Chapter 03

JERICHO

I sat back in my lazy boy with Slash curled at my feet. He was in a bad mood ever since I told him about Odette because he was as much her dog as he was mine. I still remember when her father had helped me pick him out as a pup. Most of the time he stayed with them while he trained and eventually became Odette's dad's partner on the field. Both Gunnar and Ace were so busy or never cared to notice Slash missing around the house. As long as I kept him out of their way, they didn't care. They weren't dog people anyway.

As Slash grew older, he became weaker and slower. It led to him retiring and becoming a full-time pet. So, he grew up around both Odette and me easily becoming our dog.

I brought my beer to my lips, letting the bitter brew slide down my throat while my brother watched me from across the room with his piercing hazel eyes. That was the thing about Ace. He may have been a cocky motherfucker but he was perceptive. He had to be in his line of work. With a grunt, he pinched his jeans and sat opposite me on the two-seater couch.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said, the first words he uttered since he barged into my apartment unannounced.

"I know," I evenly replied before taking another long swig.

"Don't need me to take care of anything?" He cocked a brow in question, waiting for my response as he traced two fingers over the seam of his lips—something that had become a nervous tick of his. 

"I don't know," I breathed, finally gathering the will to meet my brother's assessing gaze, "she refuses to tell me what happened and she's sticking to a story I don't believe. I saw the footage and I know her. I don't know," I repeated the words, thinking back to the conversation I had with her in the hospital, "I have a gut feeling that Parker had something to do with this."

"You sure that's not your jealousy speaking, cub?" Ace sounded skeptical as he narrowed his eyes on me.

I offered him a deadpan glare, "I know you. You don't take a hit without proof. You won't spill innocent blood. That's why I haven't said anything yet."

"Are you going to get that proof?" Ace asked softly, leaning forward until his elbows were braced on his knees.

I took another large swig of my beer, "No. I'm not going to dig into something that is none of my business. She doesn't want me to know, then fine. She'll tell me eventually. I'll wait her out."

"If this shit happened to Miranda I would have dug until I got to the bottom of this shit so I could put an end to the problem," he mused.

"I know," I breathed, running a large hand through my already unruly hair, "you moved for a whole year just to help her get away from that asshole. But, not all women are the same. You know how to deal with yours, and I know how to deal with min—" I cut myself short when what I was saying finally sunk in, "Odette. I know how to deal with Odette."

It was too late. Ace had heard and a coy smirk was already playing over his lips, "Yours huh?"

"Not what I meant," I grumbled, knowing full well where this discussion was heading.

Ace leaned back again, getting comfortable so he could taunt me for the rest of the night, "When will you finally admit it, cub? It's okay to love someone even if they don't love you back. And, trust me, she loves you."

"You're insane," I pointed out, "and stick to your relationship."

"When last have you gotten laid? He did a sweep of my minimalistic apartment and scrunched his face in distaste.

I didn't see the problem in only owning the essentials. A couch, a tv, a few kitchen appliances, a bed. What more could I possibly need? 

"That doesn't concern you," I griped.

"I know but, honest to fuck, I'm worried about you and—"

The sound of a knock on the door cut Ace off and it was a good thing because a single command sat at the tip of my tongue. One word and Slash would have had shut Ace up without me having to move a muscle. He was my brother and I adored and loved him but he was fucking annoying sometimes.

I'd still do anything for him. It was the same for Gunnar.

I stood, drained the rest of my beer and left the bottle on top of the coaster on the wooden coffee table, and then marched toward the door. When I swung it open, a groan worked up my throat, "What are you doing here?"

"I'll try not to feel offended," Gunnar quipped and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Did you just crack a joke?" I taunted, crossing my arms and staring my brother in the eye.

He rolled his combination of green-brown orbs in obvious annoyance, "Are you going to let me in, cub, or leave me out here?"

Moving aside, I gestured for him to enter. As soon as he did, I shut the door behind him and flicked the lock knowing Ace would let paranoia gnaw at his insides if it weren't locked.

"Again, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be at home with your wife? It's been three months and you already want to run away from her?" I plopped down in my seat and gestured for Gunnar to sit as well.

"You are the only one without a woman so where else do you expect Gunnar and I to go?" Ace answered, greeting Gunnar with a first bump.

My elder brother dropped into the couch beside Ace and loosened the striped gray and black tie around his neck, "I came to check in on you and find out how the Gibson girl is."

I shot Ace a glare worthy enough to have the dead turning—it even had Slash shuffling uncomfortably, "You told him."

His answering shrug only annoyed me further, "We handle things together, you know that."

"So, how is she?" Gunnar asked, getting to the point.

I held my breath as the images I suppressed came flooding back into my mind at the question. Just remembering her on that bed, beaten and broken with hands that would never work the same had a cold, sharp shiver slicing down my body. Pain ricocheted off my skull but I knew it wasn't remotely as close to hers.

My eyes burned so I screwed them shut and used my thumb and two fingers to rub at my eyelids. I forced myself to exhale a slow, ragged breath and then draw in an equally slow breath so I wouldn't pass out. Her face when I told her about her hands still haunted me. The way her tears leaked down her face and soaked into her hospital gown, the way her jade green eyes looked dull and murky like moss. It felt like her will to live had left her body when I told her about the nerve damage. Her job—her pride and joy—would no longer be hers. 

My gut churned and my blood pumped faster through my ears as a dull ringing echoed in my head. I wanted to help her. Only, I didn't know how. I didn't know where to begin. This wasn't my field of expertise. I wished I had gone into the field of medicine, wished I had the skillset to become a neurosurgeon.

