Briggs fell silent, stewing in his thoughts. He felt a tap at his leg and looked up. Toby was smiling at him, nodding. “It’s okay, Briggs. You can finish your story.”
“I thought I was dead. Actually, I knew it. Couldn’t hold my weapon, couldn’t Shift, couldn’t do a damn thing. But then something happened I hadn’t expected. Some man actually saved my life. Picked my big ass up, tossed me in the back of his car, and drove me to safety. To this day, I still don’t know why he risked his life for mine. At first, I thought I was going to be sold to a Jihadi group or something. But when knocks came at the door, it was the Marines. Saved my life and brought me back home.”
“Should have just let me die,” he whispered to himself.
The room around him was silent. He’d said too much, revealed too much of his personal life, and now he had alienated other members of the support group. They were casting glances at him, as if he was a freak. That somehow, after being injured so badly and left for dead in a foreign country, he was the one who had messed up.
“Is this the first time you’ve come to a support group, Briggs?” Sam asked him.
Briggs nodded.
“Well, you’re always welcome back here,” Sam said, spreading arms wide and encompassing the whole room. The murmurs of assent were halfhearted, but they were there. “Let me ask you one last thing, if you don’t mind, Briggs.”
Briggs nodded again.
“What do you do now?”
“Now? Now, I’m homeless,” he said, disgust burning deep inside of him. Homeless, with no one to blame but himself. He’d blown all of the money he’d got from the Army. He’d pissed away all of the medical settlements. And for what? Nothing.
But Briggs knew that the blame rested on one person’s shoulders: his own.
“We can help, Briggs.”
“I don’t need anyone else’s help. I can do this on my own,” he growled, the tone in his voice offering no argument.
Sadly, Sam nodded. “Thanks for sharing, Briggs. Now, Toby, let’s hear why you’re here tonight.”
*
When Kat had told Simon the news, he’d visibly blanched. He had tried to get out a few words at first, but nothing came out but stutters. In a way, she felt worse for him than she did for herself. He was young, undeniably bright, and she’d just helped him commit career suicide.
But once he had managed to form words, he had calmly explained that it had been a pleasure working for her and that he had a pending job offer at another technology firm halfway across the country. He’d gone into Cartwright’s office, apologized, resigned, and then was out of the door, forever. Leaving Kat to shoulder all of the blame and the research.
Now, she sat in her car, outside of Golden Valley Community Center. It was nearing 2 in the morning. Inside, she could tell the meeting was close to wrapping up. She was ready to be home and crawl into bed, though she knew that sleep would be elusive.
The windows to her car were rolled down, despite the chill in the air. She had no idea what she was going to do. Within a week, she’d be out of a job, unless she could somehow roll back the oscillating power source. It should be possible, but then, what was the point? The artificial limb would be no different than any others being developed. The shareholders would still shut them down for not producing results.
And now she was waiting, outside of an old community center, for her drug addicted brother who she hadn’t seen in over a year to come out of his meeting. She was tired, miserable, and above all, she had completely and utterly abandoned the code that had made her tick. She didn’t know how she was going to face tomorrow.
The front doors open and people started spilling out of the building. Most didn’t have cars or anyone to pick them up. She watched as they slinked away into the darkness, probably never to be seen again. She imagined her brother going with them, seeking out that perfect bridge or cardboard box to spend the night. She was thankful that she could save him from that.
Most of the crowd had dispersed, and her brother was nowhere to be found. She peeked out of the car, looking up and down the street, but she could see nothing in the darkness. Is he gone? Did I miss him? Did he leave early to use? Kat felt her stomach knotting up all over again. Could this night get any worse?
Then, two men strode out from the front doors. With the light behind them, it took Kat a second to recognize her brother’s form and dirty clothing. So he had stayed the entire time, after all. Kat’s fears melted away as best they could.
Toby was talking to the man next to him. She didn’t know if Toby was one to make new friends easily, but he seemed to be getting along with the other man just fine. Toby raised a hand to her, just a sec, and Kat waved back. She was ready to get home, but knew that once she got home, her mind would never stop racing, so what was the point?
She looked at the man next to Toby and her eyes went wide. The man standing next to him wasn’t some random drug addict – this man was something else. He was huge. If she had to guess, he would be around six and a half feet. His body was built like a truck. His face, from what little she could see of it in the night, looked tired, but he was still strikingly handsome.
