“I’m glad you had someone to confide in, and maybe you can explore it more during therapy.”
He nods. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll come visit.”
“We’re not allowed visitors though I can call you once a week.”
I rub at the tightness spreading across my chest. “This is the first time we’ll be separated for more than a night. It’s going to be so weird not seeing you every day, but I’m proud of you, Ro.” I grab him into a hug. “So fucking proud. I just want you to be happy.”
“I want that for you too.” He eases back out of our embrace. “And I know Emery is your happy place. Don’t give up on her. Fight for her. Show her the man you really are, and I know she’ll come running back to you.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Zayn
“Come in,” I say when a knock vibrates on my door. I swivel in my chair, turning away from my screens as I face Kai.
“It’s time,” he says, and I instinctively know what he means.
Slowly, I nod, gulping back panic and fear. I wipe my suddenly clammy hands down the front of my jeans before I stand.
“Zayn.” Kai steps toward me, his brown eyes probing mine. “It will be okay. No matter what you have done or what you have to tell us, I already forgive you. We all do.”
Uncharacteristic emotion swells in my chest, forcing tears to well in my eyes. “You can’t know that.”
He clamps his hands on my shoulders, drilling me with a serious look. “I do. You’re my brother, and you were left to fend for yourself. You did what was necessary to survive. No one is blaming you for anything that went down.” He pulls me into a hug, and I let him, circling my arms around his back and holding him as close as he’s holding me. “It will be okay. I promise.”
We ease out of our embrace.
“No more lies.” His warning look bores holes in my skull. “And we want complete honesty. Hold nothing back.”
“I won’t,” I promise, walking out of the room with my brother.
Nerves fire at me as I enter the living room, where I find Abby, Jackson, Sawyer, Xavier, and Rick waiting for me. Charlie and Drew are noticeably absent, and I wonder if it’s something to do with the mysterious package. “Where are our other brothers?” I ask Kai.
“They don’t need to be privy to this conversation,” he says.
“We’ll head to the house later for a brothers’ meeting,” Rick adds.
“We don’t like excluding Ro, but he’s safe in rehab, and he needs to deal with his personal demons before we add this shit to the pile,” Kai says, plonking his butt on the arm of the couch beside where Abby is sitting.
Kai, Abby, Rick, and I went with Ro yesterday to get him checked into the rehab clinic, a couple hours after Nessa left. We didn’t waste time after he agreed in case he changed his mind. Olivia was there with her friend to help him get settled.
“We can update him when he returns,” I say.
“Before we start,” Xavier says, leaning forward on his elbows. “Have you given any consideration to our offer?”
“Give him a break, Bright One,” Hunt says. “He’s barely had time to breathe since we spoke.”
“It’s okay,” I say, dropping onto the couch beside Rick. “I don’t need to give it much thought. I want it, badly, but I can’t leave Ro right now. He’ll need me when he gets out, and I want to be here until he’s settled in school.”
“So, work remotely,” Xavier says, shrugging like it’s not a big deal. “In time, if you want to move to Boston and split your time working from home and the office, we can help you find an apartment in the city.”
“Ro isn’t my only concern.”
“Emery,” Kai says, and I swing my gaze to his.
“Ready to explain how you know about her?” I quirk a brow.
