13. Hug It Out

13 HUG IT OUT

Koen

“You’re an asshole.”

I knew it was coming, though I’d hoped his ire would hold off until I could at least get Jade and Jett out of the room. That wasn’t the case. Riley started in on me the moment the door to the tiny waiting room slammed shut. My poor Angel looked like she wanted to wade into the rough waters flowing between us, but Willow steered the both of them out of harm’s way.

Thankfully, my big brother’s pissed-the-fuck-off attitude was only aimed at me. I could take whatever he had to give as long as none of it spilled over onto my girl.

“So being married to the love of my life makes me an asshole?”

“No, Koen.”

“Then why the hell are you raging like a bull who saw red?”

“Should we stop them?” Jade’s anxious voice sounded from closer than it should have been.

“Nah. They’re good,” Willow assured her .

I glanced over my shoulder to make certain they were far enough away, in case fists started flying. My sister was about three feet back, pretending to be bored, even though I knew watching the two of us go at it had always been her favorite sport. As the eldest, she thought it was her job to be the peacekeeper. She also liked to stir shit up because if there weren’t any fights, there was no peace for her to keep.

“Because we should’ve been there,” he boomed when I returned my attention to him, pointing between himself and Willow. “Or did you forget about our pact the minute you hauled ass outta California.”

“We were grieving kids then, Riley.”

“No life-altering decisions without each other to back our play. That’s what we promised.”

“If you’d stop busting my balls for two seconds and let me explain, you might understand.”

Without waiting for his response, I launched in, laying it all on the line. I told them briefly about Jade and Jett’s childhood, skimming over the abuse they dealt with on the daily, then moved on to their parents' threats. By the time I finished giving them every unsavory detail, Willow had tears in her eyes and Riley looked physically ill.

“Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair roughly.

“Pretty much sums it up.”

“You married her to protect them?”

“He married her to protect them and because he loves them, you doofus.” Willow took the opportunity to smack Riley upside the back of his head.

“What she said.”

“Fuck,” he repeated. “You love them?”

“Shit’s sake. Did you not hear me earlier?”

“We love him too, if that makes a difference,” Jett hurried out.

“It seems I was mistaken, little brother.”

“How’d those words taste coming out of your mouth, big brother. ”

“Like ass.”

Every argument—no matter how big or how small—ended the same way in the Banks household. Which meant I should’ve been prepared for all one hundred and thirty pounds of Willow when she hopped on my back, announcing, “Hug it out, jerks.”

“Wow, she’s almost as weird as you are, Jade.”

“Get in here, you two.” Riley extended one arm in invitation as the other circled my neck in a sideways chokehold. “This is the way we operate. May as well get used to it now.”

After the group hug to end all group hugs, we settled down to wait for news. Jett kept us entertained for the most part, regaling us with tales of teenage woe. The gist of it was he was bored in school and couldn’t wait until he was old enough to apply to the FBI academy, which threw me for a loop. More than a loop, actually, I was stunned by his revelation. Jade, on the other hand, didn’t seem at all shocked. In fact, except for the hints of terror she’d tried to keep from bleeding into her expression, she looked damn proud. As well she should be. She’d raised a good kid.

“Where’s Allie?” I asked, only then realizing Riley’s fiancée was absent.

“She moved out a couple weeks ago.”

“What happened?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. She gave a bullshit reason. Something about needing space to ‘find herself,’ packed up all her shit, and left.”

“And you haven’t heard from her since?”

He and Allison had started dating the summer after Dad was killed, so almost ten years ago. I’d thought they would’ve tied the knot and popped out a couple of kids by now, but seeing as they were having issues, I’m glad they didn’t. Strange thing was, he didn’t really act all too torn up over their breakup. He almost looked…relieved.

“Not a peep, and I doubt I will.”

“Why do I get the sense you’d prefer if she didn’t reach out.”

“Let’s just say, somewhere along the line, I fell out of love with the person she once was and grew to despise the one she’d become.”

“Cryptic much?”

He was spared any further inquiry when Dr. Bolton strode into the room.

“Your mother did great. She’ll be in recovery for the next hour and as long as she does well, she’ll be moved to a room for observation overnight.”

Riley stood, holding out his hand, while the rest of us breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for everything, Cara.”

“Just doing my job, Captain Banks .” I caught a glimpse of longing on her tired face before she whipped around on her sneakered feet and left without taking his hand.

Interesting .

“Ummm…do you want to tell us what that was all about, Captain Banks?”

Apparently, Willow noticed too.

“Not particularly.”

“Why don’t Jett and I go find the cafeteria and get some sandwiches and drinks for everyone? It’s almost dinnertime anyway.” Jade grabbed her purse, then the collar of her brother's shirt and pulled him toward the exit. “You three can do a little catching up while we’re gone. ”

“Wait. I’ll get you a key to the service elevator from the nurses’ station.” Riley followed behind, leaving Willow and me alone.

“What really happened between him and Allie?”

My sister didn’t pull any punches. “Allison Linders is a selfish, shit-stain-on-the-butt-of-humanity kind of bitch.”

“Wow, okay. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Riley doesn’t know this, but after she left, I tracked her down.”

“Damn. And you didn’t get yourself arrested?”

“She was coming out of Planned Parenthood.”

“Oh fuck.” I tipped my head back to the ceiling. “She’s pregnant?”

“Not any more, I don’t think.” She shook her head. “She waltzed out of that building and straight into the arms of some rough-looking biker dude on a Harley.”

“What are we gonna do?”

“Nothing.” She turned blazing eyes to me. “He will never find out. It’ll destroy him.”

“Agreed.”