Page 114 of Dead Serious with Benefits
“What were they?”
“Mason asked me what would happen if you removed the support beams from a building or the keystone from an arch. Moira said that losing a sibling would be like losing a limb, losing her son would be like having her heart ripped from her chest, and losing Mason would be like removing the sun.”
“Huh,” Ward grunted thoughtfully. “And the joke answers?”
“They both said something to the effect that they would finally have peace and quiet.”
Ward laughed. “From what I’ve learned of them, that’s on brand.”
“Yes,” I said fondly. “They’re not happy unless they’re getting on each other’s nerves, but they wouldn’t know what to do if they didn’t have the other in their life.”
Ward smiled, then it turned down a little at the corners. “I suppose that’s what it’s like, having siblings...having a family. Hell, it took me nearly bleeding out on her dining room floor for my mother even to show she cared. I wonder what it would have been like, growing up with a family like yours.”
“Well, if it makes any difference, Matilda has been trying to talk Jace and Kayden into playing security for you at the hotel,” I said with a smirk. “And she’s been trying to talk Moira into setting something up that prevents easy access to your floor without violating safety codes.”
“I...really?” he asked, his eyes going wide.
“Oh yes,” I chuckled. “She also said that after you get out of here, you’re required to come to our family dinners from now on. As she put it, anyone who’s willing to get gunned down for the sake of one of her kids is part of the family, whether or not you and I are together.”
“Boy, if I’d known it was that easy to get a family, I might have tried to get shot a long time ago. Though if I’m honest, it’s a miracle I haven’t been shot before.”
“You do have a way with people,” I said.
“I’ve never heard you complain,” he said, and although he was doing a good job of acting like he was pouting, I wasn’t buying it for an instant.
I smirked. “You’ve forgotten someone.”
“I have?” he asked, and then his eyes widened, his mouth falling open. “Holy shit, Will!”
I snorted. “Yes, Will. It seems everyone forgot him. I totally forgot we left him outside to wait for us.”
“God, I’m going to assume he’s safe,” Ward said, rubbing his face. “Christ, I forgot all about him. Do not tell him.”
“It turns out he missed the entire thing.”
“What, how?”
I grinned. “He was sleeping in the back of the limo. He woke up after I’d left with you in the ambulance.”
Ward stared at me. “You’re joking.”
“I am not.”
“We were fighting for our lives, and the whole time he wasasleep?”
“Indeed.”
“Never mind, you can tell him I forgot all about him.”
I laughed. “Just say you’re relieved he’s okay and you can give him hell for it later.”
He scowled. “Fine. He’s still a bastard.”
“Of course,” I said and laughed when he gave me a suspicious look.
His expression changed slightly as the seconds passed, and then turned pensive. “But, uh, I heard the entire conversation you had with my mother.”
“I assumed as much,” I said, poking him gently in the stomach. “Brave enough to take a bullet for me but not brave enough to deal with your mother.”
