by E B Brooks
“Sweetheart, you have to stand slowly; you’ve been sick. Can I at least help you to the bathroom? And don’t think I didn’t see you checking out my body. I can’t sleep in jeans, and you were so hot I took my shirt off. Do you want me to put my clothes back on?” He cocked his one eyebrow at her, biting his bottom lip.
“No, you’re fine just the way you are. As for the help…” Frustration crinkled her eyes. “Yes, please.”
She hated needing to depend on someone, but it sounded like the guys once again came through for her.
On the way to the bathroom, she saw what looked like an IV pole and pointed at it. “What’s that doing here?”
“You get cleaned up, and I’ll tell you everything, I promise.” Skylar winked at her.
She let out an exasperating breath. “Fine.”
“Are you going to be okay by yourself? Or do you want me to help you?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
She smacked his arm, laughing. “To be honest, I’d kill for a shower, but I don’t think I can hold myself up.” She searched his face, noticing how pale he was for the first time. “And don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like shit. I’m not positive you could catch me if I fell. I’ll wait for a shower and just use a towel, for now, and put on some clothes I haven’t sweat through. I’ll be okay by myself.”
Smiling, he helped her into the bathroom before he shut the door, leaving her alone.
Maddy leaned against the door, worried for Skylar. He appeared to be almost as weak as her. Please, don’t let Jace’s and her worst fears come true.
After cleaning her face and the top half of her body, she put on a clean top and panties before heading back to her bedroom, where she found Skylar back in bed.
She crawled in and laid down, facing him.
Skylar closed his eyes. “There’s something important I need to tell you, if you can just let me get through it all before you ask questions.”
“All right.” She intertwined their hands.
“God, I thought telling Cody and Ryder was the hardest thing I ever had to do.” He blew out his cheeks. “A few years ago, I got hurt, and they gave me pills to help with the pain. Well, I got addicted to them, and when Jace found out I was still taking them, he helped me get off of them. While I was staying at Lisa and Greg’s, Lisa got Amber to put something in my coffee every morning. I started noticing the signs and figured it out. I’ve spent the last week detoxing.”
Shock stabbed through her. “That explains why you’re so pale and weak.”
Sitting up, he puffed out his chest, bending his arms to show his biceps. “I don’t look weak.” He fell back on the bed, breathing hard. “Okay, maybe I am. What a pair we make.”
Her eyes narrowed. “If I ever see that bitch again, she’s dead. I owe her for more than one thing. I think she was the one who attacked me; I can’t prove it, but they were girls.”
“It was her and her cheerleader girlfriends. She told me the last night I was there. I’m sorry, it’s my fault she went after you. If I wasn’t falling in love with you, she would have stayed away from you.”
Maddy sucked in a breath.
“What?” He looks around, as if searching for danger, and then his eyes widened as he must have realized what he’d just said. He moaned and covered his face.
She pulled his hands down. “Skylar, I’m falling in love with you, too.”
A smile spread across his face. “You are? Even after everything I told you?”
“Yes, nothing you said has changed my mind. You left to protect your family, and you didn’t know you were taking drugs again. We have some things to work on, but I want to be with you.” She bit her lip, worried how he’d take her next words. “But you have to be all right with me also being in love with Cody, Jace, and Ryder. I can’t pick between you.”
Skylar nodded without hesitation. “The last month and a half—or however long I’ve been gone—I learned that I need to get over my Cody problem. He’s done nothing but be there for me my entire life, getting me out of every jam I’ve ever been in. I should be proud to be his brother, not pissed off.”
“I’m glad you realize that. All your brother ever wanted was to make sure you didn’t make the same mistakes he did. You need to realize there will be things Cody does better than you, just as there are things you can do that Cody can’t. Have you thought about counseling?”
His nose scrunched up. “I don’t know, maybe.”
Rising onto her elbow, she peered into his eyes. “Well, that’s something for you to think about.
“So, yeah, I’m okay with you being with the others, too.” He touched her cheek. “But, right now, it’s just you and me. Can we cuddle for a bit?”
She laughed, and it felt good. They had had little to laugh about recently. “Sounds good to me.”
Skylar laid on his back and opened his arms. “Come here. I want to hold you.”
She moved over so his arms held her, and her head rested on his chest.
They stayed that way for a while until Maddy broke the silence. “I don’t want you to be upset at Jace, but he told me about the pain pills. We were both concerned about you. He loves you, you know.”
Skylar shook his head. “I’m not mad at him. I had no right to put all that pressure on him.”
She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “You love him.” She peeked at him through her eyelashes.
A dopy smile formed on his face. “Yeah, I do. I have for a while, but I’ve been too afraid to say something.” He shook his head. “Stupid, I know. I also told him I’m falling for you.”
“Oh, Skylar, I’m so glad Jace and you are finally together.” Happiness filled her, and she stroked his chest. “Now, tell me about the IV pole. How did it get here?”
She vaguely remembered saying no to the hospital. There was no way they took her there against her will. They weren’t like that. And she vaguely remembered a cool bath and being bathed.
Skylar explained how, when they got into her apartment, she had a high fever, and they weren’t sure what to do. Jace had called James, who was attending school to become a doctor, and he’d come over and put an IV in her.
