no one would ever be able to fix.
However, what neither of them expected was to be overheard by someone.
When Erik tried to walk past Ronin, hoping they were done for the day, his stride came to a sudden halt—like a deer caught in a headlight—and his eyes bulged out.
"Carmen?"
Shit!
Ronin's back stiffened at the name. In a split second, he whipped around on his heels, only to confirm Carmen actually stood behind them. It was hard to tell how much she had heard. But from the look on her face—which was a mix of anger, confusion, and hurt—it was rather obvious she had heard enough.
A lump swelled in Carmen's throat, and all she could do was stare and not believe her fate.
"Carmen…" Erik tried but stopped when Carmen lifted her hand as if asking him to stop—to not even bother.
Ronin, on the other hand, stayed where he was. Not saying anything. Not even trying. And for some stupid reason that she could not understand, his lack of effort just hurt.
It hurt a lot.
Before Carmen could turn around and leave, there was one question that was bothering her the most—the one that she hoped they would not lie about. But then again, could she trust them anymore?
But it was only fair to give them this one chance. If only to redeem themselves in her eyes, even though there was nothing they could do to redeem themselves in her heart.
"Is that true?" she asked. "Is Simon really—"
"Yes!" Ronin spoke even before Carmen could muster up the courage to ask. "He helped Jenna run away from the wedding."
"But why?" She mumbled to herself, frowning. "Why would he do that? What's between him and Jenna?" Carmen sucked her lips, her head throbbing from all the questions that had suddenly flooded her mind.
"Well," Ronin slid his hands into his pockets, walking carelessly past Erik until he stood next to Carmen and whispered close to her ear. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Carmen Price, but you're barking at the wrong tree. You want answers? Get them from the man in question himself. I'm sure he's dying to enlighten you."