Rattle His Cage: The Baxter Boys #4 (The Baxter Boys ~ Rattled)

by Charles, Jane

“Which is why she didn’t want to tell you guys anything.” Then she frowns. “Something about not messing up your lives after everyone has worked too hard for what they have and that she’d never forgive herself if everything came unraveled because of her.”

  My heart nearly stops then starts pounding. What the hell did Mia tell Mary? We don’t talk about the past outside of the close friends who have ended up at Baxter. The only past Mary knows is Alex and Kelsey’s, but anybody who saw the video of when Alex auditioned for the Reed Brothers knows that too. Hell, we don’t even talk to each other about the past. Baxter was about moving forward and getting our shit together. Except right now, I’m feeling a hell of a lot like I did during my pre-Baxter days.

  Mia is medicated. That has to be the only reason she said anything, and I’m not about to leave her side again in case she decides to tell Mary anything else.

  “I think she just doesn’t want you guys going off half-cocked and getting in trouble on her behalf. The last thing she wants is one of you beating up Stone and then being charged for battery or something.”

  Slowly my racing heart returns to normal. So, Mia hadn’t said anything specific, or Mary is just assuming what most would.

  “She was emphatic about you guys doing nothing. No taking matters in to your own hands and stuff like that. The idea of you guys doing something stupid like that has her nearly as panicked as seeing Stone again.”

  I stare into Mary’s eyes. She has no idea what she’s asking, what Mia is asking, but Mia however, knows exactly what each of our reactions would be and is justified in her concern.

  I glance over to the bed where she’s still sleeping. She won’t get any peace if we do something to Stone, no matter how much the bastard deserves it. Getting arrested for doing him harm will only make it worse for her, and I can’t do that to Mia.

  She’s right. We can’t and shouldn’t let one asshole undo everything we’ve worked for, no matter how much he deserves to be beaten within an inch of his life.

  “It will be hard, but we’ll let justice run its course.” It will be damned hard, but we learned a long time ago that we don’t take matters into our own hands.

  She grabs my hands. “Mia doesn’t want to talk about this now. In a few hours you are going to take her home. Give her time.”

  “You don’t have to plead with me, Mary.” I squeeze her hands. “We’ll take care of her. Give her space. Give her time. Give her love.”

  Her smile is sweet. “I knew you were a good guy.”

  “Not really.” I pull my hands away from hers and immediately feel the loss, and step into Mia’s room. She’s asking a lot of us, but even if it kills us, we will honor that.

  “I need to check her vitals.” Mary slips beside me. “Mia’s my only patient tonight so she gets all my attention.”

  The ER is busy. “A nurse per patient? That must be nice.”

  Mary chuckles. “Still a student. We usually only get one at a time in the ER.”

  “I’m glad you got Mia.” It’s good that it’s someone who knows her, somewhat. It’s better than a stranger.

  “When she came in I recognized her and asked.” Her face starts to turn pink. “I wanted her to have a somewhat familiar face around.”

  My hands haven’t shaken so much since the first time I had a live patient and my supervisor was watching over my shoulder.

  This is worse. It’s Dylan watching everything I do. He’s protective of Mia so I can’t screw up.

  Not that I would. The IV is started, the vitals are good, and all I am supposed to do is watch her.

  I check her blood pressure, pulse, and temperature and log them into the computer. Then I check the IV, tubes, and level of solution in the bag. Anything to keep busy.

  Why the hell did I reach out and touch Dylan, then take his hands?

  Because he was hurting for Mia, and I couldn’t help but try and give him comfort.

  Mia moans and opens her eyes, wincing as she moves.

  Dylan leans forward and takes her hand.

  Mia may have been with Stone until she broke it off tonight, but Dylan is the one who is in love with her. Can’t she see it?

  I try not to let it bother me, but it does. Plus, it explains why Dylan barely notices me, or sees me as nothing more than Kelsey’s friend.

  “How you doing?” he asks.

