His arms wrapped around her and he chuffed out a laugh. "Hey, Al."

"I missed you," she said, giving him another squeeze, just to prove he was real.

"Me, too." He stepped back and gave her a once-over. The smile disappeared, his eyes narrowed, and his shoulders went rigid.

Suddenly, she remembered what she'd been doing just before Brady arrived. Oh, crap. She was wearing Marco's shirt. And Marco wasn't wearing one at all. Oh, no. Oh, crap. No way her brother wasn't going to jump to conclusions, and they would be the right conclusions.

This was not going to end well.

"So," she said, smoothing down her shirt. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I tried to, remember? I called. Twice." He looked back and forth between them, then finally directed a cold glare at Marco.

Butterflies took flight in Alyssa's stomach. "I could barely hear you." She waved her hand. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. You're here. That's all I care about."

He frowned. "Maybe if you'd heard me, you'd be dressed right now. In your own clothes."

Marco sighed. "Brady-"

Alyssa cut Marco off, trying to defuse her brother's agitation. "Listen, you, we haven't seen each other in a year and a half. Don't be an ass."

He scowled. "I'm serious, Alyssa. What the hell is going on?"

"Well," she began, thinking I'm in love with Marco probably wasn't the best conversation opener, especially since she hadn't actually told Marco how she felt yet. She looked at him to see if he wanted to be the one to explain to Brady.

Her stomach plummeted.

Marco wore a strange, veiled expression and wouldn't meet her gaze. "It's not what you think," he finally said.

Blood roared through Alyssa's ears. What is that supposed to mean?

Brady's glare jumped from Marco to her tousled hair and her borrowed shirt. His eyes widened and he grabbed her arm. "What the hell is this?" he asked, the strain in his voice revealing his wavering effort to remain calm.

Alyssa followed his gaze to her bruised wrist and covered the marks with her other hand. Brady's expression went darker than she'd ever seen it. She glanced down and internally groaned. Now both bruised wrists were showing.

She heard the whack of Brady's fist hitting Marco's face before she saw it.

"I trusted you, you sonuvabitch," Brady yelled.

"Brady, no!" she cried, reaching out.

The impact wrenched Marco's neck to the side, but he didn't fight back. And he didn't fight for her. His eyes were dead. "I cannot believe you'd think me capable of hurting her. Ever," Marco said, his voice tight with emotion.

"Remember your last night in Okinawa? Last time I saw you, you were out of your fucking mind. What the hell am I supposed to think?"

Alyssa stepped between them and braced a hand against each of their chests. She took a deep breath, choked down the tidal wave of emotion threatening to swamp her, and looked them each in the eye. "Brady, stop. I'm serious. Marco didn't hurt me. He rescued me."

Brady eased off and rubbed roughly at his face. Marco fell back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Like boxers retiring to their corners.

Alyssa's cheeks went hot and her heart hurt from pounding so hard in her chest. She glanced back and forth between the guys, both of whom looked as pissed off as she'd ever seen them.

Realization rolled through her in a sick, slow-moving wave. Brady was Marco's friend first. He was Marco's best friend in the world. More than that, he'd been Marco's brother-in-arms, and, from what Marco had shared last night, Brady had saved his life. Marco owes his life to Brady. If he had to make a choice between them, Marco was going to choose Brady. Part of her understood and admired that. Even if it did break her heart. And why wouldn't he? She was the one who initiated the sex last night. And afterward, how many times had he called her a friend?

It's not what you think.

Marco's words echoed in Alyssa's mind. It wasn't love. Not for him.

She'd always known a relationship with Marco was a long shot, and it was clear that the emotions were all on her side, even if he had been sweet and tender last night. But after she'd been attacked, of course he'd be that way. Marco was a good guy and a protector to the core. And they were friends. For him, the sex clearly stemmed from all of that, not from love.

And if he didn't love her, could Alyssa really drive a wedge into his friendship with Brady?

No.

Both of the guys meant way too much to let that happen.

Finding it suddenly hard to breathe, Alyssa turned on her heel and headed to the bathroom to change clothes. She slipped on her panties and jeans but couldn't bring herself to change back into her shirt. Marco's tee was miles big, so she tied it into a knot at the small of her back and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

She stared at herself in the mirror for a long moment, searching for and finally finding the resolve to do what she needed to do.

It's not going to get any easier.

She walked into the hall. The guys were still arguing and Alyssa did everything she could to tune it out. Her heart wouldn't be able to survive Marco explaining away what they'd had. Whatever it had been.

In the kitchen, she found her phone and keys, suddenly remembering she had neither her car nor her purse. Shit. With a sigh, she typed out a quick text message:

Could you please pick me up on Skyline Drive ASAP? Kinda an emergency.

She hit send and slid her phone into her pocket.

Then she marched out into the fray. The argument cut off and she captured the guys' gazes almost immediately. Their expressions and stances mirrored each other's-eyes blazing with anger, expressions hard, shoulders tensed and braced.

It just wasn't right.

"You two can stop this now. You've been best friends forever. Nothing is worth ruining that. So, enough," she said as she strode between them. "I'm leaving. Just pretend none of this happened." She nailed Marco with a gaze.

"You aren't going anywhere," Brady barked.

Alyssa's heartbreak morphed into anger. She pointed at him. "You are my only family and I love you. But you don't get to drop in out of nowhere and tell me what to do. I'm a grown woman. I can make my own decisions."