Page 110 of Enemies with Benefits
Her eyes flicked away from Kayden to me, and I realized the fear and worry were being burned away by anger. At first, I wondered what she could be so pissed about, and then I put together the fact that she was here, and hadn't been here for the past two days. Which meant someone had passed along the information, and she knew she hadn't been told sooner because of me.
"Micah," she said softly, pulling him back from the room and out of sight. She ducked out of view to say something I couldn't hear before straightening and coming my way. She stood before me, looking me over, and I knew what was going to happen when her shoulders tensed and she shifted her stance. The slap was loud, and I felt the sting across my face. I winced. She'd never hit me before, but damned if she didn't have a wicked arm, which, come to think of it, she probably needed growing up with so many brothers.
"I deserved that," I muttered, not bothering to bring my hand up to the sting.
"You did," she hissed and then lunged forward. Shock made me forget about the ache in my face when she didn't hit me again, but wrapped her arms around me. "But youneedthis."
I stood there awkwardly before bringing my arm up to wrap around the middle of her back and hold her close. It wasn't exactly what I needed, something was missing in the hug, but it was close enough that I forgot to consider if I should have even accepted the hug in the first place. The normal presence ofher mild musky perfume that I’d always thought of as 'grandma perfume' was absent, with only the smell of a mild detergent and a whiff of her floral soap.
"It wasn't revenge, or payback," I said, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes, surprising me before I drew them back. She was dealing with the news of Kayden right now, she didn't need me losing my shit while she was trying to keep hers in line. "I swear."
"I hope not," she said, drawing back from the hug but keeping her hands on my arms.
"It wasn't. I just...I don't know."
"You were being you. I know."
"What?" I asked, pulling back and looking at her in surprise. "No, I was...being thickheaded and stupid. I didn't even know if you two were that close, and I was just...I was wrapped up in this whole thing in my head and...I don't know, I guess this is my fault. Him being here, you not being here, and I just got...stuck. Stuck in my head and I forgot to come out of it."
At that, her lips twitched. “That's what I said, you were being you."
"I'm sorry."
"The only thing you did wrong was forget there are people that care about him, but also about you," she said, her voice, which had been trembling, regained some of its normal sternness as she looked me over.
"You sound like a nicer version of your brother," I said, hearing the whine in my voice but not able to draw it back. "Christ."
"Shut it," she muttered, moving to the bed and sitting on the edge. She took Kayden's hand, carefully getting his fingers into her hand while avoiding the bandages and IV cable, and I felt my chest give another squeeze. "Both of you are on my list right now."
"What did he do?" I wondered.
"Worry about why you're on the list."
"I already know."
"Good, then worry about how you're going to get off it."
"Right...Micah?"
"He wanted to come. And I figured he should be here...for his father."
My eyes widened, glancing toward the doorway furtively while dropping my voice. “Careful." Then her expression shifted to exasperation, followed by guilt, and I grunted. “You told him."
"No," she said quickly, almost too quickly, but while Moira might keep something from me, she wasn't the sort to lie to my face. In fact, that was one thing she and Mason shared. Mason was an asshole, but he had never lied to me. Which begged the question, just how much he had said to me the other night that I should think about. I quickly shoved the idea aside. This was not the time, and honestly, I didn't think there was ever going to be a time for it. Dealing with Mason had been...well, it had been fun, it had been nice at times, but that didn't outweigh all the trouble, all the fighting, stress, and fear.
"Then what?" I asked, trying not to think about Mason and focus on the new potential problem unfolding before me.
She took a breath and glanced my way. "He knew."
"Mason?"
"Mmm, no."
"That doesn't sound very sure."
"I think...I think Mason knew that Micah knew, but I don't believe he told him."
I opened my mouth to ask why Mason wouldn't say anything and then shut it, reminded of what I’d just told myself. Of course, Mason would keep it to himself. If it were anyone or anything else, I might even have been convinced that he'd kept it quiet because he enjoyed stirring up trouble, or wanted to see how things played out. But Mason didn't play games of thatmagnitude with his family, and especially with Micah. No, he'd had his reasons for keeping it quiet, and it was anyone's guess why.
