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“If you like her as much as you say, you better keep her away from Jared.”
As soon as the words escaped my lips, I regretted them. Jared was our leader. And our brother. He meant well. His appetite was simple and extensive: as many females as possible. There wouldn’t be any benefit from pitting one brother against another. I needed to fix this. Even though my ribs felt like they were going to crack, I choked out a laugh. “You should see your face. It’s like you’ve seen a ghost.” That wasn’t an exaggeration. His face was pale, and it looked like a storm was brewing behind his eyes. The guilt from my words was authentic, but I knew that they held the truth. Sometimes it was only white lies that kept us together.
“You’re right. He will want her first.” Wes mumbled. “Nothing belongs to me.”
I reached out and patted his arm. “That’s the tradeoff. We sacrifice. Doing what’s best for the pack is how we survive. You can’t forget all he’s done for you over some girl you just met.” No matter how beautiful she is.
“I’m not forgetting anything. I’m just sick of being alone. How am I supposed to find a mate when Jared is always going to steal her away?”
Wes’s face was clouded with emotion. What was going on in his head? He never expressed discomfort with our arrangement before. Jared was the leader. All of our mates belonged to the strongest. That was part of life in a pack. We were lucky that Jared was generous enough to share. Most shapeshifters would slice their brother’s throats for even looking at their mates. “What’s going on?”
He looked down to the floor. I let him gather his thoughts. After a minute he took in a deep breath and looked up at me. His smile was obviously forced. “Nothing. I’m not myself today. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get any sleep last night. Do you mind if I cut out for a few hours?”
Wes could sleep anywhere. The chair he was sleeping in was mostly likely more comfortable than his lumpy mattress. Was he cutting out because he didn’t want to be here when Jen returned? “No, I’ll survive. Some way. Somehow.” I feigned distress like a Civil War damsel.
“I thought Jared was the dramatic one?” Wes snorted. He was right about that. I wasn’t going to push it any further. It wasn’t my place to tell Wes what to do. It was our place to look to Jared and obey.
“Come back later. You’re not off the hook because you’ve got a hard-on for Jen.” I didn’t think he was going to have a chance at winning over Jen, especially if Jared wanted her to himself. But I wasn’t going to let him know that. And besides, it could be good for Wes to finally have a crush.
Wes stood up and brushed his hands on his thighs. Sweaty palms and all. Man, he was feeling it hard. Poor guy. When was the last time he expressed feelings for a woman? Grade school? Ever? My memories felt jumbled and disorganized. Whatever medicine was in my IV was clouding my thoughts as well as the pain.
“Jared will be here in a few. He was…you know.” Wes’s lips were pinched tightly together.
I nodded. We might have won last night, but we were wrong about how much money The Vipers were holding. Jared was out scoping our next job. He always had a reason to be hustling something else. Our money. Our reputation. Our future. Jared’s heart burned brightly for one thing only, money. All the women in his life were window dressing. Which made it difficult to watch sometimes. I’ve broken more bones than I could count. Shapeshifters are gifted with healing abilities, but it was still painful having to regrow and heal. And I was getting a little tired of being laid up in a hospital with an IV in my arm. I’d like to accomplish something in my life other than fusing bone and skin together.
“I’ll cover for you. Go. Rest.” I knew that no amount of rest was going to make him feel better. This was going to require a bigger fix. Whatever that is, I can’t worry about it now. My first priority is healing and getting the hell out of here. Jared was a stubborn son-of-a-bitch, but he needed our help. And he was not going to be happy that Wes left before he arrived. He was big on respect and order. And we weren’t supposed to do anything without his approval.
“You could use some rest yourself. You look like shit.”
His smirk loosened the noose of anxiety around my neck. Like I didn’t know how scary I must appear. My head looked like a bowling ball with baseball stitching. “It’s a tragedy. I’m starting to look like you.”
That jab was irresistible. Probably below the belt though because Wes was sensitive about his appearance. For some reason, his metabolism wasn’t quite as resilient as mine and Jared’s. And he favored the couch and Netflix over combat training. Other than that, we all shared reasonably attractive features. Jared was the pretty one though. He always looked like the fresher, better, hotter version of us. It was only now when we were nearly forty, did that reality not bear the weight of fresh pain.
