by C. M. Steele
That’s all I get out as a gun blast shoots straight through the front door, and I’m down. Burning pain rips through my arm and leg. My men fire back into the house as two team members pull me away from the scene. As I lose consciousness, I regret not kissing Greta even once.
****
I don’t know when I wake up, but I do to the sound of a machine beeping. My head’s groggy, but I don’t feel entirely out of it or at least I don’t think so. I turn my head to see my father sitting by my bed, eyes red-rimmed and glossy.
“Fuck, you’re awake,” my dad’s gruff voice chokes out, clearly full of emotion as his gaze meets mine.
“Dad,” I mutter, but I’m not sure if he can hear me. “Get him?”
“They got him. He’s dead,” he snarls. Even in my less than alert state, I see what he’s thinking. He’d kill him if he could.
“Dean, my baby,” my mother sobs running into the room. She freezes as if she’s afraid to touch me. Then I see that my sister Emily is by her side. I don’t miss that there’s another shiny dress behind her.
“You didn’t have to get dressed up to see me,” I tease.
“Well, I didn’t. Someone had to go and ruin my prom by trying to get himself killed. Stupid jerk,” Emily cries, pressing her head to mine. I don’t know the extent of the damage, but I can feel my limbs, so it’s not as terrible as it could have been.
“I’m sorry. I’ll take you out dancing one day. If I can, that is.”
“Thankfully, the doctor says you will. It was a close one.” My dad grips my hand and I feel his strength and pain. My mother hasn’t stopped touching my sheet on me as if she’s scared to hurt me.
“Give the boy a hug already, Angel,” my dad growls, patting her ass as always.
“I don’t want to hurt my baby.” She continues to cry, and I feel like an asshole for letting her worry. She does her best to be gentle, so I wrap my good arm around her and give her a nice squeeze.
“I’m sorry, mom.”
“You’re coming home to stay with us and recover. Then you’re quitting your job. I don’t care. End of story,” she demands. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my mother so angry and sad at the same time.
“I am quitting.” My inheritance kicks in soon and thanks to my father it’s grown over the years. I’ll do my best to find a new career to support my family once Greta and I start one because we sure as fuck will.
I hear a sob come from the doorway, and I know it’s my future wife. “Greta, you can come give me a hug too.”
Emily brings her close and I see her gown and let out a growl. “I’m sorry I ruined your night, Greta.”
“I’m sorry that you’re hurt. You could have died.” She leans in and gives me a gentle hug, but I need more. I slide my good arm around her waist and press her firmly to my chest.
“Then I would have missed seeing your beautiful face one more time.” She blushes and I want to drag her down to me and taste those parted lips. But a cough from behind her interrupts where my hazy mind was going. I loosen my grip as she pulls away.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Pamela Marsden, Detective Evans. How are you feeling?” Besides the growing ache in my balls, and pain on one side of my body I feel fucking fantastic. I don’t say that though.
“I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“You just woke up.”
“And I’m grateful for that, but I need to get moving.”
“You’re not going to be moving for some time. Although we were able to save your life and limbs, your femur broke in your leg and your muscles were damaged in your arm. So you’ll be resting and recovering in this room. Maybe in a day or two you can be released, but until then you have to be a good boy and rest.”
I don’t want to be in here, but I suppose it’s better than being six feet under.
Chapter Two
Greta
We step out of the room as they do their examination of Dean, except for Mr. Evans who stays for moral support. The hospital’s filled with officers waiting on news, including his partner Detective McKnight. Several of them look at me with questions in their eyes because they probably know I’m not family.
Still, they can stare and judge all they want because my mind is on Dean. My heart’s slamming against my chest as every nerve holds onto the memory of Dean’s possessive touch and tender words. The family is talking in a small huddle off to the side, but I just lean against the wall for all the physical support I can get. My knees ache to crumble as the weight of everything hits me, so I close my eyes and take several deep breaths.
The sound of heels comes closer and then I feel someone lean against the wall next to me. I open my eyes to see my best friend staring at me.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
“I came to ask you the same thing.”
Does she think Dean and I have some secret romance going on? “Emily, I don’t know what happened in there.”
She rolls her eyes and scoffs, “Please. You enjoyed my brother copping a feel, but it’s still too soon for him to approach you.”
“You’re not bothered by it?” I question. Emily should be ticked. I don’t want her to think that’s the only reason I’m around. I’ve learned a long time ago that seeing Dean was a pipe dream, but I still love hanging with Emily. She makes me feel like I have a sister.
She pulls me in for a hug and then leans back, gripping my biceps. “Girl, you’ve been in love with my brother for nearly a year now.”
“It’s a year today,” I confess. Dean picked me up after midnight a year ago and I’ll never forget those gorgeous eyes with softness staring at me, begging me to trust him. I have and despite the past year of him avoiding me, I can’t stop the emotions I feel toward him. I gravitate to the man even to the point to pass by his condo on the off chance that he might see me. It makes no sense and yet, I can’t pull away. I’ve had several options for a prom date and decided I’d rather just go with Emily because a part of me felt like I was betraying a man I couldn’t have.
