Page 67 of Enemies with Benefits (Finding the Right Brother #1)

The comment was unexpected, and it pulled a snort from me.

She wasn't my type, much in the same way that Moira hadn't been my type in the end because the similarities were just too much, but I'd forgotten that her dry, sometimes bitchy sense of humor vibed perfectly with my own.

It was exactly the sort of thing I would say if I weren't staring at his helpless, unconscious body. Maybe I’d steal it if the asshole decided to wake up.

I'll be sure to pass that along .

Good. Tell me when he wakes up. I'll pop in and give him the shit he deserves.

Okay. He'll know tho. You always told us you'd kick our asses if you ever got called out for us.

Exactly. At least one of you remembers.

There wasn't much else to say, and I pushed my phone back into my pocket, looking up to see that the night was almost over.

I still hadn't slept more than a couple of hours when my exhaustion had gotten the better of me and I'd nodded off in my chair.

It was starting to come back, even with the sun creeping up, and I knew from the sounds in the hallway that visiting hours would be soon.

A scuff at the doorway behind me brought my head up, and I froze when it wasn't a nurse standing there.

Moira's expression was a mask of worry and fear, her hand resting on the thin shoulders of her son, who stood before her, his face so solemn that I wondered what was wrong with the world that a child could look so serious.

I had grown so used to seeing her dress for work these past few months that I'd forgotten what she looked like in a shirt and jeans. It felt out of place.

"Moira," I said, standing up.

Her eyes flicked away from Kayden to me, and I realized the fear and worry were being burned away by anger.

At first, I wondered what she could be so pissed about, and then I put together the fact that she was here, and hadn't been here for the past two days.

Which meant someone had passed along the information, and she knew she hadn't been told sooner because of me.

"Micah," she said softly, pulling him back from the room and out of sight.

She ducked out of view to say something I couldn't hear before straightening and coming my way.

She stood before me, looking me over, and I knew what was going to happen when her shoulders tensed and she shifted her stance.

The slap was loud, and I felt the sting across my face.

I winced. She'd never hit me before, but damned if she didn't have a wicked arm, which, come to think of it, she probably needed growing up with so many brothers.

"I deserved that," I muttered, not bothering to bring my hand up to the sting.

"You did," she hissed and then lunged forward. Shock made me forget about the ache in my face when she didn't hit me again, but wrapped her arms around me. "But you need this."

I stood there awkwardly before bringing my arm up to wrap around the middle of her back and hold her close.

It wasn't exactly what I needed, something was missing in the hug, but it was close enough that I forgot to consider if I should have even accepted the hug in the first place. The normal presence of her mild musky perfume that I’d always thought of as 'grandma perfume' was absent, with only the smell of a mild detergent and a whiff of her floral soap.

"It wasn't revenge, or payback," I said, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes, surprising me before I drew them back. She was dealing with the news of Kayden right now, she didn't need me losing my shit while she was trying to keep hers in line. "I swear."

"I hope not," she said, drawing back from the hug but keeping her hands on my arms.

"It wasn't. I just...I don't know."

"You were being you. I know."

"What?" I asked, pulling back and looking at her in surprise.

"No, I was...being thickheaded and stupid.

I didn't even know if you two were that close, and I was just..

.I was wrapped up in this whole thing in my head and.

..I don't know, I guess this is my fault.

Him being here, you not being here, and I just got.

..stuck. Stuck in my head and I forgot to come out of it. "

At that, her lips twitched. “That's what I said, you were being you."

"I'm sorry."

"The only thing you did wrong was forget there are people that care about him, but also about you," she said, her voice, which had been trembling, regained some of its normal sternness as she looked me over.

"You sound like a nicer version of your brother," I said, hearing the whine in my voice but not able to draw it back. "Christ."

"Shut it," she muttered, moving to the bed and sitting on the edge. She took Kayden's hand, carefully getting his fingers into her hand while avoiding the bandages and IV cable, and I felt my chest give another squeeze. "Both of you are on my list right now."