Wes flipped me off and grabbed his coat. The one good thing about being stuck here in the hospital is I didn’t need to go to the Roaring' Twenties Dance-A-Thon. Wes might not be good in a fight, but he certainly was good at conning people out of their money. And keeping up appearances was part of how we were able to get away with so much. The local old folks home let us use their banquet halls and host events. Considering the money that we launder through that place; we deserve a dance benefit. What the hell was it this time? Scoliosis? Cancer? My thoughts were trapped in my mind like fruit in a gelatin mold. Frozen. Suddenly, I was sleepy. Heat enveloped me. My medicine must be kicking in. Beep. I listened to the electronic whirs and beeps of the equipment surrounding my bed. The warm fuzzy darkness blurred the edges of my vision.
Jen appeared above me, but I was too tired to speak. Jen. My brother. He’s a good guy. Give him a shot. Give me a shot. Us. Was I thinking or speaking? Her face hovered near my right side. It was Jen, but she wasn’t wearing her hospital scrubs. Her hair was pulled back in a messy but sexy pile on her head. Jen’s body was wrapped in a tight sequined gown and she had a small matching purse tucked under her arm. Her lips and nails were painted the same shade of red. Her skin glowed with light from within. Where was she going? Was I going with her? If she was here in the hospital, why was she not dressed like a nurse? Even though I couldn’t imagine her looking more beautiful, she didn’t look happy. Her face was cloaked in sadness. What’s wrong my dear? Please tell me. I’ll fix it. We’ll fix it. I felt her soft hands on my arm. And then the darkness drew me in.
Chapter 5
Jennifer
I made it two feet before I slammed on the brakes. So much for a murder fantasy. Tim might be a violent bastard, but if I went to jail, he would get full custody. Over my dead body. And if I called the police, I
might as well kiss any chance at getting to work on time goodbye. It’s not like they would take me seriously anyway. They never had. Tim turns on his sweet smile, talks about his time serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and the officers thank him for his service. Imagine. He was the best liar I knew. If I heard one more officer say to my broken or bruised face that I should “cut him a break” or “try counseling” I would go bananas. This wasn’t going to get handled that way again.
I parked the car and pulled the emergency break. Craning my neck, I looked back towards the girls. They were still sleeping. I was not about to start their morning with police sirens and their father in handcuffs. So, you would rather it start with you getting murdered? I peeked again at Tim in my rearview mirror. His clothes looked neat and his face was relaxed. Even his hair was combed. If he was using, he went through a lot of trouble to cover it up. I scanned his face for any trace of anger. There was nothing. Even his posture was off. He didn’t look upset. Instead, he was shifting back and forth between feet. Tim was nervous. It still wouldn’t hurt to be careful. You can’t run. There’s nowhere to go girl. The game’s up, you’re found. He’s right in front of you. Deal with it.
Looking around for something heavy, I spotted a dumbbell that I meant to take to the thrift shop weeks ago. It was a two-pounder, but it would have to do. If I cracked it over his head or smacked him in the balls with it, it would do the trick. A quick scan of the car turned up only one of the pair. The other must be crammed underneath of the backseat or in the trunk. This car was like a black hole. I grabbed the weight and opened the car door as carefully as I could. Sudden movements and loud noises set Tim off. Walking on eggshells was something I had mastered quickly. But it was never enough to stop the inevitable outpouring of rage. Today I was going to make sure he didn’t hurt us.
I cracked the door open and walked back towards Tim. Clutching the weight, I made my way slowly towards the garage door. Tim stood tall, hands in his pockets. Unable to contain his glee, his face stretched wide in a grin. Was there ever a time where he wasn’t pleased with himself? My chest tightened. Something was off. Tim wasn’t that great of an actor. Considering what I’d done, he should be furious. My last black eye was the result of slightly runny egg yolks. He was up to something. I could feel it. Why the hell did he look like he just won the lottery?
“Hello gorgeous.”
Fluid. Easy. Like the last time I saw him didn’t happen. The shiner and police. His smooth talk. Sleeping pills. Packing the girls in his car and ditching it at the bus station. How did he find me? And what did he want?
“What are you doing here?” I tried as hard as I could to sharpen my tone. I let him off the hook too many times before. The solid weight in my hand was comforting. He didn’t look confrontational. In fact, he seemed downright giddy. I relaxed slightly, but I was going to keep my guard up. His mood swings were volatile. Explosive. I wasn’t going to be caught off guard.
“Listen baby. I know that things didn’t…I wasn’t very…I…I messed up.”