“Exactly,” she says, patting my nose. “You remember the exact date you two met.”
I huff, pulling away and returning to my post on the wall as I let my frustrations sink in. “So why can’t we be together? The state of Massachusetts law is sixteen.” I know most people would frown upon it, but I would sure as hell be happy. Hell, I’m nearly eighteen now.
“Yes, but he’s in a position of authority. There’s that little stipulation in there that means he can’t touch you until you’re a legal adult because it can be looked at as forced submission in fear of some sort of retaliation. Laws, you know they suck for people that follow them.” She rolls her eyes. Her eyes dart toward the other side of the room where a man I don’t recognize stands.
“Are you serious?”
“Very. So it’s probably best if you don’t see each other for a while.”
“It’s not like I ever did.” I pause a beat, deciphering her meaning. “Are you saying you don’t want to be friends with me anymore?”
“Girl, please. It’s not that I don’t want you to see him, and I know you want to be by his side, but it’s going to be hard enough for him to get through his recovery and then to fight his feelings for you.” Tears fill my eyes. It’s been terrible, knowing that he’s been avoiding me, but this is worse. “Even still, ignore what I said. It’s not like he can do anything with half his body in traction.”
“He has feelings for me?” I ask, ignoring all the rest because I can’t get past the revelation.
“Duh. You didn’t get it. The man made sure you didn’t have a chance to find a date to the prom with my other brothers following you around. Hell, for a minute, I wondered if Benji warned all the boys away or was it the constant hovering they did whenever we went anywhere.” I think about that for a minute and wonder if she’s right. Could he really feel that way? It seemed so much more personal in the room a minute ago and certainly not brotherly.
How am I supposed to avoid Dean for so
long? I guess it's not really that hard since he spent the past year avoiding me like the plague. I only saw him once, months ago as we were picking out our prom dresses. He'd had a smile on his face until he saw me. Then it was as if I ruined his life. My heart sank when I heard his father say that he had girl problems. I never found out about that woman, but I always hoped in my heart that they were referring to me since his mood changed the second I arrived.
Dean's the most handsome man I've ever met, and my soul won’t let him go. When James burst through Emily's bedroom door and broke the news to us, I thought I'd just about faint. It took everything in me to stay standing. We rushed to the hospital forgetting all about prom. After all, I really didn’t want to go with anyone else but Dean.
For hours we waited for him to wake, impatiently stalking the halls. His partner offered to have one of the officers drive me home, but Benji set him straight and said that I have to stay. It felt like eternity waiting and when he did wake it was so wonderful.
Goodness, when he wrapped me up in his arms, I felt like the world was right again. I've missed him so much that the past year has been brutal. I almost made an excuse to call Emily, hoping he’d come to my work and pick me up himself, but I couldn’t do that to Em. She’s a fantastic friend and that would be a violation of her trust. I take our friendship seriously because she’s the only true friend I have. I only go to her school because my old school pulled in a couple of favors. I’m from the wrong side of town compared to the incredible Evans family.
My parents are doing their best to make it financially, but my father's always been the person to dream big with get rich quick schemes and then he fails at actually putting in the effort when success doesn't automatically come. He’s always looking for the next big deal which leads to a significant debt and nothing to show for it.
We've moved again for the tenth time in as many years and our move here has been our biggest one. I'm afraid he's going to want us to move again. Before I left for Emily’s he was on the phone and I didn’t like the tone of the conversation. I don't know if I can handle moving away from here. I'm less than a few months shy from my eighteenth birthday and I don't have enough money to live on my own just yet. I've already been accepted into Boston College for the fall, but until then I'll be homeless.
“Girls, let’s go say goodbye to Dean and then we’re going to head home for the night,” Mrs. Evans says. She takes my hand when I fail to take a step forward.
The guys are just walking out when Emily gives her brother another hug. I move into position next and he gives me the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. It’s clear he’s drugged up and a minute from passing out. “Don’t fall in love with anyone else before you turn eighteen,” he says, slurring the last bit.
“I can’t. You stole my heart,” I whisper, leaning down and kissing his cheek. “Get better, Dean.” I run my fingers through his hair before turning around and rushing out of the room before I make a fool of myself. When I exit, the entire family’s outside of the room, waiting for me. I hadn’t realized that they gave us a brief moment of privacy.
“In time,” Mrs. Evans says, pulling me to her side. “Now, let’s get some food in everyone and head to bed.”
“You’re still sleeping over, right?” Emily says, pulling me away from her mom.
“Of course.” We walk arms linked together and it makes the distance between Dean and I a little more bearable. A year. I can wait a little longer. Or at least I can try.
****
I head home the following day after spending the night at Emily’s and eating breakfast this morning. Having changed back into my regular clothes, I don’t look as hot of a mess as I feel. My mind is still on Dean as it always is, but now for a completely different reason.
As soon as I step inside the doorway, I wave at James and he drives away. My mother’s there waiting for me with her brow raised, staring at me like she’s trying to figure out what I did or didn’t do. "So how was prom?"
