Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(135)

I halted him. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

I studied the hard lines of his face and his heaving chest. He’d run the gamut of emotional overload; he didn’t need me adding to it. “I got it, babe. We’ll do this your way.”

“You sure?”

I nodded again. “Yes, positive.”

“No arguments?”

“No arguments.”

He blew out a relieving breath and wiped a hand down his face. “Good. Okay. Thank you.”

Adam took a step and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“My brother…” His lips pressed against my hair. “I can’t lose you, Doc.”

I snuggled into his chest, feeling his body relaxing slightly, though his hands were still trembling. “You won’t.”

“We can’t be lax. These people are very dangerous.”

“I know.”

“I should have never—”

I squeezed tighter, not wanting to hear anything resembling regret. “Stop. It’s okay.”

His hand scraped across my back, catching on the threads while we pulled ourselves together. “You called me ‘babe.’”

My muscles tensed, though his stance didn’t warrant it. “I did.”

“I like it,” he said.

There in the warm, familiar dip in his chest, life was perfect. “Good.”

“I need you to do something else for me.”

I looked up, waiting to hear his request, enjoying the fine nuances of being needed. “Yeah.”

Adam placed a soft kiss on my lips. “You’ve gotta take these stitches out of my hand. Now.”

The lingering tightness in my chest eased. I was in awe of his resilience, mesmerized by his bravery, and completely smitten to the core.





THE TWO-HOUR DRIVE to Manhattan had helped somewhat to keep my mind from spiraling. So had Erin’s presence and her stories of med-school hijinks, although I had to admit I had a newfound respect for pig cadavers. She had censured herself when we touched upon anything that could lead me to thinking about my brother Jason, but despite her best efforts, my injured baby brother dominated my thoughts.

I appreciated her for trying.

I loved her even more for trying to make me laugh, for keeping me grounded, for just being by my side and not giving up on me when my moody shit surfaced.

Yeah, this wasn’t just filling the loneliness anymore or hiding my bullshit behind my best behavior. Even the sunrays streaming through her hair knew the truth.

Negotiating the traffic funneling into the Lincoln Tunnel took concentration, giving my mind a chance to ease up, though the nightmares plaguing me were never far away. In the last twenty-four hours, my brother Jason had been transferred to a hospital in Germany and was undergoing yet another surgery. Watching my impenetrable father break down when he updated me on Jay’s condition was unbearable.

I couldn’t even imagine… I’d had a few things shake me to the core in my thirty-two years but this… it was gutting me like a slow twist of a very sharp blade. I had to keep fighting the haunting images from carrying Erin’s uncle’s casket. I didn’t even want to think about what her two cousins must still be going through.

The corner of my eye blurred.

Erin squeezed my hand. “We can be on a plane tonight,” she said as the darkness inside the tunnel surrounded and swallowed us. Some of it even seeped inside me.

I let go of her hand and shoved my sunglasses up on my head. “I know.”

“He was awake, Adam. And talking. That’s a great sign.”

She was dead serious and shifting effortlessly into doctor mode with her reassuring bedside manner.

I nodded while praying to a god that I sometimes had a hard time believing in. “As soon as he’s stateside…”

Her fingers tightened on my thigh. “The second the plane is in the air, we’re D.C. bound. I have contacts at Walter Reed.”

The bright afternoon sun was warming the end of the tunnel, casting beams through my inner darkness. I fought back the shit that threatened to take me over and tapped my sunglasses back into place. She didn’t need to see a grown man cry for God’s sake. Again.

I cleared my throat. “What about your fellowship?”

I didn’t need to look to know her reaction; I could feel it through her hand and the chill that followed when she pulled it away. “I can apply again. It doesn’t have to be now. Don’t worry about it.”

I tugged her hand away from her mouth and put it right back on my thigh. “Erin. No.”

“I’ve met all the prerequisites, Adam. And I did a tox rotation during my residency. I’m—”

“You’re what?”

“I’m not sure anymore.”

Traffic slowed to a crawl. So did her voice. “What are you saying? You changing your mind?”

“You need to be in that lane.” Erin pointed. “Behind the silver truck.”

Fuck, I hated traffic jams, especially into Manhattan. “You’re not giving up your dreams for me. No f*cking way.” I hit the gas and maneuvered in front of a small car while some other * chucked his finger at me. Screw them. “Let’s set that shit straight right now.”