Page 4 of Cryptic Curse (Bellamy Brothers #7)

HAWK

G race comes out of Dad’s room. “Everything is looking good,” she says.

“And the aphasia?”

She purses her lips. “It’s not uncommon. Your father was in a coma for months. His brain just got back online.”

I chuckle. “You have an interesting way of putting things, Grace.”

“Guess it’s my caterpillar half.” She touches my arm.

Yeah, I should really ask her out.

So what’s stopping me?

“Hey, Grace…” I begin as she heads back toward the nurses’ station.

But then I stop.

My sister Raven and her boyfriend, Vinnie, are walking toward me. Behind them, Robin appears.

“Hey,” I say to all of them.

Grace walks back toward us. “You guys are going to think I’m crazy, just like Hawk did, but I need to see all of your IDs.”

“What?” Robin asks a little sharply.

But that’s Robin for you.

“It’s your brother’s orders,” Grace says.

“You know exactly who we are,” Robin says, again sharply.

“Oh, Robbie, you know Falcon.” Raven pats her hip. “Shit. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What is it, baby?” Vinnie asks.

She slaps her palm against her forehead. “I was so excited that Dad was awake that I forgot my purse. It’s back home.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Vinnie says. “You know who she is, Grace. You know her father wants to see her.”

Grace sighs. “I’m sorry. No exceptions. I’m not trying to be a badass or anything.”

“I already talked to Falcon about it,” I say. “Dad’s attorneys are requiring it.”

Robin rolls her eyes as she pulls out her ID and flashes it at Grace. “Satisfied?”

Grace isn’t bothered at all by her rudeness. “Absolutely. Go on in and see your dad.”

“You’re not seriously going to make us go get the ID, are you?” Vinnie says.

“I’m so sorry,” Grace says.

“It’s okay, Grace,” I cut in. “I’m sorry, Ray. If the attorneys and security are requiring it…”

“It’s no problem,” Vinnie says. “I’ll just call Daniela. She can bring it over.”

“What about Eagle?” Raven asks.

I let out a huff of air unintentionally. “Not here yet.”

“Seriously?” Raven says. “When I talked to Falcon, he told me he called Eagle first.”

I resist an eye roll. This is so very Eagle. Falcon calls him first, and he’s the last to show up. Probably gave him some flimsy excuse. Something that involves Scarlett Ramsey again, no doubt.

I’ve been my younger brother’s keeper for the last eight years.

Ever since Falcon went to prison, it fell to me.

I’m the one who saw that he went through rehab, and I’ve done everything I can to keep him clean since then, even spending several sleepless nights with him when he was afraid he was going to relapse.

And then the times when he did relapse…

I’m so damned tired.

Every time I turn around, he’s there—half-broken, bloodied, or lying through his teeth about how this time he’s got it under control. And every time, like clockwork, I’m the one picking up the pieces.

Again.

My parents don’t know. My brother and sisters don’t know.

Falcon’s been through enough, with prison.

Raven’s been through enough, with cancer.

And Robin? I’ve thought of confiding in her, asking her to help with Eagle.

But in the end, I never do.

After all, I’m the one Eagle calls. He’s my cross to bear.

I used to tell myself it was just a phase. That he’d grow out of it. That he’d hit rock bottom, bounce, and finally get it together. But rock bottom keeps shifting for him. It’s like he’s found a way to make it a home.

And I’m the one who gets the late-night phone calls. I’m the one who shows up to the bars, the alleys, the holding cells. I’m the one who lies to our mom about where he is. About why he didn’t call on her birthday.

I have my own life. Or at least, I did . Before my brother’s chaos bled into every corner of mine. Relationships? Shot to hell. Work? I’m running on fumes. Sleep? A distant memory. I wake up half the time expecting disaster, and the other half already bracing for it.

And the worst part?

He looks at me like I owe him this.

Like being his brother makes me his savior.

I’m not. I can’t be. Not anymore.

I love him. God help me, I do. But love isn’t supposed to feel like drowning with someone else’s weight tied around your neck.

Sometimes, when the phone buzzes and I see his name, I stare at it. Let it ring. I just sit there. Breathing.

Hoping it will stop.

But it doesn’t.

I answer, and I take care of everything.

But lately I’m realizing something.

Being his brother doesn’t mean I have to die saving him.

I can’t be on call twenty-four hours a day. I have my own work, my own duties to the ranch. My own life.

Raven is on the phone, presumably talking to Daniela.

Daniela is Vinnie’s wife.

And yes, Raven’s his girlfriend.

Vinnie married Daniela Agudelo when she was only seventeen to get her out of Colombia and her engagement to some older guy in the mafia.

She’s fucking gorgeous. She came as Vinnie’s date to Raven’s gala several months ago, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Until I found out she was only seventeen.

Still…

Grace the nurse is pretty. She’s closer to my own age. Has a stable life, no past traumas that I know of.

But Daniela? Fucking beautiful. Magnificent. The perfect hourglass figure, hair like black silk, and eyes even darker than my mother’s.

My heart races at the thought of her coming here.

Of seeing her.

Even though she’s only eighteen. And married to my sister’s boyfriend.

God, we’re a fucking Jerry Springer segment.

I check my watch. Raven and Vinnie’s place is about a half-hour drive away.

Daniela will probably need some time to get ready, so she’ll get here in forty minutes or so.

And I’m betting she will get here before Eagle does.