Page 112 of Help Wanted

She sighed as she went to bed, trying to put her insecurities aside. Zane was with her because he liked her. Not because she looked like someone he never had.

Unfortunately her subconscious wasn’t on board with the plan to move on. She woke from a dream in which Zane walked into the reunion, and spotted his long lost love, who ran straight into his arms. The two of them ran off together, leaving Kenley standing there in a room full of strangers. Alone.

* * *

Brady pulled in at Elmhurst late on Friday evening. He’d missed his visit with Hunter last weekend, because of catching up on the time he took off to attend the sentencing. While Zane and Kenley didn’t care about the outcome of the trial, he needed to see it through. To make sure that guy wouldn’t be out there hurting other people.

People like Hunter or Michaela. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her since he’d fled her home after her invitation to move in with him. A lot of people thought of him as a hero. He’d saved some of his men in Iraq, and Kenley had told him how much he’d changed her life.

But Brady knew what he was underneath. A coward.

He was afraid of loving someone who might not always love him back. Hunter was safe. He would always be his brother. Everyone else was an unknown.

Taking a left onto Hunter’s floor he took the corner and stopped at the door to his brother’s room. An older man sat in a hospital bed, struggling to get a spoonful of green Jell-O up to his mouth.

Brady backed up and looked at the number beside the door. Was he on the wrong floor?

No.

He hurried to the nurse’s station, worry making his stomach turn. Surely if he’d been injured they would have contacted him.

“Where has Hunter Martin been moved?” he demanded.

The nurse’s smile faded as confusion set in.

“Hunter moved to a personal residence last week.”

“Personal residence?” Brady said at the same time it clicked. With a terse “Thank you” he rushed out of the facility and hopped up into his truck.

She’d gone too far this time.

* * *

Michaela didn’t have to look to see who was pounding at her front door. She’d been waiting for him to show up for the last week.

With a deep breath she pulled open the door and braced herself.

“What the hell are you thinking?” he started.

She put up her hand and shook her head.

“You can either calm down to talk about this rationally, or you can leave. The choice is up to you.”

“Apparently the choice isn’t up to me at all. You’ll just do what you want behind my back when I’m out of town.”

“I didn’t do anything behind your back. And the choice of whether Hunter came to live here wasn’t yours to make. He’s an adult. It’s his decision.”

“I want to see him.”

“I want you to see him too, but before that happens you need to calm down.”

“The hell I do.”

“Brady, you need to stop using your brother to punish yourself. It’s not fair to him.”

Brady stepped back, eyes wide, as if she’d slapped him. She was sure it probably felt that way to him. She wanted nothing more than to hug him and ease his pain, but she needed to stay strong. She couldn’t back down now. Not if she wanted to help these men.

“I’m not—”