"What did he do?" I wondered.

"Worry about why you're on the list."

"I already know."

"Good, then worry about how you're going to get off it."

"Right...Micah?"

"He wanted to come. And I figured he should be here...for his father."

My eyes widened, glancing toward the doorway furtively while dropping my voice. “Careful." Then her expression shifted to exasperation, followed by guilt, and I grunted. “You told him."

"No," she said quickly, almost too quickly, but while Moira might keep something from me, she wasn't the sort to lie to my face.

In fact, that was one thing she and Mason shared.

Mason was an asshole, but he had never lied to me.

Which begged the question, just how much he had said to me the other night that I should think about.

I quickly shoved the idea aside. This was not the time, and honestly, I didn't think there was ever going to be a time for it.

Dealing with Mason had been...well, it had been fun, it had been nice at times, but that didn't outweigh all the trouble, all the fighting, stress, and fear.

"Then what?" I asked, trying not to think about Mason and focus on the new potential problem unfolding before me.

She took a breath and glanced my way. "He knew."

"Mason?"

"Mmm, no."

"That doesn't sound very sure."

"I think...I think Mason knew that Micah knew, but I don't believe he told him."

I opened my mouth to ask why Mason wouldn't say anything and then shut it, reminded of what I’d just told myself.

Of course, Mason would keep it to himself.

If it were anyone or anything else, I might even have been convinced that he'd kept it quiet because he enjoyed stirring up trouble, or wanted to see how things played out.

But Mason didn't play games of that magnitude with his family, and especially with Micah.

No, he'd had his reasons for keeping it quiet, and it was anyone's guess why.

"Fucking…" I muttered, sitting in my chair and rubbing my face. "Of course, he knew and didn't say anything. Not like it wouldn't have been good to have a heads up."

Moira glanced at me sharply. “My brother might be on my shit list, but that doesn't mean you can start talking shit about him."

"I wasn't?—"

"My brother is a great many things, many of them annoying in ways you can only dream of, but he doesn't deserve having you shit on him when he's not here.

If I know my brother, and I'm probably the only person who can make that claim with confidence, he did it to spare us.

And as hard as it might be for you to believe, I think he did it to spare you most of all. "

I couldn't have felt more bewildered. “Me?"

"Yes, you. My brother is an irritating ass who knows how to get on just about everyone's nerves if he really tried, do you know why?"

"Because he enjoys it."

"No, well, yes, but no, I meant, why is he able to do it?"

"Persistence and a natural gift."

"Jace."

The warning was clear, and I cleared my throat, going for the answer that was clear to me, though I wished it wasn't. "Because he's good at reading people.

He knows what they need and want...and what they don't want or need.

He just...keeps that a secret, wrapping it up in all the other bullshit that comes from his mouth all the goddamn time. "

"He would be so delighted to hear someone other than his siblings or mom calling him on that," she said with a hint of a smile on her face. "But you should have learned by now that he can use that ability for more than just causing trouble or driving people up the wall."

I knew she was thinking of the day I'd shown up in the hotel, in a state that couldn't be called remotely functioning. It hadn't been Kayden or Moira who had gotten through to me and found a way to lead me away and give me exactly what I needed, and she and I both knew it. In fact, I wondered what it would have been like if I’d gone through something like that when I’d been dating Moira.

Would she have found a way to deal with it, or would they have had to call someone in to sedate me and let me rot until I got my head back on straight?

No, I guess she wouldn't have known what to do; otherwise, she would have done it that day. It had been Mason who figured out what needed to get me under control and who did what was necessary to calm me down. As embarrassed as I’d been that day, it hadn't been the strongest emotion.

I hadn't said it aloud to anyone, but I’d felt.

..safe. I had a complete emotional breakdown, but it had been Mason, of all people, who had managed to make me feel safe, and hell, had even made sure I never once thought he was judging me for what had happened.

The opposite, really, he'd treated me as if what had happened was completely normal and acceptable.