Page 8 of Enemies with Benefits (Finding the Right Brother #1)

"Because denial isn't just a river in Egypt."

"Kayden, what the fuck?"

He sighed, tucking his phone away and shrugging. "I don't know, alright? He knows we're close. I mean, shit, I left Narcotics to follow you back to the trenches."

My gut squirmed at the reminder. “I never asked you to do that."

He rolled his eyes. “I know that, and I remember how much you bitched me out for doing it. But there was a sort of...unspoken agreement that if he let me do that, then I would try to make sure you stayed out of trouble."

"That's fucked up."

"More like a full-time job on top of being a cop."

"Fuck you."

Kayden laughed, bumping me as we walked, him steering the way now.

"Look, you are who you are, the chief knows it, I know it, you know it, everyone knows it.

You've got a gruff mouth, a big heart, a competitive streak a mile wide, and a desire for justice that outdoes just about everyone I know.

It makes you a good cop, but it also means you're not good at following orders sometimes, like today. "

"And you're supposed to stop that?"

"I think he wants me to try at least. Which I do, and you listen to me because you know I'm only going to step in when you're being ridiculous. Don't worry, I didn't get in real trouble, just a bit of the business is all. I'm still on duty the next couple of days."

"Lucky you," I grumbled, even though we both knew I was definitely happy he hadn't been dragged down with me.

"Yeah, I told him there wasn't a whole lot I was supposed to do when I’d just taken a can of pepper spray to the face."

"Pepper spray that you said wasn't that bad."

"Dude, I said that because that little prick was right there. That shit hurt like hell."

I sighed, shaking my head. “You hammed it up when Julie looked at you, didn't you?"

Julie was the pretty and rather opinionated EMT we saw quite often since she tended to be assigned to the same areas we worked in.

Ever since Kayden had first seen her a couple of years ago, he’d been trying his best to get on her good side.

The problem for Kayden was that Julie could smell a player a mile off, and she wasn't impressed with anything he’d tried yet.

Though if you asked me, she was actually charmed by him, but she enjoyed the chase more than the result.

Then again, despite being thwarted constantly, Kayden hadn't been put off trying, where he was normally prone to easing off whenever he was turned down, respecting the woman’s choice.

So, maybe he was enjoying the chase as well.

"Look, when it comes to Julie, I have to play it smart."

"Which puts you at a disadvantage from the start."

"Anyway. I can't make myself look too injured, because she's just going to call me a big baby and tell me to suck it up."

"I tell you that all the time."

"Yeah, but you're not nearly as hot as her."

"I disagree, but whatever."

"Anyway, at the same time, I can't play the stoic because then it looks like I'm copying you."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not, so fuck you just in case."

"I've got to play the middle ground, where it's obvious I'm hurt but at the same time I'm doing a damn good job of making sure I'm holding back any displays of pain."

"So...you spent the time in that ambulance play acting that you were hurt, but it didn't really hurt?"

"The nuances are so lost on you."

"Why don't you just tell her you think she's good looking, that her telling you off is great, that she makes you happy to be around, and ask her out for dinner or maybe a couple of drinks?"

He looked up at me in disbelief. “I tried that."

"No, you told her you like it when she yells at you, and if she went out with you, then she could yell at you all she liked."

"That's...yeah, see?"

"Not the same thing."

"Or maybe I'm just hoping that eventually she'll realize I'm made for her and she'll be the one to ask me out."

"Doubtful."

"Hope springs eternal."

" Something is hoping to spring with you, alright."

"Aww, c'mon, it's not like that."

"Since when?"

"With Julie? It's never been like that."

I glanced at him, thick brow shooting up in surprise that I didn't bother to hide. "Really?"

"Really."

"Wow, that would be the first woman you've ever been serious about, even in theory, since... well."

"Yeah," he said lightly, but I wasn't fooled in the slightest by his attempt at sounding disinterested.

It might have been a couple of years, but Sarah's name still dragged up a sting that I wasn't sure was ever going to go away.

That whole thing had changed just about every aspect of his life, and not just his love life, but his family life as well.

It had split his family right down the middle and wasn't showing any signs of recovering.

Then again, one member of the family had slept with the fiancée of another, and the other had retaliated by hospitalizing the first..

. Yeah, I could see how that would cause tension.

Though if you asked me, anyone who was loyal to his step-brother had some fucked up priorities.

"Well, if you're serious about her, then just...be serious with her," I said with a shrug. "Quit playing games and be upfront."

"Eh, it's more fun this way."

"I thought it was serious."

"See, maybe that's the problem with your own love life. You don't know how to have fun with the serious."

"Really? When was the last time you took anything outside work seriously?"

"I'm sure if you give me time, I could come up with something."

I eyed him doubtfully, then sighed when I realized he was trying to come up with something to fire back at me.

