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after all.
The three make their way into the apartment. By the time they reach the living room, I think Nash is
supporting Marissa more than she s supporting him.
This way, she says, steering them toward her bedroom. He can have my room. I ll take the
couch.
No one argues, least of all me. This wasn t my idea. I m sure as hell not taking the couch. My
place is with Olivia. Marissa s on her own.
When the girls start taking Nash s coat and shirt off, I make an excuse to go wait for Gavin s man.
It sounds stupid, but it infuriates me to see her taking another man s shirt off, even if that other man is
my twin brother. In fact, that might make it worse. It s like she s doing it to me. Only not.
I m pacing in front of the open front door, feeling testy as hell by the time a non-descript dark sedan
pulls up at the curb. A short man gets out, casually looks around, slings some sort of bag over his
shoulder and walks slowly up the sidewalk. When he reaches me, I m surprised by his youth.
Where s the hurt one? he asks flatly. Young or not, this guy is all business.
And you are? He might think I m stupid, but he d be mistaken.
Delaney. Gavin asked me to come.
You a fly buddy of his?
No. Worked with him in Honduras.
I ve heard Gavin mention that place a couple of times. Apparently he was one of a few&
specialists hired for some sort of job there. It went all to hell. Just from what little I ve heard him
say, for mercs it was like being in the trenches during war time. If this guy was with him, I can see
how they could ve become indebted to one another.
This way, I say, taking him back to Marissa s room.
We all stand around like curious onlookers as he patches Nash up. He must have a pharmacy and
one hellacious emergency kit of some kind in that bag of his. He gives Nash a couple of shots and
cleans his wound with some sort of solution he has to pop open in a tube to use. He sticks a needle
full of something else (my guess would be Lidocaine or something like that) into Nash s stab wound
then he breaks out some sterile gloves and sutures to stitch him up.
When he s done, he sets a bottle of pills on the nightstand, tells Nash to take one three times a day
for two weeks then he nods to him and gets up to leave.
I walk him to the door, mainly because I still don t trust the guy. He steps onto the stoop, turns
back to give me one curt nod and then just walks away. That s it.
Killers they re a different breed. That s for sure.
I wait until the females are done fussing over Nash before I make any suggestions.
Well, I guess it s time we all get some rest.
Marissa, are you sure you won t take my bed? You ve been through so much&
She smiles at Olivia, obviously touched by her offer. No, I think I ll stay with him a little longer.
You two go ahead.
Are you sure?
I m positive. That couch is really comfortable anyway.
It really is, Olivia agrees. They smile at each other, sharing some sort of inside joke it seems. It
makes me respect Olivia that much more that she can so easily and readily bury the hatchet with
someone who s treated her so badly. But that s just who she is. It s part of what makes her so
incredible.
All right, I guess we ll head to bed then. I need a shower and then I ll probably be out like a
light.
Goodnight, Marissa says, walking around the bed to perch on the side opposite Nash. Hey,
Liv?
Damn! We were almost home free, I think as Olivia stops near the door.
She turns to look at Marissa. Again, it seems even I can see the difference in Marissa. Maybe this
was just the thing she needed to jerk a knot in her ass.
Thanks.
They share another look. Olivia smiles. Marissa smiles. That s what family s for.
Finally, we escape Nash and Marissa. Olivia doesn t say much, just gathers up some stuff and
takes it into the bathroom. A few minutes later, I hear the shower cut on. A few minutes after that, I
hear it shut off. Being the guy that I am, I m a little pissed that I wasn t invited. Of course, I could ve
just gone in and joined her anyway, but if she s still irritated with me, that wouldn t be the wisest
move.
I take off my clothes, climb into bed and turn out the lights, settling in to await her. We re going to
hash this out before morning, one way or the other.
Quietly, the bathroom door opens. Her room is very dark and the door is closed, so I can t see her,
but I can hear her light footsteps as she approaches the bed. Gently, she peels back the covers and
eases in beside me. I wait until she gets comfortable before I speak.
There s something I want you to understand, I begin. I hear her sharp inhalation. What?
You scared the crap out of me.
Did you think I d just go right to sleep, knowing you re upset?
I m a little ticked off at that.
I just don t understand how you could care so little about what happens to Marissa.
There are several reasons, actually. One, I know what she s like. Two, I can t so easily forget
the way she s treated you. And three, she s not you. I m sorry, but you re my first priority.
Even so, how could you have let her come here alone, knowing it s not entirely safe?
Olivia, she s a grown woman. She can do whatever she wants to. And it s not like she had
nowhere safe to go. She could ve stayed with her father. She just didn t want to.
I just don t see how you could be so cold about it.
I can tell you how. This isn t about Marissa. It never was. It s about you. Keeping you safe. I m
not in love with her. I m in love with you. Can t you understand that I don t want to live without
you? That I can t live without you? What the hell would I do if something happened to you? I
couldn t let you come here with her by yourself. I couldn t take the risk. I ll never take the risk if the
risk is losing you. Never. Why can t you understand that?
I ve gotten louder in my agitation, which makes the silence when I m done much more pronounced.
She doesn t respond, but I feel the bed shift as she moves. Then, I feel her hands on my stomach
first, soft and warm. Cash? she whispers.
Yeah?
Her hands slide up my chest and circle my neck as she stretches out on top of me. She presses her
lips to mine in a feather light kiss. That s all you had to say.
You didn t give me a chance to say it, I mumble against her mouth.
Next time, lead with that, she says. I feel her lips spread against mine. I know she s grinning.
Quickly, I coil my arms around her and roll her onto her back, settling between her spread legs.
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