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His face is a mask of confusion as he answers and heads to the bathroom. I throw my legs off the bed and drag on my pajama pants, hoping it’s not something bad about anyone back in Canada. About his family.
Michael is in the bathroom for about two minutes, then he comes storming out, almost stomping over to his clothes. I don’t tell him to keep quiet, since it’s clearly an emergency. My door is locked, so if someone hears, I just won’t open my door until he’s gone.
“What happened?” I ask, abandoning all pretense of whispering.
“Remember I told you I have a half-brother?” I nod, helping him pick up his clothes from the floor so he can get dressed faster. “He was attacked last night. Quin just found out when his name popped up in hospital records. I need to go and figure out what happened.”
“Yeah, go. I’m so sorry.” He told me he and his brother have never met, but his well-being obviously means a lot to Michael.
When he’s fully dressed, he drags me to him, hugging me tightly. His body seems to be trembling. “Hey, it’s okay,” I say, trying to soothe him.
“I thought I got the guy that tried to kill him. I thought I protected him. I can’t fail him too.”
Pulling back, I cup his face and rub a thumb over his cheek. “You’re not failing. You didn’t fail Abel and you won’t fail your brother. You’ve protected him and he didn’t even know it. You’re not a failure.”
His big body shudders and he kisses me hungrily. “Thank you, baby,” he mutters against my mouth when we part. “I needed to hear that.” He kisses me once more, then hurries to the window. “Lock this behind me, yeah?” I nod and he slides through easily, puts the screen back in place and darts off into the night.
I watch him, my heart breaking for him. I hope he finds who did this. They need to pay for making him feel like he’s inadequate.
Chapter 18
Michael
ThelastthingIwanted to do was leave Damon’s arms. Even though we had to keep quiet because of his piece of shit family, I was enjoying the time we were spending. Feeling his head on my chest and his small hands soothing me was more than perfect.
But finding out that Brent was admitted to the hospital sent me out into the night to try to figure out what the fuck was going on.
It’s strange. I have no relationship with this man, but I feel oddly protective of him as his big brother. I don’t want him to die before he can realize his full potential. I want him to, like me, reach the age of forty. I can’t explain why I feel protective of him—I just do.
I’ll never tell him who I am or what I did for him, but I need to keep him alive. I need to feel like I haven’t failed.
After I pull out of Damon’s neighbor’s driveway, I speed to the hotel to get changed. I want to try to get into Brent’s hospital room so I can talk to him. I need to find out if he knows who did this to him so I can bury them.
My phone rings and I answer quickly, connecting it to the car’s Bluetooth. “Tell me what you know.”
Quin’s booming voice fills the car and I start seeing red the more he speaks. “I got his medical records. The people that got to him fucked him up. Orbital fracture, hairline fracture in his collarbone, three broken ribs, shattered elbow, and his CT scans show he had a ruptured spleen. He’s just out of surgery. That’s why I just got his name. Someone saw the attack and when the assailants ran off, drove him to the hospital. Good thing he didn’t have a spinal injury or moving him might have paralyzed him.”
“Did the police talk to him yet?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“Not yet. He’s been out of surgery for about thirty minutes. Anesthesia is probably still wearing off.”
“Good. I need to get in there and talk to him. Figure out what happened.”
Quin sighs through the phone. “Has to be the same person that tried to kill him before. I don’t think one person has this much shitty luck.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “Call me if you find out anything else before I get to the hospital.”
Rushing into my hotel room—but still careful to avoid cameras—I get changed into a dress shirt and slacks, trying to look as much like a detective as I can. I bring my Canadian security credentials, hoping that will pass as a badge if I flash it quickly enough. I try to calm myself, try to get my head together, but I don’t know how. Then I think of Damon and I smile, knowing that just listening to him breathe will make me feel a million times better. But I don’t want to wake him if he’s getting his rest. He has to work in the morning.
But when I park at the hospital, I can’t help myself. I text him to see if he’s awake.
Me: Are you asleep?
He doesn’t answer me by text, he calls. I answer immediately. “Did I wake you?”
“No. I’ve been waiting for you to call. You okay?” he asks in a whisper.
“Fine. Just need to figure out what happened. The funny thing is, I’m not sure why I even care so much. We’re strangers. He wouldn’t be able to pick me out on the street as his brother.”