And then there were his arms.
Or rather, his arm. He had only one. His right arm ended just above his elbow. As she watched, he extended his left hand towards Toby, who put out his own left hand. They shook, and then the man was moving down the sidewalk with surprising speed for his size. Toby was on his way to the car.
And Kat’s failure hit her again. Seeing a man that she could have helped brought her almost to tears. If she could have figured out a way to make that damn arm work… then that man would have his arm back, instead of living the rest of his life crippled. She had failed.
“Jesus, I didn’t know you were the ice queen,” Toby said, climbing in next to her. Kat shook herself out of her thoughts, rolling the windows up and turning the heater on full blast. “Who had the bright idea to have some support group meeting until 2 in the morning? Makes no sense. No damn sense at all.”
“How was the meeting?” she asked, only a little shakily. Toby gave her a knowing look, but she refused to look over at him. He could always detect how she was feeling. She glanced to the side, saw the coast was clear, and edged out onto the road.
“Kat? Are you okay?” There was real concern in his voice, but Kat didn’t want to drop all of her problems onto Toby. He had enough problems as it was.
“I’m fine. Just a rough night at work.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Kat flashed her best smile and said, “I’m fine, Toby. Really. Tell me about your meeting.”
Toby leaned back in the chair, running his hands through his hair and sighing loudly. “Oh, it was awful, Kat! Don’t make me go to another one!”
Kat laughed. “You’re not getting off that easy, Toby. Was it really that bad?”
Toby chuckled. “It was worth a shot. No, it wasn’t that bad. One of the better ones I’ve been to, honestly. Makes me realize that my problems aren’t that bad. Some others have it so much worse. There’s this one chick, right, and she’s got a lot of problems, right? Drugs, and she’s homeless, and has a warrant out for her arrest, but if you ignore all of that, she’s a pretty nice girl. Thought about asking her out.”
“Not on my couch,” Kat warned. For once, she felt as if she and Toby were bonding. Ever since he’d shown up on her doorstep, she had hardly recognized him – but now, she saw a little bit of the kid he had once been hidden deep below the surface. Maybe things will change, she hoped. Maybe he hadn’t changed so much. “What about that man you were talking to? What’s his deal?”
“Oh, you saw him, huh? I knew you would notice a man with only one arm. That’s sort of your style, isn’t it?”
“I guess you know me better than I know you.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve been keeping up to date on my little sis. You’re everywhere in the papers, after all.”
“So…?”
&n
bsp; “He’s a war veteran. Got his arm blown off in Iraq. Remember Briggs Dawson? The professional football player?”
Kat shrugged her shoulders. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t remember exactly who he was. She had nothing against football, but it wasn’t one of her passions, and with her parents dead, and her brother gone, she hadn’t felt the need to relive their Sunday evening tradition alone.
“Well it turns out that he got kicked out of the football league and his fiancé left him. Took everything – his house, all of his money, left him completely high and dry. He ended up joining the military and got hit by some sort of bomb. A VBD or something.”
“VBD?”
“Vehicle...bomb...” Toby explained. “Damage, or something. The point is, he got hit. His whole squad was wiped out and he lost his arm. Now, he’s homeless. It’s pretty sad, really. It’s too bad he doesn’t have a sister he can rely on like I do.”
“Thanks, Toby.”
“Want me to set you up with him? I know you’re into dudes that are missing limbs. I can put in a good word.”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Kat said, thinking back to the last time she’d chased someone like that and how it was still plaguing her to this day. “Thanks, though.”
*
“You want some dinner?” Toby asked, glancing at the clock. “Breakfast? Something?”
Kat collapsed on the couch, utterly exhausted but still wired from earlier in the night. “I don’t know, Toby. It’s already kind of late.”
“My treat,” he said, already rummaging around in her cabinets looking for something to make. He was acting more and more like the Toby she used to know. He hadn’t even bothered to ask for permission, instead, he’d just done it. But it’s something that they’d always been okay with. It wasn’t often that either of them had ever asked permission if they wanted something from the other, they’d just done it. The perks of being a twin, she thought. She was glad that it wasn’t like meeting a person for the first time. They’d already started to fall into their familiar rhythm. “It helps keep my mind off of…the drugs.”
“Knock yourself out then. Nothing new age and healthy – I need something else.”
