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She seemed flustered, but Ace didn’t care. He wanted out of the hospital. He shifted on his bed, hating how weak his body felt. He was winded from this little bit of movement.
“The doctor hasn’t signed you out,” she told him, seeming to get some of her nerve back. “Did you rip your IV out?”
“I don’t like being drugged,” he told her.
“You can’t just rip it out,” she said, moving toward him again.
“If you try to put it in me again, I’m going to play doctor on you,” Ace warned her, his voice lowering to lethal levels.
She was smart enough to back off. “I’m getting the doctor,” she said before her eyes moved around the room again, and then she made a quick retreat.
“That was a bit uncalled for,” Sherman told him.
“Yeah, I’m an asshole. I get it,” Ace said with a sigh.
He shifted his legs off the bed and touched his feet to the cold ground. His body was breaking out in a sweat, and he was growing more frustrated by the minute. Weakness was for the pathetic. He refused to allow any kind of injury to hold him back.
“You’re going to fall on your ass if you try to get up,” Nick warned.
“I’m stronger than I look right now,” Ace assured his brother.
“I got ripped apart in a helicopter crash a year back, and I thought I was tough too. I just made life a hell of a lot harder on myself and everyone else by fighting every step of the way,” Nick told him.
“You look like you’re doing well now,” Ace said. He wanted to tell his brother he’d been there when he’d been in that terrible crash, that he had been worried for his family. He didn’t say that, though. His siblings couldn’t know he’d kept an eye on them through the years. He didn’t know why they couldn’t know, but he just knew the shell he’d placed around himself was the only thing keeping him intact. At least for right now.
“I am, because I pulled my head out of my ass and let my soon-to-be wife help me,” Nick said.
“You’re getting married?” Ace asked.
He’d kept up on his brothers over the past several years, but this was news to him. He felt a pang and didn’t know what to think about the situation. It wasn’t as if he’d made it possible for his brothers to get ahold of him, but he still couldn’t help feeling hurt about not knowing.
“Yes, I am. In two weeks,” Nick said, his face transforming with a radiant smile that even shot light from his eyes. His future wife must be one hell of a woman to put that look on Ace’s brother’s face.
“Congrats,” Ace told him. He actually meant it. But when he realized he was allowing too much softness in his voice, he immediately firmed his lips. Going soft wasn’t acceptable.
“Thanks,” Nick said, his stupid grin growing even brighter. “Let’s get you on your feet so you can be my best man.”
The words processed in Ace’s head, and he felt that damn stinging in his eyes again. Good thing he’d ripped out the IV, ’cause he was obviously a mess due to the ridiculous drugs they’d forced in him.
“I haven’t been around. Don’t you think Coop or Mav would make a better best man?” Ace said with a laugh that had no merriment in it.
Nick moved to his side and placed his hand on Ace’s shoulder, refusing to allow Ace to look away. His smile dimmed, but there was sincerity in his expression as he reconnected with his brother.
“I love all of you equally,” Nick told him. “But from the moment I asked Chloe to marry me, I knew I had to find you, knew you had to stand beside me.”
Silence was once again booming in his ears as Ace tried to keep himself together. Ace loved all his brothers, but he and Nick had been paired off for a lot of their lives. They simply had a truly special bond. But even though Ace didn’t deserve Nick’s loyalty, it meant the world to him that he still had it.
“Well, I can’t stand anywhere as long as I’m locked up in this room,” Ace said, clearing his throat as he looked away from his brother.
“That wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic yes, but I’ll take it,” Nick said with a laugh. He squeezed Ace’s shoulder, and then Maverick stepped up on his other side.
“If you insist on getting up, then we’ll help you. I’m sure you could use the bathroom,” Mav told him. Mav wasn’t being as open as his other brothers, and Ace could see that not all was forgiven between the two of them. Hell, he’d expected Maverick’s chilliness from all of them, but if he were being honest with himself, he’d have to admit it hurt.
“I don’t need help,” Ace grumbled.
“Okay, then humor us,” Nick insisted.
Ace quit arguing with them. It wouldn’t do him any good, anyway. Then he was glad they were there when he managed to rise from the bed. His legs shook as he stood there for a moment, one brother on either side of him. His first step made him feel like an infant trying to walk for the first time, but after he made it a few more steps, he felt a little more sure of himself.
