“I was ashamed, Mom.”

“Oh sweetheart. Ashamed of what?”

“Ashamed that I was taking money from him. He hurt you. He hurt us. But I just needed the money to help you. It seemed like the only solution at the time.”

She nods thoughtfully. Then she peeks over at me mischievously. “I wonder if that’s how Emma felt, too.”

Gabe grins and looks between us. “Oh, she’s good. Even I didn’t see that coming.”

Mom smiles. “Thank you. I thought it was artfully done.”

I’m amazed and irritated at the same time. “You’re being awfully charitable towards her about this. She did accept the job after all. No one forced her to do it.”

Mom gives me a knowing look. “Honey, I know exactly how convincing Maxwell Marshall can be. Your Emma didn’t stand a chance.”

Finn chimes in. “Do you really want to let her go? She thinks you’re one in a million, bro. How many guys can say that?”

I pull out the check from my pocket and stroke the now crumpled envelope. Every moment I’ve shared with Emma over the past month flies through my head. The peace, the sharing, and the laughter.

The morning after she caught me fighting stands out in my head in particular. Leaving you is the last thing I ever want to do. I realize the statement is as true now as it was then.

“I need to call her.”

“Go over there. Find her. This is not a complicated covert operation. It’s a simple find and rescue,” Finn insists.

My mom holds up a hand. “First, let’s go to the hospital and visit your father. I want to thank him personally for paying my hospital bill. He didn’t have to do that. “

“And after that, we’ll go with you,” Gabe says. “For moral support.”

“Or in case she doesn’t forgive you,” Zack adds.

Gabe shoots him an exasperated look. “You’re not supposed to say that out loud.”

I laugh, setting off a new ache in the back of my skull. “You guys don’t have to do that.”

“That’s what brothers do.”

I’m surprised to hear the statement come from Gabe. We haven’t known each other that long so I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t feel any obligation toward me at all. But the support means a lot. More than I can say.

“Plus, you might need us to help you get drunk again,” Zack adds.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

EMMA

The corridor outside Mr. Marshall’s hospital room is empty. But when I enter the room, two large men stand up, blocking my path. It’s the same guys that came into the room that day when we figured out that Jon was stealing from him. They don’t seem to remember me though. Or at least they don’t move, anyway.

“Hi, I just wanted to see if Mr. Marshall was okay.”

“Emma? Is that you? Let her pass, Royce.”

The biggest guy moves aside so I can squeeze by. Mr. Marshall is propped up in the bed reading the newspaper and has a cell phone to his ear. He has a pair of glasses perched on the end of his nose. If he wasn’t in a hospital gown and strapped to a bunch of machines, I would think he was preparing for a day at the office.

“Mr. Marshall, what are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

I glance back at the big guys guarding the door. “Is he allowed to do this stuff?” They look at each other and then back at me and shrug.

Exasperated, I hold out my hand for the phone. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t allowed when you’ve just had a heart attack.”

He grins and says something to the person on the other end. Then he hangs up and hands me the phone. “I had my guys sneak in the phone and got one of those cute little nurses to bring me a paper. I have to keep up with what’s going on.”

I take the paper and fold it up. “I think the world will keep spinning even if you take a few days off.”

He grumbles but finally sits back. “I heard about what happened. I wish I’d been there. I didn’t know that Jon had hurt you.”

I touch the fading bruise on my cheek. Over the past week, it’s turned a strange array of colors. Now it looks like a faint purplish splotch. “I wasn’t sure what to do. Tank didn’t know what was going on then and I didn’t want him to find out. I was bound by my own lies.”

“It’s not often that I say this but I’m sorry. I was only trying to help you but it ended up doing the opposite. I never wanted you to get hurt. I’m surprised Tank didn’t kill him when he found out.”

“Tank and I …” I stop, unsure of how to describe the state of things between us. Non-existent is probably the most accurate. He hasn’t called me or come by the house at all in the past week. It’s like we never knew each other at all.

Mr. Marshall’s smile falters. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

“It’s not your fault. Not really. Because I could have said no.”

“No, you couldn’t have.” He shakes his head sadly. “No one says ‘no’ to a million dollars. Trust me. I’m in the position to know that for sure.”

“I did. I gave the check back to Tank. He came to see you after that and I haven’t seen him since.”

His mouth falls open slightly. I’ve never seen him look like this. I giggle at his expression. If I’m truly the first person who has ever turned down one of his deals, then I guess that’s why.