Asher (Inked Brotherhood 1)

“Bet you didn’t watch closely enough, then.” I am so tired. “Just go.”

Half brother. That hasn’t sunk in yet completely. I guess it’ll take me some time. Maybe when the pounding headache eases and lets me think straight.

“I... The police contacted me when Dad died. They were looking for you, and they told me when they found you.” He hesitates. “They also told me some details. About Dad’s death.”

I force myself to look at him again. “And? How did he die?”

“He had a heart attack. Hit his head on the table as he fell. Death was quick.”

I swallow hard but the obstruction in my throat won’t ease. “Good.”

“Listen to me, Ash. Dad owed money. Huge debts. The house is lost. You can’t go back there.”

As if I want to. Ever. Still, the idea I can’t go back is like a kick to my stomach.

“You can come with me to Chicago,” Tyler says. “You could—”

“Chicago. All this time you were so close?” Oh shit. My head throbs so hard I want to throw up. “Fuck off, Tyler. Go back to your happy little life.”

“Ash. Come on, man.” Tyler’s voice cracks. “Give me a chance. Come with me.”

I ignore him. Maybe he isn’t even real. I let my eyes drift shut and it isn’t until the doctor arrives and starts poking at me that I realize Tyler has left as instructed.

And dammit, although I’m the one who told him to go, it hurts as bad as it did the first time. Hurts worse than my battered body. I think maybe the pain of his departure, his absence, never really went away; I only pushed it down so deep I could ignore it.

Well, it isn’t working anymore, and the thing is, I’m not sure I can handle it. Not sure I can handle anything on my own anymore.

***

A nice nurse, her hair in a long ponytail, helps me lie on my side so the doctor can check the line of stitches curving around my hip. Zane hovers nearby, his eyes red from lack of sleep, his clothes rumpled.

The hospital decides to keep me for monitoring one more day and the guy really needs to go home, shower, eat and rest.

I open my mouth to tell him just that, but something entirely different comes out.

“Is Audrey here?” I wince as soon as the words leave my lips. Needy, that’s how I sound. Whiny. Like a kid. Fuck.

I want to see her. I regained the memory of what happened—at least until the beating and my vague decision to head toward the park. But the nightmare of running in dark streets searching for her and the feeling of danger lingers.

And, damn... I miss her. Her bright smile, her laughter, her soothing voice.

“Why do you ask?”

“Tyler.” I swallow. “He said she was here.”

“She was,” Zane says vaguely, approaching the bed. “She came to see you last night. I told her she should go home to rest.”

That makes sense. “She must be beat.” Though I hoped she’d swing by.

Tyler said she was the one to find me. How did she find me? And why did she look for me in the first place? I want to ask her all these questions.

I love you. A faint memory of her voice say

ing the words. A dream. Hope flares and dies every two seconds inside me. It’s driving me up the wall.

“Yeah, she’s beat.” Zane steps closer to the bed, his eyes wide, trained on the doctor’s examination. “Who sliced you up like that?” There’s awe in his voice. “You should tell the police.”

“No way.”