of reasons, some understandable, others selfish. Only now did he realize what he’d missed. He’d missed the comfort of familiarity, the warmth of understanding.
“I miss her. Every day,” Jared said solemnly.
Grief welled inside Kai, as pure and visceral as it had been the day she’d died. His mother had been complex, as complicated in her methods and meanings as any human being. She’d made decisions that put them all in a hard place, and yet she’d managed to give them exactly what they needed. Love. Each other.
Take care of your brother, Kai. He needs you more than you know.
She could have said something different, likely would have if she could have seen the future.
Take care of your brother, Kai. You’ll need him more than you know.
“I do, too. Jared, you won’t believe me, but I missed you, too.”
Jared nodded. “I do. You were always a little slow.”
Kai laughed and thanked god he’d had a brother because a sister would have made that moment way too real. He stood up and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s me. Is there any coffee in that coffee?”
Jared spooned in way more sugar than any adult should start their day with. “Doesn’t matter. I no longer have a trainer either. Besides, if I get really fat, maybe no one will want me to be their bitch in prison.”
“You’re not going to prison. And you would still have that face. You would totally still be someone’s bitch. No way around how pretty you are.”
That got Jared grinning. “I can’t help it. I was born this way.”
“I’m not letting you go to prison. I’ve already talked to Harrison this morning. You have to let him help you.”
Jared nodded. “I will and I’ll answer any questions the McKay-Taggart guys want me to. I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I’m sick over it. I knew those women. I liked them.”
“Yes and that’s a key. That’s something they all had in common. I need you to think about them and your relationships with them. What else did they all have in common?”
Jared held up a hand. “But that’s what doesn’t make sense. I had flings with those women. Most of them brief, one of them lasted a month or so. I’ve never touched Lena. Not once in my life. She’s not even close to being my type. It’s one of the reasons I hired her. I didn’t want to get attached. So why break the pattern now?”
“Unless she figured something out. Or she challenged him. I’m going to go back over all the files and see if I can come up with something. The obvious fact is this is a man who hates women.”
“Or he hates me in particular. With the exception of Lena, losing every single one of those women hurt me. Everyone around me knows my ‘call me’ rule. When they didn’t call, I got hurt. What if this is all being done to hurt me? It seems to me I’m the real common denominator in this equation.”
Kai stared at his brother, wondering who the hell had said something so very insightful.
Jared rolled his eyes. “I’ve got a brain, Kai. I just don’t have to use it often.”
Not often at all. It was refreshing. “I think you’re right. In fact, I was thinking about this last night and while I believe this man hates women, I think he hates you, too.”
“Well, then take a closer look at Brad and Tad because Squirrel is practically in love with me. We’ve been friends for so long we’re like an old married couple.”
But old married couples could get jealous. Old married couples sometimes found all that love and familiarity turning into hate. “When was the last time Squirrel had a girlfriend? Any of them, really?”
Jared thought about it for a moment. “Brad usually has a girlfriend in LA, but he cheats any time we’re on the road. And it’s not like the arrangement I have with Jess.”
“What is the arrangement with Jess?” How could he have forgotten about Jessica Hamilton? Jared’s super-couple other half? Somehow it was easy to forget her since Jared rarely mentioned the woman he spent much of his off time with. She was a stunning beauty. He’d seen her on the covers of magazines. What if she wanted to take her relationship with Jared past their arrangement? Would she kill to do it?
Jared sighed. “I’m telling you this because you’re my brother and I trust you, but don’t ever mention this to anyone else. Jess has