Julia thought back to the hallway lights. “Do you guys always have such an electricity problem?”

“At times,” replied Gabe. “If you didn’t hear anything, then why were you over here?”

That was a very good question.

Lucian’s gaze flickered over her face. “I was just coming over to annoy you.”

“At least you’re honest about that,” she said dryly as Gabe roamed back into the closet.

That one-sided grin appeared. “And I brought you food since you decided we weren’t good enough for your company.”

“What? That’s not why—” She cut herself off. Lucian knew that couldn’t be the reason and that wasn’t important. Could the lights have flickered out briefly, creating a shadow? Truth was, she did have her eyes closed and only saw the shape briefly.

Julia didn’t know, but what she did know was she was still virtually naked. “I would like to put some clothes on.”

“Think Flores wants you to stay seated,” Lucian reminded her.

“I don’t care. I’m not sitting here in a towel any longer.”

“Not like I haven’t seen it before,” he said in a low voice she wasn’t sure Gabe could hear.

She held the towel tighter as she snapped, “Not like you’re going to see them again.”

“Is that a challenge?” he asked, eyes glittering. “I do love challenges.”

“Well, that’s a challenge you’re going to lose.”

Gabe approached them, watching with interest. “Is this your robe?” he asked.

“Yes.” Relieved, she reached for it. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Unlike some people, no names mentioned, I’d rather have you comfortable.”

Lucian snatched the robe out of his brother’s hands before she could take it. He handed the pack of ice over to Gabe. “No one asked for your opinion.” Turning, he draped it over her shoulders and then began to feed one of her arms through the sleeves like she didn’t know how to dress herself.

“How’s the head feeling?”

Gabe sat beside her, and a second later, he was the one now holding the ice to her head. In a distant part of her brain, she totally recognized the absurdity of the situation. The brothers known as Lucifer and Demon were currently tending to her like she was an invalid . . . while she was barely dressed.

If her head wasn’t back to throbbing more fiercely, she would probably be uncomfortably and a bit shamefully turned on by this.

“Ms. Hughes?” Lucian said softly.

“Great,” she muttered, holding on to the towel as she got her other arm through the left sleeve. She reached for the ends of the robe, looking up and finding that Lucian was so not looking at her face. His gaze was tracking down her chest, over the slit in the towel. “Seriously?”

The lopsided grin appeared as he reached around her, finding the belt. “I just can’t seem to help myself.”

“Then you need to try.” Ends secured, she glared up at him as he tied the belt, his hands lingering on her sides. “Like a lot harder.”

“So . . .” Gabe drew the word out. “You two got to really know each other when he visited Pennsylvania?”

Julia looked at him sharply, and he suddenly seemed so much closer to her than before.

He tilted his head to the side. “I knew he was going.”

“That’s about all Gabe knows.” Lucian slid his hands off and sat on her other side. His entire left leg pressed against the length of her right leg. “But yes, we did get to know each other.”

Gabe’s gaze slid off Julia’s and centered on his brother. “Not exactly surprised.”

Julia closed her eyes, too tired and head still pounding to really worry about why they were suddenly eyeballing each other. Hell, she didn’t even care at the moment that the first time she’d met Gabe, she’d been naked lying on the shower floor. Maybe tomorrow she’d care but not right now.

Her mind was elsewhere. As she sat there, huddled between the two brothers, she kept seeing the outline on the other side of the shower glass. A small shiver worked its way through her. Could that really have been just flickering lights playing tricks on her mind? Or could someone have been in there, watching her?

Lucian watched his brother show Julia something on his phone and was unable to ignore the irrational spike of jealousy that stabbed him through the gut. Completely ridiculous, but he was picturing picking Gabe up by the scruff of his neck and tossing him through the doors.

Dr. Flores motioned him over to said doors, where he was putting away the equipment he’d used to check out Julia.

“She’s going to be okay, right?” he asked.

“I think she’ll be just fine. Her balance, memory, and reflexes all are fine, so I don’t think we need to pull her in for further testing. She’ll probably have a headache, which is why I left something for her.” He jerked his chin at the unmarked prescription bottle. “If this is more than a minor concussion, which I don’t think it is, we need to pay attention to changes in severity of the pain and changes in behavior that she is well aware of.”

Lucian nodded as he crossed his arms. He’d overheard Flores and her discussing the symptoms earlier. He was still relieved that the bleeding behind her ear had long since stopped and she hadn’t needed stitches. “Is sleeping fine?”

“It is. She doesn’t have dilated pupils or confusion.” Flores turned, facing him. “She should really take it easy tomorrow. Stay in bed. Get rest. That’s the best medicine. She really—”

“I can hear you two,” Julia called from the bed. “Just so you two know.”

Lucian grinned as Flores flushed. “We are thrilled to know your hearing is functioning properly, Ms. Hughes.”

Her eyes narrowed as Gabe sat back in the chair he’d pulled all the way to the side of her bed. “I’ll be fine in the morning.”

“Julia.” The doctor sounded tired. “I understand that this is a new job for you and you want to do your best, but you need to take care of yourself.”

Her lush lips thinned.

“I’ll make sure she rests,” Lucian told him, and he’d swear if her glare were daggers, he’d be dead. “Thank you for coming. We appreciate it.”

“I feel like I need to get a room at your house.” Lifting his bag, he nodded in Gabe and Julia’s direction. “I’ll send you the bill.”

Lucian walked him to the interior door. Richard waited in the hall to escort Flores out, antsy to get out of the house now that the doctor was leaving. He said his goodbyes and then closed the door. Turning back around, he was grateful that Devlin had left the house shortly after dinner. At least he only needed to figure out how to kick one brother out.

Speaking of said brother. He was sitting in that damn chair, staring at Julia, who was fidgeting with the edge of the blanket around her waist. He walked slowly toward the bed. “Do you need anything?”

“No.” She peeked up at him from the stack of pillows that was supporting her head. Her hair had been pulled back from her face, and he was happy to see that some color had returned to her cheeks. She’d been so pale when he first saw her in the bathroom. “I’m . . . God, I’m sorry about all of this. I can cover the bill—whatever he charges.”

Fuck.

Was she really apologizing? The woman could’ve been seriously hurt or worse.

“You don’t need to worry about paying for anything,” Gabe answered. “That’s taken care of. No arguments.”

“Agreed,” he reiterated, feeling a little out of it. Between wanting to rip his brother’s throat out when he saw him standing there with Julia barely in a towel and then his stomach dropping when he realized she’d been hurt, paying the bill for her care was the last damn thing on his mind

He stopped on the other side of the bed and waited until she glanced over at him again. Only then did he sit down.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Making himself comfortable,” Gabe suggested, a wry grin on his face.




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