Nervously, I duck my head and drop my bag on the floor next to the sofa. "I didn't go."
"What? Where were you?" A look of suspicion and concern crosses her face as she wonders what boy I spent the night with.
"It’s not like that…” I answer her unspoken question. “I was at the hospital. Dean, Emily's brother was shot in the line of duty," I say as I swallow back the tears ready to rip from me. Just talking about it does something to my heart that’s hard to explain. It’s like someone’s squeezing it with their fists.
"Oh honey.” She throws her arms around me, hugging me tight and I can’t help shedding my heartache. “Is he going to make it?"
I pull out of the hug and wipe my tears. "Yes. He just woke up and we got to see him before going back to Emily's for the night."
She’s staring at me with big curious eyes. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"
"What?" How can she tell? I hope she isn’t going to get mad and make trouble for him. He’s been nothing but a gentleman and until last night, utterly indifferent toward me.
"Come on. I know that look. He's more than Emily's brother."
"We're not a thing. He's too old for me as Emily reminded me last night.”
"I thought her brothers were kind of young,” she says, probably thinking of James and Benji who are younger than Dean.
"Dean just turned twenty-five."
"Oh. So he's a bit older than you." I can’t read her. It’s as if it’s just a statement of fact and nothing more.
"Yes."
"Does he know who you are?" I don’t know where her mind is going on this one, but I explain our relationship or lack thereof.
"Yes. He does, but it's not like I've seen him more than twice since the first time we met a year ago."
"So he's not interested?" Is my mom actually offended for me? I thought she should be furious that I had a crush on a real man and not a boy my age.
"I don't know. I'm too young for him, though."
She sighs and leads me to the sofa, tugging me down as she sits with her body on an angle facing me. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry sweetie, but I have some bad news to bring on you again."
"What is it?" I feel the answer in my soul because there is no other bad news for us. There never is. We don’t have additional family members that we’re close to.
She takes a long pause before blurting out the news. "We have to move again."
"What?" I jump up into a standing position, staring at her in pure outrage.
"They offered your father a much better job back in Chicago, but we don't have more than two weeks to go back." That’s bullshit. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m betting we don’t have the money to pay the rent here and we’re getting kicked out. He’s probably going back to work with his cousin who works on cars. I can’t do this again. Did they even think of me and my future?
"What about my graduation?" I ask, wondering if they expect me to miss it. That’s not going to happen even if I have to stay in a shelter.
"We'll be able to stay until that day, but we leave that night. I'm sorry. I know I can't make you come with us, but I don't know what else to do. I was hoping maybe you could stay with Emily. However that doesn't look to be a good option since you have unrequited feelings for her brother."
"This is awful." I storm out of the room and into my bedroom down the hall, closing the door and pressing my back against it as I let the tears fall. I hate my life being uprooted again. Dean floods my mind. I won’t be able to leave him even if we don’t become more than what we already are. I can’t let that chance pass me up. I fall onto my bed and close my eyes just as my phone rings.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and send it to voicemail even though it’s Emily because I don't want her to hear me crying. My phone rings again and I'm worried that something happened to Dean. I answer it on the last ring, wiping my tears on my sleeve.
"Girl, I called to check on you. Why are you crying? Tell me you're okay.”
"No. No. Everything's f
ine,” I say as I sniffle.
"Bullshit. You're freaking crying. Is this about my brother?"
I roll over onto my back and stare up at the ceiling as I tell her the truth. "It's not just that. My parents are moving as soon as we cross the stage at graduation."
"Oh fucking hell no. Please tell me you're not leaving,” she screeches.
"I kind of don't have much of a choice. I don't start school until August." I don’t mention the shelter thing because she’ll think I’m crazy as hell.
"You're coming to stay with us. I'll talk to my parents tonight when they get home from visiting Dean,” she says with vehemence that I’m sure she’ll get her way. A part of me is happy about that. It strikes me that her parents are staying at the hospital with him the entire time.
"Is he not getting out soon?"
"The hospital called after James dropped you off. He got an infection this morning. My parents rushed out the door to stay with him."
"What?"
"Shit. He's okay. It's minor, but with everything going on they don't want to release him yet. I swear I'm not trying to freak you out." She’s lying. I know it’s not minor or they wouldn’t have called or rushed over there.
“Well, you’re doing a poor job of it, Emily.”
“Sorry, girl please keep it cool. I’m going to call my parents now. Maybe we shouldn’t have dropped you off at all.”
“No, it’s fine. I need to spend time with my parents while I can.” If I can’t be by Dean’s side, I don’t want to be around his family home so I can have him on my mind. I need to close off my mind from everything and remember that he’s strong and going to pull through. He must.
Chapter Three
Dean Jr.
Two weeks have passed since I last saw my sweet Greta. God, do I want this wait to be over. She never returned to the hospital and everyone else thought it was for the best, but I’m still pissed about it. I miss her with an insane intensity that I can’t even explain because it’s wrong.
