Page 31 of Devil May Hunt
“Not funny.”
“Dude, he’s wealthy, attractive, and most importantly, he wants you. Clearly you’re into him too, or you never would have hooked up with him in the first place.”
“I was wasted!”
“My brother says you were sober enough to make your own decisions.”
“Yeah, well, what the hell does he know?”
“Almost everything.” Rin snorted. “It’s annoying, trust me, but he tends to see things others miss.”
“Even you?”
Rin straightened cockily. “Come on. See, this is your problem, Bren. You’re always so butthurt that no one seems to care about you, but you’re the one who never opens up. If you keep closing yourself off like this, you’ll never find the connection you so badly crave.”
“I don’t.” Who needed connection?
“Liar. That’s the reason you thought you had a crush on me for months, and we both know it. I wasn’t going to say it out loud because I didn’t want to rub it in or embarrass you, but clearly it needs to be said. Wake up. You want someone to love you unconditionally, but you’re never willing to take the first step and try that out yourself. You’ve never loved anyone.”
He didn’t need love. He needed understanding. Those two things weren’t mutually exclusive. His parents didn’t love one another, but they made perfect partners. If their imperfect son was removed from the equation that was their life, they could easily be considered the most content couple on the planet.
He blew out a breath. “This is stupid. It’s a stretch to go from a hookup tolet’s be together forever. How am I the only one who sees that?”
“I think you’re just the only one who’s hung up on it.”
“That’s the problem. No one cares. You say that’s a me problem? But why should I be the one to take that first step?”
“Shut up. This alpha has already done that for you. This alpha clearly cares,” he disagreed quietly. “For the record, I do too. And so does my brother. Look, I’m not saying agree overnight. I’m just suggesting you really take the time to think it over before rejecting him again. You’ve somehow managed to attract the attention of a man with serious power.”
“I have more money than I can spend, what could I possibly want from him?”
“You’re rich, sure, but you aren’t Imperial rich.” Brennon tapped the end of the stylus onto the table. “Think about it. There’s got to be something you want that was out of reach before.”
Well…One thing did come to mind…
“I’m not going to sell myself for material gain.” Brennon huffed.
“Whatever. I tried.” Rin motioned at their stuff. “Let’s call it a day, yeah? I’m too worried about Daylen to concentrate on this bullshit, and you really don’t look good. How about we head to the cafeteria? Maybe food will help.”
“Yeah, good plan.” It’d been months since the last time they’d gotten a meal together, just the two of them. “I hope they’re serving jinx. Maybe it’ll help settle my stomach.”
* * *
They were serving jinx.
But it didn’t make him feel any better.
Brennon clutched his middle and inhaled slowly through his nose, trying to fight off another wave of cramping. Earlier, there’d been a mild fever, slight dizziness, and nausea, but the symptoms had altered.
“Let’s go to the nurse,” Rin suggested. He’d cleared his plate and had been sitting there patiently watching as Brennon picked at his own food. “You seem to have gotten worse.”
“It’s—” a hot flash cut him off and he ground his teeth. His skin felt prickly all over. “Is it hot in here? Why don’t they turn on the damn AC?”
“It’s not hot,” Rin said. “Look around. Most people are wearing sweatshirts over their uniforms. We’re going to the nurse. You need to be checked out.”
Brennon’s multi-slate rang, and he cursed when he saw his mother’s name flash across the screen. He popped out the earbud attachment and accepted the call, despite wanting to ignore it. “Hello, Mother.”
“I need you at headquarters asap.” If his mother noted the hint of discomfort in his voice, she didn’t show it.