Meaning I would probably have at least a few minutes peace to try to deal with the new update in my life.

I didn't care what the captain said, going after Lawrence had been the right call, especially since he’d been willing to pull out deadly force so quickly and without a single care to the damage it could cause.

There were plenty of people with sob stories like his, plenty of tweakers and addicts who didn't feel the need to start peddling drugs to minors or shoot at officers out in the open.

If his knees were a little banged up from his fall, then so be it, he deserved that and worse.

Of course, the media and all the bleeding-heart morons would see it differently, and the captain just wanted to make sure it didn't spin out of control. I couldn't decide if it was a sign that I was easily expendable or if the hard ass bastard really was looking out for me.

I let that mull in my head as we walked while Kayden racked his brain for something witty.

We’d walked a few blocks, and the number of people had waxed and waned depending on where we were.

We were drawing near the Gras District, so it was starting to get crowded again as the evening drew closer, and people were drawn in to get food.

It was a Friday, which meant it would thin out shortly before the district was partially closed off to let people club and bar hop to their hearts' content, where the only vehicles would be designated cab companies and, as of recently, screened and permitted ride-share workers.

Lost in thought, I didn't realize why something was tugging at my thoughts as we walked past one of the many hotels.

I stopped, looking around, and at first, I saw only a somewhat tackily painted hotel, people flowing in and out of it, and people parked on the street.

I scanned the area, knowing it wasn't a sense of danger, but it was important in my mind, and I continued looking for the source.

"What?" Kayden asked, realizing I had stopped and was watching me.

"I don't...wait a minute," I said, my eyes falling on one of the vehicles parked in designated parking spaces near the hotel.

More specifically, on the sports bike parked neatly between two cars.

It wasn't flashy like so many crotch rockets I'd seen in the past, mostly black with purple streaks to give it a bit of pop.

Some of the parts stuck out as strange, though I couldn't say why other than that I'd seen a handful in my life, and some subconscious understanding told me they were probably custom parts, which cost money.

It was familiar, but it was the scratches that really made me grind my teeth.

"Son of a bitch," I growled as I walked up to it, reaching out and then stopping, hand balling into a fist as my blood boiled. "Are you shitting me?"

"Er, you alright over there? You're, uh...swearing at a bike."

"Not just a bike, the bike?"

" The bike?"

"Yes!"

"Wait... the bike, bike?"

"Yes!"

"No shit."

"Yes, shit."

I whipped around, staring at the hotel, taking it in, and frowning. “I don't remember this hotel being here."

"The building is kind of old, so it's definitely been here."

"No, I mean, the name doesn't stick out."

"Should it?"

"I've lived and worked in this part of the city my whole life, Kay. Of fucking course it should sound familiar. Or at least feel familiar, which it does, but the name doesn't."

"That weird brain thing you do never gets less weird. Google says it had a different name a few months ago, but the same owner."

"What was its name before?"

"Mmm, Beckett Place. Weird to change it when you've owned it forever, I mean?—"

I stopped listening as a wave of something ugly washed through me. "Shut up."

"Rude, but alright," he said, shoving his phone away as I moved toward the front doors. "Woah, what are you doing?"

"Going in," I said, stepping around his arm.

"What're you going to do? Walk in in plain clothes, while you're on unofficial leave, and start interviewing people about that bike?"

I didn't answer and marched through the doors into the lobby.

The strange mixture of quirky and cozy decor struck me.

A young man behind a computer looked up as I approached the desk, his eyes roved over me briefly, and he hesitated before slapping on a smile that, while genuine, made my stomach squirm.

I wasn't good with people like Kayden was, but I could usually read them, and this was not the first time another guy had looked me over and immediately brightened because, for whatever reason, gay men seemed to be into me more than women, at least initially.

"Can I help you?” he asked with a wide smile.

I opened my mouth before I heard a laugh from the bar area.

I spun around, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

I knew that voice. I ignored the guy behind the front desk and dismissed the possibility that he was watching my ass as I walked off.

Instead, I focused on the man standing beside the bar past the restaurant, leaning on the countertop with one arm and gesturing with the other.

My stomach did an ugly flip at the sight of the familiar face that had lost what little baby fat it had had in his teenage years.

A strange tightening at the base of my gut happened when he raised his arm, the muscles stretching the shirt as he grinned at the woman he was speaking to.

The woman shook her head, flapping a hand at him before turning to look our way.

I didn't know what stopped me faster, the look on her face or the look on his when he turned to look at me.

Moira's reaction was recognition and surprise, but the lack of anger said she had apparently gotten over the bitterness of our breakup years ago.

His, however, was confusion as he looked at me for a few heartbeats, and then my heartbeat sped up when recognition lit up his features and was replaced with a shit eating grin that made me want to punch him until he didn't have teeth left to grin with.

"Mason Fucking Beckett," I growled.