Page 62 of Second Shot

“I promised her I wouldn’t.” Blake leans with his back against the kitchen wall, arms crossed over his thickchest.

I place my palms on the kitchen counter, every muscle in my body tense, and let out a slow, even breath, trying to gain some semblance ofpatience.

“The girl is a mess. Sheneeds-”

“Thegirlhas a name.” Blake’s nostrils flare and he gives me a pointed look. “Maybe if you started calling her by it she’d become a person to you and not just an obligation you don’t want. She’s your sister,Kane.”

I grunt, knowing he’s right. I can’t ignore the mess she’s gotten herself into, not when her life is obviously atrisk.

From the other room, I hear Kiley whimper. I catch a quick glance ather.

Fuck.

The girl probably weighs no more than a hundred pounds soaking wet, and her pixie-like face is all shades of blue, greens and browns. Whoever did this to her made sure not to leave an inch of her bodyunmarked.

“She needs an x-ray to make sure she doesn’t have any broken ribs, and she’s going to need at least a couple of stitches for the cut on her forehead, if not a CT scan to make sure she doesn’t have a headinjury.”

“I already called Darryl Scallan. He’s comingover-”

“You called the team’s neurologist? Jesus, Blake, what’s wrong withyou?”

“I’m trying to help her. Which is what you should be doing. She’syourfamily.”

“She’s a junkie. What she needsis-”

He gets in my face, grabbing my shirt and shoving me against the fridge. “Stop calling herthat.”

I push him away. “You’re losing it, man. If this is aboutSam-”

“It’s not about Sam. That’s your shit. It’s about that girl in there. She needshelp.”

“Not arguing with you there.” She needs ninety days in rehab and a total life make-over. But I know from experience that you can’t make someone change. They have to want it. And even then, it’s a long and difficultroad.

“Talk to her, Kane. She’s nothing like Sam. There are things you don’t know. I’ve had a guy lookinginto-”

“I know she gave you some sob story, and kudos to you for caring. But she’s better off in a hospital. Even if she doesn’t have any serious injuries, she has to dry out. I can’t have a junk-” I stop myself from saying the word when I see the fire in his eyes. Rubbing the back of my neck, I shake my head. “I’m just starting to make things work with Brynne. Christ, I’ve got a kid now. I can’t have some girl detoxing aroundthem.”

“She can stayhere.”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “Here?”

“Until she gets better, and we find the asshole who did this toher.”

I stare at him hard. “You’re going to make her one of your charity cases, aren’tyou?”

“She’s not a charity case. She’s a person. A scared kid with nowhere else togo.”

“If she really wants to get clean, I can call Cloverwood. Sam went there once. It’s a nicefacility.”

“She’s terrified, Kane. She won’t go anywhere. I can get her to talk. She needs to be around people who care abouther.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “And you care abouther?”

He takes a breath. “I care aboutyou.So yeah, Ido.”

I hold his gaze for a long moment, then finally sigh. “This is amistake.”

Heshrugs.

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