“Here to see my brother,” I say to the pretty young blond at the desk.

She stares at me, brows raised. “Well, you’re just like him, aren’t you?”

“Identical twins, funny how that works,” I mutter.

She blinks and then nods, looking a little sheepish. “Your brother has requested no visitors ...”

My fists clenched. “I’m the only family he’s got left, I have a right to see how he’s doing.”

She smiles but she looks nervous. “I understand that, but we have to respect his wishes during his recovery. Some patients prefer to be left alone; they find it helps them better focus and fix themselves.”

“Look, is there any chance you can go to him and ask him if he’ll consider seeing me? It’s really important, wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. It’s in regard to his storage. Will you at least ask him?”

She hesitates. “I’m not really supposed to ...”

“Please,” I say, leaning over the counter. “I’m only asking you to check with him, not let me in. If he doesn’t want to see me, that’s okay, but please ask. He’s the only family I have, and he’s my twin brother. He needs me, even if he doesn’t realize it yet.”

Her cheeks flush a little and she nods. “Of course, I understand that. I have family, too. I can only ask, though. And I will only do it once. You can’t come back in here and demand to see him again if he says no, do you understand?”

I nod. “Please, just tell him it’s an important issue in regard to his storage. He wouldn’t want to lose his stuff, I know he wouldn’t.”

She nods. “Give me ten minutes.”

I watch her go and sit down, praying the mention of the storage will jerk my brother into agreeing to see me. I wanted to do this on my own, without him knowing, but I didn’t realize how deep he’d gotten himself. Guilt clenches my chest. He is going to let me help him, or I’ll do it on my own. It’ll be a whole lot easier for me with his help. I can only hope he’ll give it to me.

Fucking pray, actually.

Because I don’t know where to fucking start.

It takes fifteen minutes for the receptionist to come back, and when she does, she walks over to me. I stand.

“He agreed to see you, but only once. As you understand, we have to respect his wishes. You’ll have only half an hour, as it isn’t visiting hours, however we try to always allow our patients whatever makes them feel well, and if seeing family is that, we’re always open to it. I’ll need you to sign in, and then I’ll have you escorted out to see him.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, signing everything I need to sign and then allow them to check me over to make sure I’m not carrying anything. I follow an old, angry looking nurse out into the gardens where they allow visitors.

I see my brother straight away, and already in the week I’ve not seen him, he looks better. He has more color to his face, although he does look like he’s in a good deal of pain. Coming off drugs will do that. It’s a spiral downward before things pick back up. Still, he’s improving, and that’s all that matters.

The nurse leads me over to the table and mutters, “Half an hour,” before disappearing into the garden with some other patients.

I sit down across from my brother, and already his eyes, the exact same as mine, are piercing into me. “You got my fuckin’ attention,” he hisses. “What the hell are you doin’, Dakoda? Other than playin’ with fire. You have no idea what you’re gettin' yourself into.”

“Firstly,” I growl, leaning in close, “you’re my brother, and if you’re goin’ down, I’m comin’ with you. What I’m tryin’ to do here is to make sure you don’t go down. Far as anyone knows, I’m you. No one knows you’re in here.”

His brows go up. “What the fuck have you done?”

“What is necessary to get you safe. Whatever shit you’re dealin’ in, it’s dangerous.”

“It’s also none of your fuckin’ concern.”

“Braxton, you and I both know I’m not backin’ down from this. I can walk out of here and do this on my own, guessin’ every step of the way, or you can have my fuckin’ back and help me. Tell me what I need to fuckin’ know. Tell me why the fuck you have fuckin’ weapons in your storage unit.”

“So you did fuckin’ find them. You take anyone with you? Anyone else see those?”

“No, and I don’t plan on involvin’ anyone else. I’m livin’ at your house, alone now, and it’s only a matter of time before someone comes lookin’ for you. At least, that’s what I’m guessin’, and I’d be right, wouldn’t I?”

His jaw clenches, and I know damn well I’m right, because I look the exact same way when I’m backed against a wall with nowhere to go.

“As I said,” I continue, “I’m your brother, I love you, but I’m goin’ to do this with or without your help, and there ain’t fuck-all you can do about it. Prefer to keep my life, so I’d prefer your help, but as I said, I’ll do it no matter what.”

