One of Six (Den Hollows #1)

7. Nico

7

NICO

Beer, chips, and sandwiches are hauled onto the boat. It always makes us laugh when Mom insists on the sandwiches. She wants us to have something on our stomachs to soak up the beer.

Sweat is already beading on my forehead, making me impatient to get out into the water. We've been delayed because Atilio and Essex had disappeared somewhere. Neither speaks. Hopefully they'll be more forthcoming after a few beers.

My other brothers hadn't noticed because they were half asleep. It's unusual for us to have secrets.

As I take off my t-shirt, I look at the horizon. There is nothing else out there that I can see. That's the way I like it. Being on the ocean calms my soul like nothing else can. I feel change coming, and I don't like it.

Ridge grunts, standing beside me. "I don't think I could live without this view." He drinks from a bottle of water. "Better hydrate before we start on the beer." He hits me in the chest with a bottle.

Scowling, I finish the water and crumple up the bottle, tossing it into the crate we use on the boat for trash. "Is the engine, okay?"

He scoffs. "I checked it!"

I grin. "Doesn't mean it works."

He flips me off, looking over his shoulder as he joins his twin.

I have five brothers, so sniping at each other is a common occurrence. Ridge deserves it, though. One time he swore blindly that he'd checked the engine before we left. He hadn't. Essex had swum back to shore for oil. Yes, we never let him forget that. Galen is the only one who never gives him a hard time. I'm sure they communicate half the time without opening their mouths.

Atilio climbs aboard and I nod at him. I narrow my eyes at my eldest brother, only one year older. The red-haired girl comes to mind as I watch him. He’s taken with her. Hell, we all were. The way her mouth had taken in that popsicle. I groan. It had been hot.

I'd snuck out the back of the store while she was talking to her uncle. I'd stayed at the back of the building and watched him leave her in the back of the patrol car.

The girl had piqued my curiosity, which was why I'd followed in the first place. I'd lied to Atilio that it was unintentional that I'd made myself look more like Essex. My youngest brother needs someone to push him out of his comfort zone. I figured she'd think it was him and be grateful. She would come to the house and seek him out. But she hasn’t.

I watch him now as he does some moves for the three girls who walk by. I'm sure I fucked one of them. Probably all three.

"Sorry girls," Ridge calls, "this is a boy’s trip."

"I don't see any boys," says the blonde.

Galen and Boone are standing in front of them, taking off their T-shirts. Not to be outdone, Ridge joins them. Essex glances in my direction and shakes his head. A smile appears at the corner of his mouth as he takes off his shirt. Chuckling, I've concluded that my brothers are flirts.

"Now we're all here, let's go!" I shout.

Ridge gives me the finger, but my brothers get serious and do their jobs to get us away from the small dock. I turn the engine over, and when Atilio gives me the signal, I steer us toward the horizon.

It's not often that we have a destination in mind, but after yesterday we'll head for the country club. We can dock far enough from shore that we'll be a blip on the horizon.

One by one, my brothers notice that we're not going to our usual spot. I feel more than one set of eyes on me and smile.

Atilio shakes his head and says something to the others. Now I get curious looks as they take their usual positions on the deck.

The water is calm, and I enjoy the solitude of being at the helm. Boone is known as the quiet one, but I'm the one who values my personal space more than even he does. A light, warm breeze brushes against my skin, which I enjoy as I steer the boat further out into the open water.

Thirty minutes later, I stop the engine. Atilio joins me and hands me a beer. "You want to tell me why we're here?"

"Not really." I keep my eyes on my brother as I take a long sip of the cold beer.

"You're angry," Atilio comments.

"No, I'm not angry. I'm curious where you and Essex went this morning."

A hiss leaves his mouth. "He went out?"

"Came back from the same direction you did." I hold his gaze and notice his flinch. "I suppose you went to see the girl?" I raise a brow.

A curve of his lips tells me I'm right. "She knows it was you who helped her." His jaw clenches as he looks toward the country club. "Her father hit her because she wouldn't give him a name."

Shock runs through me.

"She had a mark on her cheek," he adds.

Our eyes go to Essex, who must sense our attention because he turns his head and looks in our direction. He gives nothing away.

"If you really like this girl, maybe you should tell him," I suggest.

"You know him. I don't think he has any designs on the girl. He followed me to see where I was going."

I sigh. "Look, I know you like this girl, but are you sure you want to get involved with her? It can't go anywhere."

"I'm aware." He grins as we settle with the others. “Let's forget about her today."

"Like that's going to happen," Essex grumbles as I collapse next to him.

"Especially since you got us within shooting distance of the country club," Boone adds.

I enjoy the looks between my brothers as I have given them something to chew on. "A little bird told me that Beatrice has a date with that idiot, Jason Greenwood. The same bird told me he was taking her somewhere nice to eat. Dancing afterwards. Where do you think that place is?" I leave out that the bird also told me that Beatrice might need some help. My brothers can be hot-headed, so it would be better to leave that out for now.

All heads have turned towards the club, and I smile to myself. Oh, she's sweet and damn pretty, but if I were to go after someone from Mount Sterling, it wouldn't be Beatrice. Not when I know my five brothers like her. Maybe two more than the others. This bothers me as I look at Atilio, who is staring off into the distance, and Essex, who is lying on his back, staring up at the sky with dark shades over his eyes, not missing a word that is being said. He knows I am staring and gives me the finger. I shake my head.

It's hot and humid, but the breeze makes it more bearable as I settle down. The boat bobs gently on the water and I enjoy the silence.

Eventually we all fall asleep for a while. It usually happens since we leave early. I don't think Ridge slept at all last night. Unless he got a little shuteye between bouts of fucking Lucinda's brains out. He'll never learn.

We have a good business that provides a good life. As I get older, I wonder where this life is going to take me. I love working with my hands. Dad taught all of us the art of carpentry, which is why we're all so good.

The people over in Mount Sterling don't have a problem with the work we do as long as we don't mess with their daughters. We've always stuck to that. I mean, the work we do is our livelihood. We can't screw that up.

I have a feeling in my gut that a lot of trouble is coming our way.