Page 20 of Brandishing Balance (Devil’s Psychos MC #3)

Maya

I was finishing up my protein shake when the hospital room door opened, and Marcos and Jason walked in. Both men stopped in their tracks when they saw me sitting up and coherent.

“You guys weren’t even gone a full fucking hour. I thought you were gonna STAY there for an hour!” Nico complained loudly to his brothers.

Both men were still staring wide-eyed at me, not blinking. It was making me feel self-conscious, and I realized for the first time that I had no idea what I looked like. I assumed I looked like hell.

“Well, you just gonna stand there? Say something! You’re making her uncomfortable.” Nico’s annoyance had me shooting him a wry smile. Leave it to Nico to call out those two.

“Uh, hi,” Marcos said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Hey,” I replied softly. Why were they being weird? Why was this so hard?

“You’re awake,” Marcos said, stating the obvious.

I nodded, saving my voice.

Both men looked so out of place and neither one seemed to know what to do. Not like Nico, who had been talking almost nonstop the last hour, carefully avoiding the topic at hand. I didn’t want to think about the elephant in the room, and the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it.

Thankfully a moment later, Darla walked into the room with my Jello.

Who would have thought I’d get excited over the thought of Jello?

Darla walked right through the tension in the room with a smile on her face.

“Here you are honey. Let’s see how this goes, and if you’re still up in a couple hours, we’ll do another shake.

Otherwise in the morning you can have soft foods. ”

I nodded gratefully and took the container of orange Jello and the spoon from her.

“Now boys, take a seat, you’re kinda in the way.” Darla winked at them.

Snapping out of their stupor, both Marcos and Jason startled at her words and headed for the other two chairs besides her bed. Both of them looked like your standard hard as fuck, typical plastic hospital chairs. Not like the recliner that Nico had claimed for himself.

Darla left the room and silence once again descended on us.

Marcos and Jason were still staring at me unblinkingly and it was beginning to unnerve me.

“Stop,” I mumbled the best I could with my sore throat.

Nico had explained it was because of the breathing tube, but it still sucked.

I vaguely remembered waking up with that still in.

“How are you?” Jason asked, then winced as if he realized what he asked.

“I’m…alive,” I murmured the words the best I could.

Jason’s eyes closed for a moment before he opened them. He nodded solemnly.

“But we’re not talking about that right now,” Nico jumped in. “We have all the time in the world for depressing shit. We’re talking about this dumb movie and whatever dumb shit happened at the clubhouse. I’m sure Nickle or Phoenix got up to something in the short time you were there.”

Marcos chuckled and nodded. “Nickle and Phoenix were doing burlap sack races…naked.”

My mouth dropped open and Nico burst out laughing. “Yes! Not that anyone in their right fucking minds wants to see that, but yes!”

I started laughing and dug into my Jello with a smile on my face, ignoring the two idiots that were staring at me in awe.

Maya

After the movie ended, I yawned and started to drift in and out, but I didn’t want to fall asleep just yet.

I was basking in the presence of my boys and didn’t want it to end.

There was rustling to my left and I looked over in time to see Nico reach across me and hand Jason a book.

“What? No.” Jason tried to push Nico and the book away, but I perked up.

“Please?” I asked, my voice soft.

Jason startled and looked over at me. His gray eyes were a storm that peered into my soul. He looked so raw and unsure of himself. It was different. I couldn’t ever recall a time when Jason wasn’t sure of himself.

“Please?” I asked again, my voice a little stronger this time.

He sighed softly, but grabbed the book from Nico.

He leaned forward in the chair, so he was resting his elbows on his widespread knees, and opened the book at where the bookmark was shoved in.

It was then that I realized it was my favorite Why Choose novel, about a girl that found her fated mates after a war tore them apart.

Jason’s voice a smooth honey that sent shivers down my spine as he immediately picked up from where he left off. I fucking missed his voice. I fucking missed him . All of them.

Jason

I never felt so uneasy or out of place as I did in that moment.

Marcos and Nico were watching me expectantly as I started to read the book.

I tried to ignore them and was just getting into the story when I glanced up.

Maya was watching me through lidded lashes, her head turned toward me as she hung on to my every word.

My heart exploded in my chest at the sight of her amber eyes watching me with such devotion. I kept reading, glancing up at her once in a while, catching her gaze until her eyes slid closed. I paused, wondering if she had fallen asleep.

“Keep…go…ing,” she murmured.

I continued, knowing my words were helping her drift off to sleep.

I didn’t know how long I read for, but when Nico let out a quiet snore, I looked up. Nico was sound asleep in the recliner next to Maya, and Marcos had left the room completely, probably to the attached bedroom suite that we had been using for the last six days.

When I turned back to Maya, I found her eyes open again, watching me silently. “Hey,” I murmured.

She gave me a faint smile, just her lips tipping up in the corners.

“Maya…shit,” I grumbled, unsure where to begin. I needed to apologize.

Her hand reached out toward me, palm up and open.

I furrowed my brows as I stared at her hand in confusion, but I reached for it, anyway.

Maya laced our fingers together the best she could and gently tugged me forward. I leaned toward her, resting my elbows on the mattress as I got closer to her. “Come here,” she whispered.

I frowned and tried to see how I could get any closer. She tugged me toward her. “May—”

Maya tugged my hand harder.

“Alright, alright, already,” I muttered and stood up.

I kicked off my shoes and Maya hit the button on the bed to lower the head down.

I waited while the bed moved, glancing at a slightly snoring Nico before I looked back at Maya.

She was rolling onto her right side and scooting over to make room for me in the hospital bed.

Maya even went as far as to pull back the blanket and sheet for me to get under.

I shook my head slightly in disbelief, before I slid into the bed with her.

Once I was covered up, I slid my arm under her neck and pulled her against me.

It took some maneuvering, but we eventually got her comfortable with her head on my shoulder and her arm with the IV’s in it resting on my chest. She even draped her leg over mine.

I wrapped my arm around her and reveled in the feeling of her in my arms. It was fucking heaven, and I wasn’t going to let go ever. Loosely, I laced my fingers with hers on my chest, stroking gently over the top of her hand. “Darlin’,” I breathed the endearment I used for her.

“Not now, Jase.” Her voice was hoarse, but getting stronger.

“When?” I had so much I needed to say, to get off my chest. I needed to apologize and beg for her forgiveness, grovel if I had to.

“When I’m ready.”

I sighed and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. Maya was completely within her right, but it was hard to accept that. It was hard to keep my damn mouth shut when all I wanted to do was explain and pour my damn heart out.

She tensed momentarily in my arms, before she relaxed. Melting against me, she nuzzled her cheek a bit against my shoulder before settling in.