He opened the fridge. “Looks like you have hamburger meat, bacon, and eggs. I’m going to make you the best burger you’ve ever had.”
“With eggs?” she asked, an eyebrow raised.
“And you have frozen hash browns,” he answered, peering into the freezer and grabbing them out. “You’re going to love this. It’s like breakfast, but on a burger.”
“I’ll believe it when I try it,” Kat said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show,” he said, looking around the kitchen. “Skillet?”
“To the right of the stove,” she said, pointing. Of course, he didn’t look at her to see where she meant. “No, that one. Down one. In there. Make sure you put it back exactly where you found it.”
“Your directions suck, Kat,” Toby said, grabbing the skillet and ignoring her directions. He started cracking the eggs, tossing them into an overflowing trash can.
Kat lifted the trash bag and pulled it out of the trash can, taking it out the front of the house and walking around the side, where she kept the trash bins. She opened one up, looking out into the dark street, and noticed a car sitting in the street. It was just out of the glow from a streetlight, but she could tell what kind of car it was. Her heart went cold.
Jay.
She tossed the trash in, slammed the lid, and hurried back towards the front of the house. At that moment, the car’s lights came on and the car roared away, screeching as she opened the door. When she got back inside, Toby looked at her.
“What the hell was that? Not the kind of neighborhood to have kids hot-rodding around at this time at night, right?”
“You wouldn’t think,” Kat said, replacing the trash-bag before sitting down at the table, thankful that Toby hadn’t noticed her expression. She knew it was a mix of fear, disgust, and pity.
It wasn’t long before Toby was at the table, carrying a plate that held a huge burger on it. Kat glanced at it warily, unsure of whether it would be good or not. She’d had burgers, and she’d had breakfast, but she’d never had the two combined. She looked over at Toby, who lifted the burger, topped with eggs, hash browns, bacon, and cheese, and then he dove into it.
He swallowed a massive mouthful of food, then said, “What’s got your mind so worked up, sis?”
“Work,” she said, picking up the food. “You’re sure this is good?”
“Called the hangover burger, all around the world,” he offered. “It’s great. Trust me, I would know.”
Kat bit into the burger, and she had to admit, Toby was right. And Toby could cook.
“Whudoyathin?” he asked, chewing.
“Good,” she said. “Really good. Thank you. It’s just what I need.”
“After your bad night at work. Let’s hear it.”
Kat sighed, but knew there was no use hiding what had happened from Toby, of all people. For all of his flaws, Toby usually offered great insight and advice, especially when she was in trouble. She was glad to have him back in her life.
When she finished, all he said was, “Well, that sucks.”
“That’s it? Don’t you have some kind of advice to give me?”
“I’m no engineer,” he said, getting up and taking their empty plates to the sink. “I just know that you’ll figure it out, somehow. You always do. I promise, I’ll have some better advice tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Kat said, her mind turning towards Jay. She would be lying if she said he wasn’t starting to worry her. Screw that, she thought. He wasn’t starting, he had been for the past few months.
“Got something else on your mind?” Toby asked, sitting back down. “Don’t try to act like there’s not, sis. I can read you like a book.”
“Nothing I want to talk about,” she said, and she meant it. She hadn’t wanted to drop all of her work problems on Toby, and she certainly didn’t want to drop all of her problems with Jay on him, either. Especially not with Toby’s mental state lately. One wrong move could make him do something he would really regret, and she didn’t want that on her conscious.
“It’s Jay, huh?” he asked. Her eyes went wide, and he continued, “Of course it is. How long have you two been split up?”
“Eight months.”
“I never did like him much,” he said. “Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t be saying that if you’re still not over him.”
“No!” Kat spat, vehemently. “It’s not that! I am one hundred percent, absolutely over him!”
“Then what is it? What’s got him on your mind? Seeing that other man at my meeting remind you of him?”
“Yeah,” Kat lied. She hoped against hope that Toby wouldn’t be able to see through her ruse. “Seeing that man reminded me that no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t help him. Even if I want nothing to do with him.”
Toby raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. After some silence, he nodded. She knew he didn’t accept her explanation, but he had enough good sense not to push the matter any further. At least not tonight, she thought. She knew Toby would be back at it tomorrow, trying to figure out why she’d been so worked up over a man she had ended things with over half a year ago. She’d have to come up with something else.
MARS (BBW Bear Shifter MC Romance) (MC Bear Mates Book 1) Page 21
