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Typical Kent, making a mess that my older brother Theo or I have to clean up. Kent gets away with everything, the perks of being the youngest.
My brother looks up at the track, barely hanging onto the ceiling. The curtain is now dangling in his hand like roadkill.
Jesus, It’s been six months since I’ve seen Kent, and it still shocks me that he isn’t the small boy I used to tackle every morning.
Where the heck has the time gone?
I’ll never admit it, but maybe Mick is right. Maybe being with my brothers again won’t be so bad.
Who the hell am I kidding? The Sterling brothers are chaos; that’s why our family business is so apropos. What does chaos do best…it breeds, thus, our family business that would make the sexual prowess of a stray cat proud, the multi-billion-dollar weapons company known as Sterling Defense.
"I can see our tax money is being put to the finest of use." Kent jokes. He tosses the curtain to the floor as if we’re in a five-star hotel and someone will clean up after him. Then he reaches into his suit, grabs a bottle of hand sanitizer, and cleanses his hands from the filth of cheap tax money.
Mick's gaze shifts from Kent to me. Silently, I mouth to him, See? This is exactly why I need to stay in Delta Force. I was made for the adrenaline and the action, not for hand sanitizer and billions in the bank.
"Hey, Mick," Kent nods. "I’ll pay for that." He kicks the curtain.
"Bet your ass you will." Mick shakes his head.
"Hey, you can’t go—" Nurse John just enters the room, huffing like he climbed Everest. His badge is in his hands, and the clip is still stuck on his shirt.
I glance at Kent, who winks at me. I know he ripped that badge off to gain access to my room. Priceless.
"I’m already in, Betty." Kent grins, then turns to Mick. "I think you need better security."
Mick touches the gun on his hip in a warning, then shakes his head, "It’s fine, John. I’ll handle this."
John huffs and then turns. It’s clear he hates his job. I’ll reflect his hate once I work for my father. A monkey in a suit rather than a soldier in the field where I belong.
"You stupid idiot." Kent rushes to me, grabbing me in a crooked bear hug as he tries to avoid my arm sling. Of course, the gesture hurts like hell. I grind my teeth with such force I likely flatten my molars, but I'd never refuse a hug from my brother.
When did he get so strong?
He's my size now. All muscle, no more baby fat in his cheeks. He smells like clean soap and aftershave. A scent I’m not used to since we can go days without a shower when we are on a mission.
"I missed you." He whispers to me. Fear is evident in his voice.
Guilt hits me. "I’m fine." I raise my good arm so I can hug him.
Finally, he pulls away and slaps my shoulder. Nail on the head, he strikes one of the bullet wounds.
"Watch it." I hiss.
"Watch it." He pokes the other bandage. "Like you did?" He raises his brows. "Why the heck did you let a bullet hit you?"
"I just wanted to see your smug face." I adjust my sling and shift my weight on the bed.
"Hey, He’s still my property for a few hours; don’t damage him until I sign off." Mick chirps.
Kent jumps on my bed. It’s just like we’re kids again. "My big brother, the war hero." He grins.
"I’m not a hero,” I say as I whack the back of his head.
"Bro, stick with the hero story. It gets the ladies every time. Gosh, the things I have to teach you and Theo." He rolls his big hazel eyes. Mom rolled her eyes just like that when she jested with Dad.
"I want all the juicy details. Did you at least get to kill anyone?"
"Hey," Mick snaps, "The rest is classified.”
