Andrew coughed at that second and she switched her attention back to him, aware of Judd doing the same. After a few more coughs, her brother's lashes lifted to display familiar blue eyes. "What the hell happened?"
Sobbing, she kissed his cheek. He struggled to raise his arms to hold her but didn't seem to have the strength. "Hey, sweetheart. Come on."
"You lost a lot of blood." Judd's voice. "Full recovery will take time."
She broke away from Drew to hug Judd. "Hold on," she whispered in his ear, knowing he wouldn't want to display weakness in front of the others. "Can you walk?"
A small nod, but she didn't really believe him, not with the way his face was losing color. This was worse than at the cabin. She got to her feet. "Let's get them both inside."
Her comment snapped everyone to attention. Within seconds, Drew was loaded onto a stretcher someone had had the foresight to fetch, and Riley and Tai were carrying him off to the den. Lara hovered anxiously at his side. Dismissing the other men, Hawke went down on his haunches, threw Judd's arm around his shoulders, and dragged him upright.
"To my room," Brenna directed.
Hawke didn't argue and not much later, Judd was in the bedroom. He supported himself, one hand on the wall. "No assistance."
Hawke looked to Brenna. "Is he serious? I'll have Lara in here as soon as she checks Drew out."
"No," Judd said again.
She wanted him in bed. "He's still conscious and able to make a decision," she said to Hawke. "Let him recover in peace and he'll be fine." If not, she would get the medics herself.
Hawke scowled. "If you need anything, holler." He glanced at Judd. "What you did today - I've never seen anything like that. I didn't think it was possible. Get some rest and then we'll talk." He left.
Brenna was the only one who heard Judd's reply. "According to my trainers, it isn't." He swayed on his feet.
She rushed to hold him up. "In bed. Now."
"I need to shower."
About to say absolutely not, she realized he was covered in sweat and blood. It would hardly make for a restful sleep. Helping him into the cubicle, she began to tug at his clothes. He stopped her with a hand on her wrist. "No."
She was ready to push him off when she saw the look on his face. Pure male pride. "Fine." She sighed. "But if I don't hear from you in five minutes, I'm coming in."
Walking out, she kept every one of her senses on high alert as she turned down the bed and whipped up a high-energy drink from a mix Drew often used. The shower turned off after exactly four minutes.
By the time she got back into the bedroom, Judd was asleep. Putting down the drink, she brushed damp hair off his forehead, the tenderness in her heart overwhelming. "God, I love you." She kissed his temple and for a second it felt like something in him responded. But he was out cold.
Shaking her head, she got up and began to pick up the clothes he'd left crumpled on the floor in what struck her as a very uncharacteristic bit of messiness.
Ironically, Drew was up and around before Judd. He came knocking twelve hours later, just after she'd finished breakfast - a bit of a misnomer, as she hadn't actually slept, too worried about Judd. He was in such a deep sleep, she kept checking to see if he was breathing. "How are you feeling?"
"Fantastic for a guy who apparently had half his chest blown off."
She was careful when she hugged him, aware the repaired wound had to hurt. "Drew, you stood in front of that bullet for me." It had happened so fast she still couldn't sort out the sequence in her head.
He laughed. "I meant to push you in front of it. Damn."
"Idiot." Sniffling, she broke the hug. "I love you."
"That's what baby sisters are for." He opened his fist to reveal the bullet she'd picked off his chest. "Do you know the name of this little piece of evil?"
Her gut roiled at the sight of that twisted piece of metal. "No."
"ShrapnelX. Illegal as hell." His expression was pure fury. "It's meant to spread into five sharp points on impact and claw its way through anything it touches." He put it into a pocket. "Which makes me a walking miracle. I'm told it's thanks to your boyfriend."
"So he's my boyfriend now?" A very important concession.
He scowled. "Don't rub it in. Lara says I'm missing some flesh from lower down in my chest and that's just what we can see - it's like he moved bits to fill in the gaps."