When I finally answered Gunnar, my voice came out choppy with the myriad of emotions I was holding back, "She's not good."

"Quinn is worried about her. She'd like to see her," I heard Gunnar say through the ringing in my head.

"Same for Miranda."

I settled my blurry gaze on Slash who brushed his tail against my calf, "Maybe when she's up to seeing them. Not now, though."

It was only me, her father, her doctor, and Odette who knew about her hands and she wanted it to remain that way for a long while. Knowing her, she would try to defy the words of the doctor and work toward getting full mobility in her hands again.

"They only want to help," Gunnar's voice softened, "but I can speak to Quinn. She won't like it but she'll back off until Odette is ready to see anyone."

"Thank you," I croaked.

"Miranda might be harder to convince but I'll take care of her. You'll be fine for the next week or so, though. I'm taking her out of town with me."

"Where are you heading?"

Ace shot Gunnar a smirk, "For me to know and for you to mind your own business."

"Don't give me that shit," Gunnar growled, always eager to be the alpha male among us—I couldn't blame him. His presence alone had fear dancing over the skin of the people within his proximity, "the last time you did that you nearly ended up in a prison cell. Either that or your woman would have been dead. Good thing she can take care of herself."

"It was me that helped save your girl, remember that," Ace shot back.

It was always fun being around my brothers—note the sarcasm. For some reason they always ended up bickering, "Are you two done or do you need to take this pissing contest outside?"

And it was always my role as the youngest to grow a pair and be the mature one.

Ace relented first with a huff, "I'm going to Portugal and that's the most you're getting out of me."

"Hey," I cut in before Gunnar could go off the deep end again, "question. If someone hired you to take out Gunnar, would you? That's forgetting he's your brother that is."

"What kind of fucking question is that," Gunnar grumbled but I could see his eagerness to know the answer. 

"A good one. You're trying to tell me that no one has ordered a hit on you yet?" I sardonically asked.

Ace snorted in amusement, "For sure. I would have taken the contract for the right price. He's not a good guy."

"Neither are you dip shit," Gunnar scoffed.

"Yeah, I don't remember claiming to be," Ace grinned, shooting him a patronizing wink, "you selling firearms to just about anybody with no care just because you're a middle man causes a lot of fucking problems you know."

"Then why do you help me do it?" Gunnar muttered through a tight jaw.

Ace's face took on a frown as he glared at the hardwood floor, "Lines tend to blur when it comes to family and the people you love, am I wrong?"

I shook my head, "Nope, I think you're pretty damn on point. Still good to know if you weren't related to him he'd be dead. And, he can deny it all he wants but he wouldn't even see you coming."

"You got that right, cub," Ace laughed, a gravely sound that bounced off the drywall.

Warmth had Gunnar's face softening, "I'm damn lucky to have you two as my brothers."

"Don't you forget it?"

I let out a chuckle, "Can't say I don't feel the same. So, tell me, are you planning to have any kids shortly, or are you going to break our girl's heart?"

"We just got married," Gunnar looked horrified at the thought of having children, "and I'm not fit to raise kids."

"We turned out just fine," I pointed between Ace and me, "I mean, he's a trained killer and I'm a trained hacker. But, on the bright side, we are excellent in our skillset. And you're a brilliant businessman. Your kids will be fine."

"Okay, forget about me," if I didn't know better I would have said that Gunnar sounded flustered, "when are you planning to get married?" He quirked a brow at Ace.

I watched with fascination as Ace's lips began to gradually tug upward until I could see his teeth—including his sharp canines which glinted beneath the warm, yellow glow from the light above, "Quinn's going to have my balls for this but Miranda had mentioned something about eloping instead of a having a whole stressful wedding so I began organizing something for her. When I return and if everything goes well then I'll probably be a married man."

"Yeah, little one is definitely going to have your balls for that," Gunnar snorted in genuine amusement, "she was looking forward to being her maid of honor."

"I don't think Miranda wants to be put in the position to choose between her sister and best friend for that position," Ace began tracing the seam of his lips pensively, "and I wouldn't know who to pick between you two as best man. This makes things easy."

"And here I thought I was the obvious option," I feigned hurt, bringing a hand up to my chest. Slash whined at my feet, making me force a smile on my face, "Hey, I'm fine, bud."

He let out a bark.

"No more of that, you'll get us kicked out if you're so loud," I warned and he instantly quietened.

"It still amazes me how that dog listens," Gunnar murmured in awe.

"He was trained by the five-0, brother," Ace muttered. He may have acted as if he hated Slash but I knew he sort of liked him, "so, what's for supper. I'm starving and Quinn and Miranda are out. I'm giving them another hour before I go find them and drag the two back to their respective homes."

"You'll be dragging my wife nowhere," Gunnar warned, his protective instincts kicking in as he stressed the word wife.

"Not literally you fucking caveman," Ace chuckled, but that soon turned into a full-blown laugh when Gunnar lunged for him. Ace easily dodged and held his hands up in mock surrender, "look, we both know you're going to be joining me to search for them so quit it."

My gaze bobbed between Ace and Gunnar before I mumbled, "Well, that explains why you're both here. I'll order pizza."

I got up and made my way to the kitchen but before dialing to order the pizza, I glanced at my brothers who continued bickering like idiots, and realized something. This was their way of helping me, of taking my mind off of what happened to my best friend, someone they believed I loved on a deeper level. And, in that moment, I was overwhelmingly grateful to have them in my life.