Almost Innocent by Carina Adams

in the hell is the stranger danger? Why in the fuck hasn’t Gabby taught him to be afraid of people, especially strange men covered in goddamn tattoos who he doesn’t know?” I spit out the words, seething.
    Fi scoffed at my question, pointing at the ceiling, “That was the little boy who has heard nothing but great stories about his only uncle. That was the little boy who adores the man he was starting to think was about as real as Santa. He’s been waiting for you to come home for years.”
    “Where does he think I’ve been?”
    Fi motioned for me to follow her as she turned into her kitchen. “Gabby never lied to him, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
    “I was in prison, Fi. She wouldn’t tell him that.”
    “Actually she would. She did.”
    That annoyed me. “Why in the fuck would she do that?”
    “Because”—Fi pulled the vodka out of the freezer—“she doesn’t lie to him about important things, and she wanted him to know the real you. Plus, she thought he should know that bad guys can be good, and good guys can be bad.”
    I shook my head, accepting the shot she handed me. “That makes no fucking sense.”
    She downed her drink and hissed at the taste. “Grady’s a smart kid. We adore him. But he’s got Dustin’s blood running through his veins.”
    The bitter taste in my mouth had nothing to do with the drink in my hand. “I can see that,” I said with a snarl.
    Fi gripped the counter, staring at me hard. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “I wasn’t sure.” I swallowed the shot, glancing at the wall and unable to look at her, ashamed to say it out loud. “Dusty was so positive it wasn’t his baby.”
    Fi shot me a look that said she clearly thought I was full of shit. “You, of all people, believed his drug-induced rants?”
    “I didn’t know what to believe.”
    “That’s why you didn’t want to meet him!” She gasped, horrified, and shook her head.
    She was right. I hadn’t wanted to meet him, knowing that if he wasn’t Dustin’s, it would destroy me. I’d hardly been able to handle the idea of Gabby being with my brother. The thought of her with another man would have driven me over the edge.
    Fi read the truth on my face. “You’re a real ass, you know that, right?” She inhaled sharply. “Is he yours?”
    “What?” I snapped.
    “You heard me. Is Grady your son?”
    I couldn’t stand the way she was looking at me, judging me for a crime I’d never committed. My entire body tensed at the accusation. My feelings for Gabby had never been a secret from the family who could see right through me. If I’d had my way, Grady would have been mine because Gabby would have been in my bed and not Dustin’s. Gabs had been loyal to the prick though. Fi should have known that. “No.”
    The look on her face told me she didn’t believe me. “Not a chance? Not even the slightest bit of one?”
    I felt my jaw flex with tension. There had been a time when I wanted nothing more than to steal Gabby from my brother, to claim her body, mark her as mine. Make her forget that she’d ever been with anyone other than me. She was mine in every way but that one. I hadn’t taken my chance while Dustin was alive, scared of rejection, terrified that she’d choose that piece of shit over me. That would always be one of my biggest regrets. By the time I figured out was going on, it was too late.
    “No,” I growled.
    “It’s a valid question, and you know it,” she snapped, never taking her eyes off me. “He looks just like you.”
    He had the same features as his father and grandfather. And my grandfather before them. Not just me. But I didn’t point that out. “Why not ask his mother then?”
    “He’s my nephew either way, and I love him. I didn’t know which one of you was his dad, and I didn’t care. There’s so much of you in him…” She glanced away as if she’d said too much. Clearing her throat, she continued. “Gabby was terrified that Grady