  “I think the drugs are wearing off,” she groans.

  I glance through the orders on the screen. She can have more pain meds now, and they are there for an as needed, within a certain time frame. “I’ll get you something,” I say before I duck out of the room. I stop by the supervising nurse’s desk and explain the patient’s condition, her vitals, and the orders left by the doctor. She gives me the go-ahead to give more medication, which I retrieve from the medicine cabinet, and I head back to Mia’s room.

  Dylan is leaning over her, smoothing her hair, and my heart clenches. Why can’t I meet a guy like that? Why, when I do, they’re already in love with someone else?

  “Go ahead, say it,” Mia says.

  “Say what?”

  “Told you so. You told me to be careful and I wasn’t.”

  He grins. “Can’t. Mary warned me not to.” He glances up at me. “She kind of scares me in her nurse mode.”

  Mia snorts. “I’ll get a doctor to give him a prostate exam,” I suggest.

  “See. She’s mean,” Dylan winks at Mia.

  My heart hitches even as I chuckle. I pull on gloves, then snap them at my wrist, and wave a finger. “Just bend over and cough.”

  Mia laughs and then abruptly stops with a moan.

  “Sorry.” I inject the medicine into the IV line and then toss the needle into the biohazard box. “This should help in a few minutes.”

  Dylan’s grey eyes meet mine. “Thanks for taking good care of her.”

  I just smile and nod before ducking out of the room. We don’t even have a connection, but I still don’t like seeing how Dylan looks at Mia. The way I had wanted him to look at me.

  6

  “I like her,” Mia says.

  “Who?”

  “Mary.” She grins and then winces.

  “I do too.” More than I should.

  “Kelsey says she called you hot.”

  I just laugh to cover my embarrassment.

  “I don’t see it, but to each her own.” The uninjured side of her mouth tips in a smile.

  “Thanks,” I answer in a dry tone.

  “Especially with that beard. What is up with that? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

  My eyes meet hers. “A personal challenge. Pushing my comfort. Seeing if I can just let something get messy.”

  “Try not making your bed.” She wrinkles her nose. “That thing’s got to go.”

  “The guys like it,” I defend.

  She snorts. “That should tell you something.”

  I rub my chin. Maybe it is too much. It could use a trim at the very least.

  “You should ask her out.”

  “Who?”

  “Mary,” she whispers.

  I lean in because I sure as hell don’t want Mary to overhear us. “Why?”

  Mia’s eyes fill with sadness. “Because you’re alone.”

  “We’re all alone,” I remind her.

  “Not Kelsey and Alex.”

  “But the rest of us are.”

  She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Not like you.”

  Where is she going with this and why are the females in my life trying to fix me up? Nobody has ever tried to do that before, especially Mia. What kind of drugs did Mary give her? “What do you mean?”

  “We at least date. Try someone for size to see if it works.” She shrugs. “You haven’t been on a date since you broke up with that bitch.”

  Not only did the guys not like Patty, the girls hated her.

  “How do you know I’m not seeing someone in secret?”

  She snorts.

  Of course I’m not, but her complete lack
of faith in me is disheartening.

  “You need to stop being alone.”

  Mia’s eyes start to drift shut.

  “I’m not. I have you and the family.”

  “Not the same.” She yawns. “Tell me you at least like her.”

  “She’s a nice girl. Friend of Kelsey’s and she’s taking good care of you. Of course I like her.”

  “You need more than friends.”

  Her eyes are closed and she’s going to be asleep in a minute. Having someone who is more than a friend would be nice, but that doesn’t ever work out for me. Mia and the guys wouldn’t know that I have dated. I don’t talk about it, and I sure as hell haven’t brought anyone around. After the shit with Patty, I’m really reluctant to.

  Besides, it’s not like their dates are showing up at our house. Nobody brings anybody home. At least, not until Alex did.

  Really? Again?

  Music bleeds through my walls. It’s only eight-thirty in the morning! I got home an hour ago and was starting to fall asleep.