“You’re fuckin’ insane, Dakoda,” he hisses. “You have no fuckin’ idea!”

“Then fill me in,” I growl. “Tell me what you’re fuckin’ doin’.”

He exhales, running a hand through his hair. “You’re goin’ to get yourself killed.”

“Means you walk away safe, so be it.”

“Fuck,” he growls. “Fuck. Right, I’ll tell you but only because I’m not goin’ to have it on my shoulders if you fuckin’ die. If you choose to go into this, know that risk is fuckin’ massive.”

I nod. “What are the weapons for?”

“I stole them.”

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck. Me.

I wasn’t expecting that.

That changes things.

Fuck.

“Why the fuck—that’s hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of weapons. Fuck me, what the fuck were you thinkin’?”

“I wasn’t,” he barks. “I was scared, and at the time it seemed like a good fuckin’ idea. It wasn’t.”

Of course it fucking wasn’t.

“Start from the beginning and make it quick. We only have twenty minutes left.”

“Started dealin’, way to make cash, get drugs, it seemed fine. New drug hit the scene, bigger dollars, but it meant dealin’ with larger people. I got into it, knew people, thought it would give me the cash I wanted. At first, it was fuckin’ incredible. I did a good job, got in deeper, got up higher, and started dealin’ heavier. But I was addicted and gettin’ into trouble, takin’ drugs when I was meant to be sellin’ them. Shit started spiraling and I owed some big people some big money.”

God damn.

“So, when the man running the show asked me to transport a shipment over the border for him, I agreed. Weapons. Big dollars. He was goin’ to pay me well for it. But I was never goin’ to fuckin’ give it to him. I was high, desperate, fuckin’ stupid. I thought if I stole the shipment I could sell it off. I’d be able to pay for the drugs I desperately wanted, pay everyone off, and walk away forever with a fuck load of cash. More than he was offering. I knew people, I had contacts, it seemed like a good idea at the time ...”

“Not a fuckin’ good idea.”

“I was high as fuck, addicted, and desperate,” he growls. “Understand, my brain wasn’t fuckin’ workin’ like it is now.”

“What happened?”

“I took it, hid it, and now I got people huntin’ my ass. Huntin’ me hard. Not only do they want their shit back, they want my head. I’m as good as dead. Day you found me, tried to overdose. Figured it was easier than enduring the torture they were goin’ to deal. Didn’t matter if I gave it all back and more. I was a dead man for the pure sake of it.”

Fuck.

This is far worse than I could have ever imagined. Far fucking worse. Right now, I don’t have a clear answer on how to get him out of this shit without risking both of our lives. I thought it was drugs, thought I could pay off the right people, fuck up the others, and get him out of it. But he’s dealing with big people. Top dogs. Dangerous men.

“Who were you workin’ for?”

“Don’t know his name. Just know they called him Shanks. Never met him. Never saw him. But he’s runnin’ a big operation. Fuckin’ deadly. Dangerous. He’s fuckin’ over mafia, cartel, motorcycle clubs, you name it, he’s tryin’ to fuckin’ take what’s theirs and he’s succeeding.”

Fuck me.

One man can’t take that kind of shit on.

I don’t know what fucking options I have here except to fucking change his name and run.

Might be the only way.

No way we can take on something that size.

“Leave it with me, let me see what I can work out.”

“Not goin’ to work anything out, Dakoda. You simply cannot compete with somethin’ that size, I promise you that. You’ll die in the process.”

“I said leave it with me. Right now, nobody knows you’re here. I won’t come back, in case I’m followed.”

“They’re goin’ to kill you on sight. Get out of that apartment. If you have a chance, it’s that nobody knows you exist. Go home. Away from where they’re lookin’, and do your work from there. Don’t put your face out there. It’ll get blown off.”

He’s right about that.

“Got you. Loud and clear. I’ll do what I can.”

I stand, looking at my brother and exhaling. “Fix yourself. If you can do anythin’ in here, fix your fuckin’ self, Braxton. I’m not riskin’ my life for you to walk out of here and get straight back into it.”

He nods. “I hear you, and Dakoda?”

I meet his eyes.

“Be fuckin’ careful.”

Yeah.

Not sure that’s goin’ to matter.

Hell, I’m not sure I’m fully aware of what I’m about to get myself into.

But for blood, anything goes.