Jake rubbed his chest, pressing above his aching heart but found no relief. He closed his eyes and hung his head, his shoulders sagging as he continued to stand there, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
He’d done this to himself. To them, and he didn’t know how to fix it. He’d find a way, though. He had to.
Maybe Olivia just needed some time to truly understand why he did what he did.
When Jake opened his eyes again, he saw a fist coming straight at him. Pain exploded in his jaw as Mike’s blow struck, snapping his head to the side and nearly toppling him over. He grabbed the back of the couch to keep from falling on his ass.
“What the hell was that for?” Jake asked as he rubbed his tender jaw.
“That’s for sleeping with my sister and, then, making her cry.”
Mike punched him again. “And that’s for keeping me in the dark about the two of you.”
Jake righted himself and readjusted his jaw. He took several deep, heaving breaths and glared at his friend.
“Feel better now?”
Mike said nothing, at first. He just kept scowling at Jake as if he wanted to hit him again. Their staring contest finally ended when Mike’s eyes softened, and surprisingly, the corner of his lips rose slightly.
“Actually, I do.”
“Good,” Jake said, his jaw throbbing, now. “I’ll give you those two. Next time, I’m hitting back.”
Mike chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, well...what kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t deck the man boinking my little sister?”
Despite their age and the fact that Mike had been noticeably absent from Liv’s life for several years, Jake actually felt a little embarrassed that his buddy knew what he’d been doing with the guy’s sister. To his sister.
Memories assaulted him, and that ache from before morphed into a sharp, searing pain.
“There was more to it than that, Mike. A hell of a lot more.”
“I know,” Mike said solemnly. “It’s the only reason you’re still standing.” He came over and squeezed one of Jake’s shoulders. “I always figured you two would end up together. Truth be told, there’s no one else I’d rather have by my sister’s side than you.”
Jake reared back in shock. “Really?”
“Yeah, man. You think I never noticed the way you’d look at her when you thought no one else was paying attention? Why the hell do you think I asked you to be the one to watch out for her? And shit, that girl’s been in love with you since she was old enough to know what love was. So, fuck, yeah, I always knew you were the guy for her. To be honest, I’m surprised it’s taken you two this long to figure it out for yourselves.”
Jake was speechless. All those years he’d kept his hands to himself, even before Mike’s sudden ‘death’. All that time wasted.
Well, shit.
“I’m pretty sure I just lost my chance with her, so—”
Mike actually chuckled. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ll go talk to her. She’ll come around. Although, I’m almost certain you’ll have to do a fuck-ton of groveling before it’s all said and done.”
Without another word, Jake watched Mike turn and head down the hallway toward his bedroom. He prayed his friend was right.
Because if Olivia decided she could never forgive him, Jake honestly didn’t know how he’d move on from that.
****
Olivia sat on the edge of Jake’s bed, her bags packed and sitting by the door.
She kept trying—with no success—to get her emotions under control. To make sense of what had just happened.
Her brother was alive. All this time, he’s been alive. And Jake knew.
My brother’s alive.
She was still struggling to wrap her mind around it all when someone knocked on the bedroom door. Not waiting for her response, the door slowly opened, and Mikey was standing there, looking at her with uncertainty.
Mikey’s here. And he’s alive.
“I come in peace,” he said, smiling.
Olivia couldn’t help it. She smiled back.
Mikey shut the door behind him and walked over to her. The mattress dipped as he took a seat beside her.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Olivia stared at him. She couldn’t help it. He smirked and...God, she’d missed him.
His brows turned in. “What?”
She shook her head. “So many times I’ve wished I could see you again. Just one more time to talk to you and hug you and...tell you that I love you. And now, here you are and I...” Her eyes welled up again, and her throat became tight.
He took her hand in his. It was much bigger and rougher than she remembered. A man’s hand.
“I really am sorry, Olivia. I know things haven’t been easy for you. If it makes you feel any better, I do know how you felt. When I got word that Pops had died, it broke my heart. I hated not being able to go to his funeral. And then, when I saw on the news that you’d been killed, I...I lost it.”
He blinked quickly, and Olivia realized he was fighting back tears. She couldn’t remember ever seeing her brother cry, and despite the fact that she was still angry, she also felt badly for him.
Yes, it had been his choice to leave, but she knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. She hated that he’d had to experience that all alone, without family or friends there to comfort him.
“I nearly blew my cover, and I didn’t even care. I wanted to come home sooner, but I’m still under Uncle Sam’s fucking thumb. My contract isn’t up yet, and if I break it before it expires, I’ll be stuck in Leavenworth. Or worse.”
She tried to sound understanding. “I-I know whatever you’ve been doing had to be important for you to leave us like you did. It’s just that...damn it, Mikey, we were important, too.”
“I know, Junebug. I know. And if I had it to do over again—”
She chuckled halfheartedly. “You’d do the exact same thing.”
Her brother gave her a lopsided grin. “Probably. What I’ve been able