  Getting out of bed, I stomp across the room, kicking stuff out of my way as I go and throw open the door.

  Tiffany is dancing in the living room, Shelby is cooking, and Brit’s door is open and she’s singing along with a song.

  “Do you guys know what time it is?”

  They just blink at me.

  “What about the rules? Quiet in the common area? Especially in the morning?”

  “Got rid of them. Don’t need them anymore,” Shelby dismisses me.

  “I need them. I worked all night.”

  Tiffany gives me a bland expression then looks at Shelby. “Dinner and then the party?”

  “Yep.” Shelby flips an egg.

  Great, they will be gone by dinner time and not back before I leave. I’ll sleep then.

  Going back into my room, I close the door when I really want to slam the damn thing. “Battles and buttons,” I remind myself. There’s only a week until school and normalcy. If they know they’ve gotten to me, then the next four and a half months will be hell, and I’m not about to give them that type of power.

  Besides, I have two younger brothers and those three have nothing on the hell Jimmy and John put me through. I’m a seasoned veteran when it comes to the games those three are playing.

  Maybe I should go check on Mia. She’s been on my mind since Dylan took her from the hospital. That was about five this morning. I don’t know her, but I do. And, I still don’t know what her relationship is with Dylan. They can’t be dating or Mia wouldn’t have been with Stone. But, the anger and love I saw in Dylan’s eyes when he looked at Mia was more than just friendship.

  I wish I could figure it out.

  The music gets louder. I blow out a sigh and get dressed. I only have one more night on third shift and then I’ll be sleeping when they do so their morning music won’t really bother me so much. Irritating, yes, but I won’t be sleep deprived.

  Brit shouts something to Shelby. Probably because she wouldn’t be able to hear her over the music. I can’t even watch television with all the noise they are making, and if I don’t leave, I may just snap, giving them exactly what they are hoping for. As much as I hate it, right now retreat is the answer, and it will keep the enemy off balance.

  Besides, Mia’s pain meds are about ready to wear off anyway, and the guys are probably all asleep, not that she’d let them take care of her. She didn’t even want any of the girls to see her injuries, not even Kelsey, who is in the house.

  Somebody needs to be there, especially if Mia develops more pain. Pain she didn’t have last night and will need to be examined for. None of them will know what to look for and as secretive as Mia wants to be, it’s doubtful she’ll tell anyone.

  After tossing my stuff into a bag and changing clothes, I head out. Hopefully someone is awake to let me in. If not, I’ll text Kelsey and hope she doesn’t mind coming down.

  “I thought you needed to sleep?” Brit asks when I go back into the living room and lock my door.

  “Friend was in an accident last night. Brought into the ER.” It isn’t exactly a lie. “I want to check on her, then I’ll get more sleep. I doubt I’ll be gone long, but I’m kind of worried about her.”

  After I shut the door and am in the hall, I grin. “Enjoy your day, bitches,” I whisper. If they are anything like my younger brothers, they’ll spend the rest of the day preparing for my return and getting ready to push more buttons. Sadly for them, I won’t be back until they are gone. “Buttons, battles, and war.” Three things that I am an expert at.

  7

  When the doorbell rang, I expected it to be the cops wanting to talk to Mia again, not Mary with her bag.

  Everyone is in the living and dining rooms except Mia. She’s asleep in Alex’s bed upstairs. After I brought her home and got her tucked in, I woke everyone else up to tell them what happened. Not that I know exactly, other than Stone beat her up.

  “Roommates at it again?” Kelsey asks.

  “Blaring music and singing at the top of their lungs.”

  “The agreement?” Kelsey asks.

  What, do they have a roommate agreement or something?

  “Null and void as far as they are concerned.”

  “Want Alex’s bed again?” Sean asks. “That may be a problem.”

  “I…um…” then she looks at me.

  That’s when I realize she’s here for Mia, not sleep, but she’s afraid to say anything. “They know.”

