Page 161 of Brutal
Someone who knows what matters.
And what doesn’t.
The memory hits without warning.
The dock.
The chain already open.
The timing.
The positioning.
Everything already in place.
I didn’t question it because it didn’t feel like something I needed to question.
That’s the part that doesn’t sit right.
I tighten my hand on the edge of the console.
I should tell her. She’s already in it too deep to pull back.
I still don’t do it.
Because once I say Nathaniel’s name I can’t take it back. And I don’t move on instinct where he’s concerned. Not without proof. He’s still my brother. He’s still blood. My blood. My father’s blood. We were taught to respect each other’s place in the system. I may not always like how Nate handles things. I may not always like what he says. I hate that he called Delaney my weakness. But he has his place, and I have mine.
I shut down the monitors so Delaney won’t see what I saw if she comes in here.
Then I hear her. Soft footsteps and then her fragrance.
“You’re already up,” she says.
I turn then. She’s standing in the doorway, barefoot and wrapped in nothing but one of my shirts.
She looks fucking delectable.
She glances past me to the system and then back. “You didn’t wake me.”
“You needed the sleep.”
“And you didn’t?”
“I don’t need it.” I clear my throat. “If you’re sore, a warm bath with Epsom salts will help.”
She smiles. “I’m fine.” She steps closer.
My body reacts before my mind does.
She stops within reach. Close enough that I can see the exact moment her gaze shifts from my face to the dark monitors and back.
“You found something,” she says.
I don’t reply.
“You’re doing it again,” she says. “That thing you do.”
Not this again. “You’re going to need to be more specific.”
