Priceless (Forbidden Men 8)

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Sarah...”

I was lifted and forced to walk. Not sure where they took me. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

BRANDT

I guess my brothers took me home. The next conscious thing I remembered was sitting in my chair at the kitchen table as my family paced around me. Aspen and Caroline had joined Noel, Ten, and Colton. Their children were absent.

“Are you sure sex can even cause a stroke?” Aspen ranted as she picked up her smartphone. “I’m googling it.” Thirty seconds later, her face paled and she gulped. “Oh,” she mumbled before quickly setting her phone face down on the kitchen counter next to her.

“Babe.” Noel tugged her against his chest. “Not helping.”

“I know.” She winced and bit her lip before glancing at me. “They say sex-triggered strokes are really rare if that makes you feel any better.”

I scowled. “Not even a little.”

“This was not your fault, bubba,” Caroline insisted, appearing in my face.

I turned away, not ready for anyone to get that close to me.

“Do all of you really need to hover like this?”

“Yep.” Ten fell into the seat next to me and took a bite from a cookie he stole from the middle of the table. “Makes us feel useful.”

“Well, you’re being a pain in the ass,” I growled.

He lifted his eyebrows. “A useful pain in the ass?”

“Get the fuck away from me!” I kicked his chair, shoving it—with him on it—halfway across the kitchen.

“Fuck!” he yelped before popping to his feet and lifting his hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll stay over here. Jesus.”

I narrowed my eyes at him before returning my stewing stare to the top of the table. “Pain in the fucking ass.”

“And we love you too.” When Ten blew me a kiss, I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face.

“Even if the sex did cause it,” Colton said from the counter where he was sitting next to the sink and swinging his legs. “How the hell were you supposed to know that’d happen? Mason totally can’t blame you for this.”

“The fuck if he can’t. I sure as hell blame me.”

“Brandt,” Noel started with a sigh as if he was going to refute everything I’d just said. But then he shook his head, obviously clueless about how to handle this. “Jesus, I don’t even know.”

My chin quivered, and I realized I was a second away from bursting into another round of tears. I had no idea what my problem was. I think I’d cried more lately than I had in my entire life put together. Something was seriously fucking wrong with me.

“What’re you doing here?” Noel said to someone new who entered the kitchen.

I looked up, blinking when I saw Mason in front of me. Certain I was seeing things, I shook my head. Then it struck me. There could only be only one reason he would come here.

Something was wrong with Sarah.

“Oh God.” I tried to fumble my way to my feet but my shoe got caught in the leg of the chair. “What happened?”

He grabbed two handfuls of the front of my shirt and hauled me out of my chair. “I’m trying to find out what the hell you’re doing here. Why aren’t you at the hospital?”

I paused at the question and had to reach out and brace my hand against the table before falling flat on my face. “Y-you told me to leave.”

“Yeah, well, screw what I want. Sarah’s been asking for you, so you better get your ass back there.”

“She...” My head went woozy from lack of oxygen. I sucked in a quick breath before asking, “She’s awake?”