  “Whew,” she blows out a breath. “I just wanted to check on Mia, make sure her pain is controlled, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course,” Zach says.

  “I’ll get you coffee,” Kelsey goes in to the kitchen.

  “I’m pretty sure she’s still asleep,” I finally say.

  “I’ll just slip up and check,” Mary doesn’t wait for an answer and heads up the stairs.

  “Now maybe we’ll find out exactly what happened to Mia,” Ryan says.

  It was all we could do to keep him and Christian from storming out of here to go look for Stone. The other guys and I finally convinced them to let the cops deal with the asswipe. It’s hard to do when it’s one of our own that’s hurt, but they don’t need to end up in jail right along with Stone. The whole point of going to a school like Baxter was so we all didn’t end up in prison, or dead, one day. It took me awhile last night to come to that conclusion, but we can’t let one asshole ruin everything. I just had more time to process everything than they did, otherwise, I would have been right along with them and heading out the door.

  “Mary’s got to get another place,” Kelsey says coming back in the room carrying a cup of coffee for her former roommate. “This shit with Shelby and her BFFs is only going to get worse. Mary works too hard to have her last semester in school fucked up.”

  “Where though? You looked and couldn’t find anything,” Alex reminds her.

  “What about the place above your tattoo shop,” she suggests.

  “What if he needs to brood again?” Zach snorts.

  “I wasn’t brooding,” Alex bites back.

  “It’s a three bedroom. Maybe she can get roommates. People that are actually decent.”

  “I’m not sure I like that idea,” I say.

  “Why?” Alex asks. “Area of town is decent. I’m not using it.”

  “What about here?” Christian suggests.

  Mary cannot come live here. It’s the worst possible option. “Where? Mia is in Alex’s room. We have nothing else.”

  “Basement.” Sean grabs his tools. He’s the only one who has to be somewhere this morning and he’s already running late. I need to be somewhere too, but not for half an hour.

  “We can’t put her in the basement,” I argue.

  “Sure we can.” He shrugs. “It’s got a bathroom and we’ll throw up some walls for privacy. It’s a weekend job at the most.”

  “It’s not happening.”

  “Plus, she’ll be able to take care of Mi
a. We don’t know how long she’s going to be laid up.” Zach is nodding his head like this is actually going to happen and he likes the idea.

  “Mary is not moving in.” That is my final word and I stomp off into the kitchen. The one woman I want but can never have, will not live in this house. Besides, what if I find Nina? She’ll need a place to stay and it’s going to be with me, not somewhere else. I’ve already planned on it being in Alex’s room. Not that I told the guys that or anything. It was a conversation I planned on having once I knew for certain that I’d have her. If Mary is in the basement, there’s no place to move Mia and she sure as hell is not moving back to her apartment while Stone is out there. Besides, she already said she’s never be moving back there, so she needs a home too, and the places where the other girls live are way too small to add another person.

  “Why are you against Mary coming here?” Christian asks as he comes into the kitchen.

  I can’t tell him the truth. “The place is getting crowded.”

  He snorts. “Try again. Alex lives in Kelsey’s room already and we do have an empty basement.”

  “Maybe I don’t want someone I don’t know all that well living here.”

  He just stares at me. “Try again.”

  Christian knows me too well. I blow out a sigh and sit at the island in front of my open laptop. “She’s a distraction I don’t need right now.”

  “That, I believe.” He marches across the kitchen and gets a cup of coffee. “Good distraction.”

  “Bad distraction.”

  “Why?”

  “Complications and all that.”

  “I don’t see how.” He hitches his hip against the counter and takes a drink. “She’s cute, nice, and Kelsey says she’s into you.”

  “Until she is no longer into me and still living here and is Kelsey’s friend.”

  He just shakes his head and takes another drink.

  “What?”

  “I thought you’d be over that shit with Patty.”

  Just the name makes my stomach tighten. We’d been going out for a year and I was seriously thinking about a future. Well, until I caught her in bed with another guy.