Chapter 23

Caden

“Now that my sister is out of earshot, give it to me straight, Brewer. How is he, really?” I ask.

“Ice, he’s been shot. He’s in pain and he’s lost some blood. From what I can tell from the exit wound and the bleeding, it doesn’t appear that the bullet hit any vital organs. But, and I know that you’re not gonna like this, I’d really like to get him over to the hospital to make sure he doesn’t have any internal bleeding, just to make sure.”

“Damn it, you know how I feel about hospitals. It’s a gunshot wound. They’ll have to report it and there’s no way they can know that he was in Ireland when it happened.”

He thinks for a moment and then says, “If I promise to keep it under the radar, will you bring him in?”

“Can you guarantee no police report?”

After thinking about it, he replies, “Not 100%, but 95%?”

“I don’t know if I can risk that 5%, Brewer.”

“So you’re willing to risk his life instead,” he replies dryly.

“You’re not playing fucking fair!”

“I’m just telling you like it is. I would rather see you be safe than sorry. I know how important he is to you, hell, how important all your brothers are. So, are you willing to take that 5% risk or are you gonna risk his life?”

“Well, if you put it that way, I guess I really don’t have much of a choice, now do I?” Fucker. I know he’s right, but it really pisses me off when someone makes you think you have a choice in a matter when in reality you have no choice at all.

“Let me make the arrangements and you can bring him in tomorrow.” He pauses and starts putting things back into his bag. “I think my work here is done for now. Doc did a great job getting the bleeding to stop, so I’m not too concerned there. He’s a little pale, but I don’t think the blood loss is dangerous. I gave him some pretty potent pain meds, he’ll sleep the rest of the night. But someone should keep an eye on him.”

“I think that is covered. I don’t see Ari leaving his side tonight.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate you coming over here this late.”

“You’ll get my bill!” he says, laughing. He starts to walk out of the room and I follow behind him. He says, “I’ll call you and let you know when to bring him to the hospital for that MRI.”

Walking him to the door, I reply, “You got it.” I open the door for him and thank him again as he leaves.

“What did he say?” Ari asks.

“Is he going to be alright?” Aillise asks.

“He said that he didn’t see any internal injuries, but he wants him over at the hospital in the morning for an MRI just to make sure.”

“Hospital?” Hawk asks. He walks over to me and lowers his voice. “Are you sure about this?”

“I know what you’re thinking. But we don’t have a choice. Brewer knows how we feel about hospitals and gunshot wounds, but he insisted. And frankly, I don’t want to take any fucking chances with Rebel’s life.”

Hawk nods. “I agree, but are you ready to face the consequences of this?”

“Brewer assures me that he’ll do everything he can to keep Rebel’s visit under the radar. I’ve gotta trust him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

We walk back over to the rest of the group. Where the fuck am I going to put everyone? I think to myself. Looking around the room at everyone, I realize I’ve totally forgotten that we have guests.

I walk over to Emma and put my arm around her, whispering in her ear, “Do we have room for everyone?”

She smiles and nods. “Honey and I have already taken care of that.”

“You have?” I ask, surprised.

“Of course we have, silly. But I’m not sure you are gonna like what we came up with.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I ask hesitantly.

“You’ll see,” she says smugly, as if she has a big secret that she’s keeping from me.

I really hate it when she does that. I don’t like secrets. But I let it go. I say, “As long as I’m bunking with you, I’ll be happy with whatever you and Honey have come up with.”

“Remember you said that,” she says and then doesn’t speak another word about it.

What the fuck is up with that? Now I’m worried.

We hang out for a little while before it becomes clear that everyone is running out of steam. Turning to Emma, I say, “Babe, do you want to let everyone know where they’ll be sleeping tonight?”

“Sure,” she replies sweetly. She says, “Aillise and Conner, you will take the first room on the left. Honey, you will keep your room, and Ari, since Rebel is already in your room, I am assuming that you will want to stay with him.”

“Yes, thanks, Emma,” Ari replies.

“Hold on one minute,” I say firmly. “Ari is not sleeping with Rebel.”

Emma turns toward me and says, “Babe, remember what you said earlier about being happy with whatever plan I had come up with?”

I know she’s right, but she’s talking about my kid sister. “But …” I grumble, but she quickly interrupts.

“She’ll be fine. I don’t think her virtue is in any danger tonight. Remember, he’s in there because he’s recovering from a gunshot wound.”

I grumble again and clear my throat. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess it’s ok,” I say reluctantly. I back down because I know she’s right, but shit, that’s my kid sister. Suddenly, I feel the need to change the subject and get my mind off of Ari and Rebel. I look around the room and realize that my aunt and uncle have nothing as far as bags, clothing, etc. Looking at them, I say, “Do you need anything?”

“No, Caden, your lovely girl here has taken care of all of that. She got us what we needed for tonight, as long as you don’t mind Connor wearing your clothes. The rest we can get in the morning.”

“Good. We’ll take you out tomorrow to pick up whatever you may need.” Turning toward Emma, I say, “Thanks, babe.” She smiles and starts to clean up the plates and coffee cups from the family room. Honey and Ari get up and began to help her.

“Well, if you all will excuse us, I think we’re going to call it a night,” Connor says.

“Sleep well—and if I didn’t say it before, I’m glad you both are safe.

I know I got a little defensive with you on the flight. I guess we have a lot to talk about,” I say.

“Yeah, I guess we do,” Aillise says.

“We’ll talk more about where we go from here in the morning.”

They nod and Aillise says, “Goodnight, Caden.”

“Goodnight.”

I go into the kitchen to see if the girls need any help. My timing is perfect; they’ve just finished. “You ladies are fantastic.”

“I think I am going to turn in,” Ari says.

“Goodnight, sweetheart. Let us know if Rebel needs anything,” I say, kissing the top of her head.

“I will.”

“Me too,” Honey says. “I’m beat.”

“Emma, you ready?” I ask.

“Yep, I just need to get something from my jacket pocket and I’ll be right up,” she replies.

“Ok babe, I’ll meet you up there.”