Page 44 of Coff

The moment my brother’s eyes turn glassy, I know I’m not going to like his answer. “When you collapsed, you stopped breathing.”

“Did you call Mom and Dad?”

Brian shakes his head. “I was ordered not to tell anyone about your condition.”

I let that sink in. Duke and Nelson really must believe I’m dead. That’s a good thing. Maybe I can get close to Delaney now.

“Stop,” Brian says.

I turn to him. “What?”

He’s shaking his head. “This is not an opportunity to try to see her again. Next time, I won’t be there to save your ass.”

Save my ass? I don’t bother to remind him I’m a trained Navy SEAL. I can save my own ass. Although even I have to admit I needed help in that hole.

My brother stands up. “You will be here for a couple of days, then you are to undergo a psychological evaluation. Once you pass that, you are on the next flight back to New York.”

“Psych eval? What are you talking about?”

He glances toward the door again, then back at me. “Logan, you were buried alive. And considering by whom, Reed and I decided you need to talk to someone. If that person clears you, you will be free to go.”

I sit up farther, which hurts like hell and causes me to start coughing. Brian waits till I’m done. “What do you mean,free? Is this an in-patient thing?”

He frowns. “No. But you will stay at my place after you are discharged here.”

I guess I can’t complain. I haven’t seen his new place since he moved to California. But then again, I don’t recall getting an invite. “You’re actually going to let me see your place?”

He frowns. “You’ve been waiting for an invitation to see it?”

I shrug. “You’re not exactly a fan of people popping by.”

A smile tugs at his lips. “Yeah, well, that was when I was with Sara.”

His ex, Sara, was more of a free spirit. And while it seemed good for Brian’s stick-up-the-ass, inflexible ways, her open-door policy for friends finally was too much for him.

“Sorry about you two. I really thought she was the one for you.”

He laughs. “I did, too, until we lived together. It never would have worked. But the good news is that now I have the space for you.”

“Okay, but only for a few days,” I say.

“Reed okayed a week.”

Of course he did.

My brother bends down and unplugs something, then hands me my phone. “Here, he said he sent you a text.”

My phone is covered in some kind of dusty film, and there is dirt all around the edges of the cover. I hold it up. “Wasn’t this in my pocket? Why the hell is it so dirty?”

“Your pockets were filled with dirt. It probably happened when we pulled you out of there,” he says. “I’ve got your wallet at my place. It’s in pretty bad shape, too.”

I guess I am going to my brother’s house. At the very least, I need my wallet. After checking my messages and confirming that Reed has indeed given me a week to heal and get my head on straight, as he put it, I set down my phone.

“I have to go to the office. Listen to the doctors and get better,” Brian says as he walks to the door.

“I will,” I say. And for the most part, I plan to. But maybe not the psychologist. Damn, the last thing I want to do is talk to someone about my feelings.

Feelings. Funny how that word has my mind jumping to thoughts of Delaney. All these years, I’ve tried not to think about her, but it’s been impossible. Anytime I saw a woman with long dark hair, I’d think of her.

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