Page 3 of Crazy in Love

“You show up once or twice the whole time she’s sick and presume to know what she wanted? You think you have any right to second-guess her wishes? Well.” Faith advanced. “You do not. Not now anyway.”

She had never seen her older sisters at a loss for words, and some perverse sense of accomplishment ran through her as they wordlessly turned on their heels and left.

“Holy crap, Faith,” Tess said. “That was awesome.”

“Can you believe them?” Faith said, sitting again.

“Don’t listen to your sisters,” Alex said. “You can do anything you put your mind to. And Tess, Juliet, and I will help you with the business-y stuff until you figure it out.”

“Alex is right,” Holly said. “Screw them.”

Faith’s friends would always stand up for her. That’s what best friends did. But she also had to concede that her sisters made a good point. She hadn’t the faintest clue about business.

Tess’s phone buzzed, and she got up and walked away to take the call. When she returned moments later, all the color had left her face, and Faith knew immediately it was more bad news.

“What’s wrong?” Faith asked, rising to go to her.

“My brother’s been shot,” Tess said. “I gotta go.”

CHAPTER TWO

Nick Walker cracked open an eye, which took a lot more effort than it should have. Disoriented and groggy, he searched for the source of the incessant beeping. His thoughts felt mired in mud and came slowly. Where was he? What was sitting on his chest? Why did his leg hurt so bad? And who were the people huddled around him?

“Hey,” a vaguely familiar voice said. “He’s waking up.”

The huddlers leaned in closer, blocking the bright overhead light. “Sweetheart?”

“Mom?” Nick strained to get out, his voice gravelly. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Nicky,” his mom said on a sigh. “We came as soon as we heard.”

“Heard what?” Nick got the other eye open and, in a haze, realized his whole family—his parents and two sisters—had gathered around him.

“Son,” his dad said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You were shot. You just came out of surgery. They removed the bullets, but you’ll be down for a while.”

Slowly, little details inched their way through the fog that had engulfed his mind. The assignment to work with the DEA. His doubts about their plan of action. He and his partner getting sucked into an ambush and shot.

“Andy?” he asked.

His parents shared a look before anyone answered. The hesitation told him all he needed to know, and a new pain stabbed at his heart.

“He didn’t make it,” his dad confirmed. “I’m sorry, Son. The doctors did everything they could.”

Nick nodded and let the drowsiness take him under, sinking back into oblivion.

The next time he woke, he remembered quickly where he was and why. His younger sister Tess sat in a nearby chair.

“Tessy?”

She hurried to his side. “Nick. Do you need something?”

“Water?” he croaked.

From a plastic pink pitcher, she poured a small amount of water into a tiny paper cup. “Doc says only a little at first,” she said, tipping the cup to his lips. He gulped down the few teaspoons and sighed.

“Details.” Talking hurt his chest, so he said as little as possible. Tess was the youngest but least dramatic and most matter-of-fact one of the family. She’d know what he meant, and she’d give it to him straight.

“I don’t have any specifics about what led up to it, but whatever mission you were on went sideways. Andy was killed. You and five other agents were wounded. You’re the worst. The rest were pretty minor,” she said.

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