All Chapters of Brotherzoned: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

IslaI stepped directly into Zayne’s path, forcing him to stop. My heartbeat was still embarrassingly unstable from everything that happened last night, but I kept my spine straight.“Zayne,” I said, blocking him with a hand on his chest. “What do you mean we’re heading to Michigan? Can you brief me exactly on what’s going on?”He stared at me—hard.That unreadable, heavy stare that always forces me to look away, but this time I don’t.And that was when I realized why his eyes had dropped, why his expression changed just slightly.My nipples were poking right through his shirt.Oh God.His shirt on my body, oversized and soft and blatantly smelling like him, and of course that’s what decides to be visible.I rolled my eyes at myself, at the entire situation, but he caught it. And something smug flickered across his face before he schooled it away.“Oh,” he said casually, stepping around me, “Sienna hasn’t told you yet?”Hasn’t told me what?Before I could get the question out, he was

Zayne I’m angry. There’s no poetic way to wrap it up, no gentle justification that makes it sound healthier or noble. I’m pissed off, and the worst part is I don’t even know which fire started burning first. Maybe it’s because of Isla. Or maybe it’s Sienna. No—scratch that. It is Sienna. Because out of everything gnawing at my sanity right now… I’m the reason she’s about to marry Vincenzo. I’m the reason she will be stuck in that world. I’m the reason she’ll walk down an aisle to a man who only sees people as accessories to his power. And there isn’t a damn thing I can do to stop it. She must resent me now. Hell, she has every right to. And then there’s Celeste. Wherever the hell she is. Wherever she ran off to. I don’t care if she’s across the state or halfway to another damn continent, I will find her. I have to. Too many things are falling apart at the same time, and if I don’t start fixing something, I’m going to lose my damn mind. But right now? Right now I’m stuck in

IslaZayne’s hand on my thigh shouldn’t feel like this. Like heat poured directly into my bloodstream. Like a grounding weight and a spark all at once. Like something I shouldn’t allow, something dangerous and comforting tangled together.But it does.His palm rests there casually, or at least he pretends it is casual. But nothing about Zayne is ever casual. Not the way he looks at me. Not the way he touches. Not the way he moves, silent, calculating, always three steps ahead of reality.I’m trying not to think about yesterday, the way he held me, ruined me, pressed me to his chest afterward, his breath still uneven, the way his voice dropped into that dark warning—Don’t even think about pulling away.But my traitor mind remembers. And now my body remembers too.Heat crawls up my thighs at the memory. I inhale slowly, trying to force my legs to stay still, but instead I tense up, and he feels it.His fingers flex once. Then again. A light squeeze, subtle, as if saying I know.Before m

ZayneI didn’t think I’d ever see Isla bolt like that, silent panic stitched into every step, her breath short and clipped, her hands trembling as she hugged her phone to her chest like it was something poisonous.I didn’t even think. My legs just moved.“Isla—”She didn’t stop. Not even when I called again, low, urgent. She didn’t stop until she reached Sienna’s room and slipped inside like she needed a door between her and whatever was chasing her. Or whoever.I followed her in, shutting the door behind us.She stood by the dresser, her back to me, shoulders stiff, fingers clenching the edges of her shirt. She looked like she was holding her breath under water and could break the surface at any second, either to gulp the air or scream.This was when I realized how I must have sounded earlier.When I snapped at her. When I told her to give me her phone like I owned her next heartbeat.Fuck. I regretted it the second it left my mouth.She wasn’t mine to command unless she wanted me to

IslaFive whole minutes dragged by, and then Sienna and I finally headed toward the sitting room for dinner. The house felt bigger tonight, quieter, like every sound was padded under layers of tension I couldn’t shake. My clothes were already unpacked. My toiletries lined neatly on the guest bathroom counter. Everything was where it was supposed to be.Except me.Because somewhere in this house, Zayne still didn’t know I was sorry. And that thought sat in my chest like a stone.Aurora had set out dinner, rosemary chicken, roasted vegetables, something steaming in a creamy sauce that smelled way too comforting for how restless I felt. Ronan sat at the head of the table, scrolling through something on his phone until Aurora nudged him with her elbow.“Isla,” Aurora said warmly, “how’s your photography going? You still doing travel shoots or just studio work now?”Before I could answer, Ronan chimed in. “Yeah, kid. You disappeared for a while there. How’s life treating you? Money good? Y