“He’s a real douchebag. He saw me laying in your bed and started flipping out on Jace, thinking he’d tricked him into showing up to help me. Ryder and Cody had you in the bathroom, drying you off after they bathed you. At the time, I looked worse than I do now, and he knew I was detoxing. He had this arrogance about him that pissed me off, strutting around here acting like he was better than everyone. I almost went after him, but then Ryder brought you in.”
She would forever be grateful for James helping her so she didn’t have to go to the hospital, but from what Skylar told her, he sounded like an overbearing ass.
Maddy let out a deep breath. “This shouldn’t matter in the grand schemes of things—you were doing what you could to protect your family—but… did you sleep with Amber?” she said the last part in a rush.
Skylar held her hostage with his eyes. “No, baby. Not that she didn’t try. You should have heard some things I came up with for an excuse.” He held her tighter. “I cared too much about you and Jace to do that.”
She released a pent-up breath. “Now that I know all the pieces, I forgive you for what you said and how you acted, but trust is a whole other ball game, and you aren’t the only one who needs to gain my trust back. Jace is still working on that, too.”
“I can live with that. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. There’s one more thing that won’t make any sense—at least right away. I came across something that has to do with you, but I promised someone I’d let them tell you.”
She narrowed her eyes at Skylar. “What you just said makes little sense.”
He let out a breath. “I know, but when this person finally talks to you, it will. I promise. I didn’t want you to think I knew and said nothing. Oh, forget it.”
What the hell was Skylar rambling on about? She thought he was trying to warn h
er about this secret so, when she found out, she wouldn’t be upset at him for not telling her. But she wasn’t sure.
Setting that aside, she moved up and snaked her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down and lightly brushing her lips across his. He let out a moan, and put everything he had into kissing her back, showing her how much she meant to him.
Maddy stopped the kiss. “Fuck, I just realized I missed work and school.”
Skylar chuckled. “Glad to hear that kissing me makes you think of work and school. It’s all taken care of. Torr talked to your boss, and Cody talked to the school. You’re fine. We collected all your missed work.”
“I need to call Torr.” She sighed and laid her head back on Skylar’s chest. “And Lucca. I’m sure he’s a raging bull by now. I promised to call him and never did.”
As he ran his fingers through her hair, she relaxed. “He showed up here and saw you, and yelled at us. Cody told him he’d call when you woke up. Which reminds me, I better text the guys you’re up and to bring food with them.”
At the mention of food, her stomach growled.
After Skylar made the call, they cuddled back into bed, Maddy happily running her hand over Skylar’s sculpted chest. Every once in a while, Skylar kissed her, and they drifted in and out of sleep.
Someone knocked loudly on the door, startling Maddy back awake.
“That’s Jace with the food. I’ll get it; stay here.” Kissing her head, Skylar got out of bed and pulled on his jeans, but he left them unbuttoned and didn’t bother with a shirt.
Damn, that boy was fine.
She was going over everything Skylar had told her when she heard an argument coming from the living room.
Shit, don’t tell her Jace and him were already arguing. She hoped not.
“Who the fuck are you?”
That was Skylar’s voice.
“I should ask you that! And what the hell are you doing half-naked in my girlfriend’s apartment?”
Maddy sat up, her heart pounding. She recognized that voice, but it couldn’t be. She hadn’t told him her new address.
Maddy got unsteadily to her feet, using the wall to help her walk to the living room.
When she saw Mike standing there, nose-to-nose with Skylar, she stopped in her tracks. Her head swam with dizziness, but she could no longer pretend she’d been seeing things. Mike really was here in Georgia, and he’d been stalking her this whole time.
“Mike?” she whimpered.
40
Jace
When Skylar texted that Maddy was awake and starving, a sense of relief washed over Jace. He ran to tell the others, and they jumped into Cody’s truck.
On the way to her place, they stopped for chicken soup and sandwiches.
They arrived at her apartment and were surprised to find her door cracked open.
Jace thought he heard an argument, but he couldn’t tell if it was coming from her place or not.
“We’re here,” Jace said as he walked around the hall and into the living room.
He stopped at the sight of Skylar staring down some other guy Jace didn’t know. There was a large duffle bag at the guy’s feet.
Ryder moved to stand on one side of him while Cody stood on the other, already standing in his Don’t Fuck With Me pose.
“Who the fuck are you?” Cody demanded, crossing his massive arms.
The guy stood taller and puffed out his chest as he turned to keep an eye on all of them. “I’m Mike Callaway. I’m Maddy’s boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?”
Every eye in the room turned to Maddy, who stood in the back hall, one hand on the wall for support. As Jace watched, her green eyes rolled back into her head, and her body went limp.
Also by E. B. Brooks
The Abandoned Series
Lost & Found
About the Author
I have always had a deep love of reading since I was a child. My mother used to read to us every night before we went to sleep, and to this day, I still read every night.
My love of reading turned into ideas bouncing around in my head for years. In tenth grade we were asked to write a story or a poem for our English class. I wrote the first chapter of a story called Swift Wing. The rest of year, she encouraged me to finish the story and told me that one day she would see my work in print.
I filled many notebooks over the years but never finished them. I knew how hard it was to get a publisher to publish my stories.
When I turned forty—call it a midlife crisis, I don’t know—I decided it was time. I was going to do this. I wanted to write a book.
So, here we are, with my book in your hands. I hope you enjoyed reading it.