The Ties That Bind

Part 19

Alex stepped into the kitchen and threw his car keys on the counter.

"Hey bro," said Adrian, still petting the Patty the ferret. Alex gave them both a contemptuous glance.

"Get that thing out of here," he basically ordered Adrian. Adrian instantly turned on his heels and walked right out of the kitchen muttering "Yes, boss," under his breath, while giving Alex the evil eye.

Tris stared at the third Lanter brother she was about to meet. Like Adrian and Matt, Alex was also handsome, tall and well built. His dark hair was neatly trimmed, and his face looked freshly shaved. Tris caught a whiff of his masculine aftershave as soon as he entered the room. He wore an elegant, expensive navy blue suit ("probably Armani or Hugo Boss," Tris thought), and his silk tie matched the color of his ice cold blue eyes. All in all, he looked like he had just walked out of GQ Magazine. Tris wondered if everyone she was going to meet that day could pass for a supermodel...

"So what news of Adam," Alex addressed Matt, completely ignoring Tris.

"He's still in the ICU," Matt answered. "He's not conscious yet, and they're giving him extra oxygen."

"When can we see him," Alex seemed like a cut and dry, straight to the point kind of guy.

"Tomorrow morning," said Matt.

"Good," Alex said curtly. He then turned to Ella and greeted her briefly.

"I'm going upstairs to take a shower. Today was exhausting. Let me know if you hear anything from the hospital," Alex walked away from them and took the stairs.

Matt, Tris and Ella exchanged looks.

"Well, that went pretty well," said Matt.

"He's not the emotional type, is he," asked Tris.

Ella laughed. "Who, Alex? Quite the opposite. He's as cool as a cucumber," she told Tris. "Unless he's angry, in which case, you better run the other way as fast as you can," she added.

"He seems pretty intimidating," admitted Tris. "It almost feels like it got 10 degrees cooler in here when he walked in."

"That's Alex for you," Matt agreed. "And he's just as warm and cuddly on all special occasions: birthdays, holidays, funerals, you name it," he smirked.

"Adrian seemed kind of scared of him," Tris noted.

"Not scared... he just didn't wanna make a scene today of all days. Sometimes it's easier to just give in than fight," Matt answered.

"I guess he didn't realize there was a stranger standing in his kitchen," added Tris.

"Alex only notices people that are potentially beneficial to him. Otherwise he's not interested," said Ella.

"Wow... is he a lot like your dad," Tris asked Matt.

"You could call him Mini Dad," Matt sniggered. He and Ella both laughed.

"He's certainly more than ready to take over Dad's place... at home AND at work," Matt added.

Matt checked his phone. "There's a message from James... He got a hold of Adam's car... yikes, that looks awful," Matt turned his phone toward the girls. There was a picture of a smashed up red Ferrari.

"Jesus Christ," Ella exclaimed. "It's worse than I thought..."

"He must've flipped over or something," said Matt. "I'm surprised he only broke a leg and some ribs."

Ella gulped loudly. "Let's HOPE that's all he broke..."

"James says he talked to the cop who arrived at the scene. It looks like Adam skidded off the freeway and rolled over. Luckily it wasn't into oncoming traffic," Matt read his message out-loud.