She told Collins her brain needs to rest in order to process the trauma.
The trauma.
Reaching out, I slowly slide my hand across the cool cotton but stop just before I make contact with her skin. I keep telling myself she’s safe, and she’s going to be all right, but watching her look into my eyes and not know who I am has broken something inside of me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her remember, no matter the cost.
With a heavy heart I stand up and walk out of the small bedroom. With one last look at her I close the door and walk to the front of the plane where my brothers are sitting. Xander is staring out the window and doesn’t even bother to look up at me when I take the seat across from him. Vaughn is sleeping on the couch nearby and his quiet snores irritate me. How can he sleep at a time like this?
I grab the tumbler of dark liquor next to me and down the contents in one large gulp. Maybe this will help me close my eyes and not see my beautiful girl look up at me like I’m a stranger.
“Are we going to talk about this yet?” X says without taking his eyes off the black ocean below us.
“No.” The word is final but I can see him clench his fist in his lap and I know he’s not taking no for an answer.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” he hisses as Vaughn makes an unintelligible sound and then goes back to snoring.
“Does it matter?” I stare at him until he faces me and leans back in his seat. I don’t break eye contact because I have nothing to be sorry about.
“Let’s try this.” He leans forward and I can see the controlled anger in the way he grips the arm rests. “Why don’t you tell me who the fuck that is back there and why we’re taking her to the island?”
“My wife,” I say simply as I grab the bottle of liquor off the table next to me and refill my glass to the brim.
He laughs humorlessly, leans back and throws his hands up. “Your wife? Kade, I’m your goddamn blood, don’t try and bullshit me. There are no doctors around anymore, and she can’t hear you.”
“My blood,” I agree. “So when I tell you to do this for me, you don’t ask questions. That’s what blood means.”
“I won’t follow you blindly to jail.” He leans back in his seat like he wants to distance himself from this.
“You will.” There is a threat in my voice and I know he doesn't miss it. “You’ll do it because I’d do the same fucking thing for you.”
We stare at one another for a long, silent moment before he looks out the window again. I take another gulp of the dark amber liquid and lean back.
The quiet of the cabin is only broken by Vaughn but after a moment I let out a breath.
“Do you trust me?” When he looks at me and rolls his eyes, I raise an eyebrow. “Answer the question.”
“You know I do,” he answers begrudgingly.
“Have you ever seen me like this?” I wait as he shakes his head. “Have I ever acted impulsively about anything?”
“No.”
“Have I ever taken a woman to the island?”
He shakes his head and I wait until he says, “No.”
“That was the deal we made, X. No women, only wives.”
When I was twenty-two our mother died of cancer, and our father followed her a month later. I was left in charge of my two younger brothers, Xander and Vaughn, and a fortune beyond our wildest dreams. It was up to me to make sure they finished college and our family real estate business didn’t go under, and the weight of that on my shoulders almost crushed me. But ten years later the three of us have kept the Warsaw legacy going and I know now that we would have made our parents proud.
A few years ago I heard about a private island in the Pacific that was being foreclosed on, and I brought it to my brothers. We flew out to see it, and we agreed that same day that it would be our home. That no matter what happened, this would always be the place we could return to and someday we’d bring our families here. No women, only wives. We wanted the island to be a place for our children to enjoy and to spend our lives in paradise. We made that pact on the white sandy beach and we’ve never broken that promise.
Every few months we come to the island and leave our phones at the door to reconnect as brothers and cement the vow. After losing our parents we understood how important our bond is and that we need to cherish it. Xander knows that what I’m doing right now is a big decision not only for me, but for us as a family. I can see it in his eyes that he’s worried I’ve broken our laws but I can’t let that stop me.
“I’ve seen you almost every single day for most of my life, so when you show up and tell me you’re married and your wife is in the hospital, what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“Buy me a wedding gift and shut your fucking mouth,” I say through gritted teeth before I polish off the last of my drink.
He narrows his eyes as he leans forward in his seat and I tense, ready for the fight. I’ve been in a ball of knots the past few days and using my fists right now might be the only thing that makes me feel better.
“Stop fighting,” Vaughn mumbles from beside us, breaking the tense moment.
“Go back to sleep, baby brother. This doesn’t concern you,” I say, setting my glass down.
“I was
