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I'd left Mom sleeping with all the lights on and a note telling her I'd see her tomorrow. I had offered to stay all night, but she’d insisted I go back to work.
When Juliet had answered her door, seeing her beautiful face had felt like a relief. It had felt like coming home. And that wasn't something I could let myself get used to. Whatever we had, whatever might be happening between me and America's sweetheart—well, that had an expiration date. She had her own problems to attend to, and Ryan McDonnell was going to be the guy to help her do it. I was the paid help, and I needed to remember that.
She'd looked disappointed when I'd let her know I was heading to bed.
But I couldn't worry about that. Not now.
I woketo the sun streaming brightly through the windows of my room, and a madly buzzing phone.
The number wasn't one I knew, but with everything going on in my personal life I couldn't afford to screen calls. I answered, trying to sound awake. "Hello?"
"Jace Morgan?"
"Yeah. Who's this?"
"Captain Andrews. LAPD. You got a brother? Jarred?"
Relief and worry spiked through me, forcing me to my feet. "Yes sir." My military background kicked in. The guy on the other end of the phone was probably just a regular guy, but putting the title of "captain" before his name when he'd identified himself had me seeing captain's bars and getting ready to salute.
"We've got your brother in custody. He's not in good shape though. Can you come down to First Memorial Hospital today?"
"He's in custody at the hospital?" I asked, feeling like this guy probably thought I was a little slow. I'd expected to hear Jarred was in jail. Not the hospital. Any anger I’d felt at my little brother dissolved.
"Yeah, he got beat up pretty good."
"I'm on my way," I told him. "Anything else?"
"Nah, just come down here. We'll fill you in."
I didn’t know what to feel as I pulled on my jeans and grabbed a shirt from the back of the chair in the corner. I had no idea what I was going to find at the hospital, but I knew I couldn’t call my mother until I knew how Jarred was.
I'd have to ask Chad to cover for me again today. I was shoving my wallet and phone into my pocket as I came out of my room and nearly ran Juliet right over. She was just passing my door, dressed in yoga pants and a tight tank top that distracted me from my worries momentarily. God, she looked good.
"Hey," she said, her voice soft and light. "Everything okay?" She must've read the worry on my face.
"I'm not sure, actually. They found my brother."
Her eyebrows lifted hopefully. "Oh?"
"He got beat up. He's in custody but he's at the hospital. I need to go."
"Of course. Go. Want me to come?" Her hand was on my arm, and we were both looking down at her slim fingers laid across my skin.
I thought about having Juliet with me. It would feel good to have her at my side. Having someone else in it with me would be nice. But if that someone was Juliet ... I could already see the photographers, the regular people turning to stare. "Probably not a great idea. Thanks though," I told her.
She let me go, sighing lightly. "Of course. Yeah." A cloud passed over her face before she managed to pull the smile back into place. "Take whatever time you need. Call me if you want," she said.
"Okay. Thanks." I turned, heading down the stairs ahead of her. It felt awkward to just walk away from her, like there should have been some more official goodbye. But what? A hug? A kiss? All the things I wanted were impossible where she was concerned. It was better this way.
At the hospital,I gave my brother's name and was directed up to the third floor. His room was easy enough to find, it was the one with the police guard sitting outside the door, a sight that made it clear exactly how much trouble my brother was in. I identified myself and the guy radioed someone, the captain, I guessed. I was directed to wait.
"Can I see my brother?" I asked.
"Captain said you see him first." The guard sat back down and pulled his magazine back in front of his face.
I tried to tell myself Jarred must be okay—stable at least, and settled into a chair to wait. It wasn't long before another cop appeared, this one tall and thin with an air of authority that told me he was in charge, and after chatting with the guard, he turned my way. "Jace?"
I stood. "Yes sir. Captain Andrews?"
