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Chapter One

Jackson Stone’s entire life had been a goddamn lie, and in awith the fact that he had three brothers he hadn’t even known existed until teeks ago He was still dealing with, and sorting through, the shock of learning the details surrounding his birth and illegal adoption, and he had no idea if his three siblings—one of which was his tere even aware of his existence

He was about to find out, but ultimately it didn’this brothers was so theave him some kind of closure He’d spent the past thirty-two years feeling like an outsider in his own fa why his father—or rather, the er son while blatantly ignoring any attempt Jackson had made to win Paul Stone’s affection and approval

But now that Jackson had discovered the truth about where he’d come from, his father’s rejection made so much more sense to him Unfortunately, his entire childhood had been ahad been as it seee his father had inflicted during those younger, formative years, combined with his ex-wife’s betrayal, made it difficult for Jackson to let anyone close The few people he trusted implicitly, he could count on one hand, and he doubted that would change anytime soon

He pushed those thoughts froation system announced that he’d arrived at his destination—a bar nahborhood in Chicago He turned his Porsche into the parking area behind the building, his glealy out of place next to the few older vehicles in the lot

Not wanting to risk getting the paint scratched or dinged, he parked his car in the farthest roay froift to himself when he’d made partner at Schmidt and Kramer, the architect firm where he’d worked the past eleven years Yeah, he was a bit obsessive about keeping the Porsche in pristine condition, but considering he’d worked his ass off to be able to afford such an indulgence, he didn’tout of his way to protect his investment

Sliding out of the low-slung car, he straightened to his full height and engaged the alarlanced at his watch It was three thirty in the afternoon, a half hour before the establish early he’d be able to catch Clay, the brother ned the place, and his twin, before the bar started letting custo

As he approached the old, dated building, out of habit he found hi the place fro on urban designs, corporate buildings, and sophisticated and luxurious structures, but the modest bar that had probably been built in the 1980s fit the blue-collar neighborhood The place looked clean and well taken care of and appeared as though it had been recently treated with neood trim and a fresh coat of paint

He didn’t know much about the Kincaid brothers, just the basic inforator to provide so he had an initial point of contact and could introduce hies, marital status, and place of business hat Jackson had asked for, and that’s all he’d been given The PI had offered to deliver an in-depth background report on all threeto blatantly invade their privacy If the situation were reversed, he wouldn’t appreciate his entire life and past being scrutinized by a virtual stranger or conclusions made about his character based on information provided by a third party

He reached the front entrance to the bar The hours of operation stated they didn’t open until four, but figuring the employees arrived earlier, he pulled on the iron handle anyway His nerves ratcheted up a notch as the door opened, bringing hi his brothers Uncertainty and anticipation led inside him as he entered the vacant lobby

He was a confident, successful, and respected business what kind of reception he was about to receive His stoht not want to have anything to do with hi

Yeah, the fucking story of ht as he forcibly shook off thea deep breath, hefroht of a young woarnish tray at the service area, who absently glanced his way as soon as he ca him as a customer