***Reagan***
Iwokeupon August’s couch the next morning, with Hunter on one side of me and Theo on the other. Charlie and August were stretched out in the chairs across from us. I had a pounding headache and wasn’t sure that my head was in one piece, but my chest was a mess of emotion as I saw them surrounding me. I remembered bits and pieces of the night at first and the rest came barreling in the longer I was conscious.
My stomach turned and my mouth soured. I knew what was coming and tried to get up as fast and as quietly as possible, but I tripped over the blanket that had been draped over me and hit my knee on the coffee table hard enough to knock a few beer bottles over.
August jerked upright, his eyes alert and his body tight like he was ready for a fight. When he saw me clutching my knee and my stomach, tears in my eyes from the pain, he jumped up and scooped me into his arms without hesitation. I groaned and felt chills erupt all over my body just as August kicked open his bathroom door and lowered me to it, grabbing my hair and holding it back as I immediately threw up.
“There you go, baby. Let it out.” He rubbed my back and then looked at my knee, swearing when he ran his fingers over it and I whimpered. “We’ll get you some ice as soon as you’re finished here.”
Shame settled heavily on my shoulders. I’d been a drunken fool the night before and there August was, taking care of me like I hadn’t embarrassed myself thoroughly.
“What does she need?”
I groaned into the toilet as Theo’s voice joined us. “Go away. No one should help me right now. Or see me.”
“An ice pack and water.”
“Tylenol,” I added weakly. “Done.”
August flushed the toilet and helped me stand up. At the sink, he stood behind me, letting me lean against him, while he got a washcloth damp and gently wiped my face before handing me a cup of mouthwash. “Rinse.”
I avoided my reflection as I followed his orders and pouted even harder when he picked me up and carried me to his bedroom. “I was terrible. Leave me to die in my misery.”
He moved us into his attached bathroom and slowly undressed me. He got another washcloth and warmed it before running it over my body. “Never going to happen. And you weren’t terrible. Mostly. You were cute.”
I shivered as the cold air touched me everywhere. Before I could even start to complain, August pulled one of his T-shirts over my head and carried me to his bed. I let him take care of me because I was a selfish woman. I watched him move as he tucked me in and then turned to grab an extra blanket from his closet.
He froze at my gasp and stood perfectly still for a moment before carrying on like it’d never happened. I couldn’t, though. My chest tightened and I sat up without realizing it. My eyes filled with tears as I stared at his retreating back.
Theo walked in with ice and water but stopped cold when he saw me. “What is it?”
August walked out of the closet, his face blank. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I got the message. He didn’t want to talk about the scars that marred his back.
I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat. “Hangover. Sorry.”
Theo frowned but walked closer, handing me the pain medicine and water while tossing the ice to August. “Sure. A few more hours of sleep and you’ll be as good as new.”
Hunter strolled into the room and jumped into bed without any hesitation, settling at my side. I absently scratched his head and studied August as he growled at his dog and leaned over me to prop up my knee.
“Dammit.” August sat back and tugged at his beard. “Give us a few minutes, Theo? Rea just saw my back.”
Theo nodded instantly. “Of course.”
I waited until the door closed to look at August again. He was staring at his hands, both tattooed, like the rest of his body. Except his back. “I’m sorry I upset you.”
He shook his head and met my gaze. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s been a long time since someone saw the scars. I’ve been careful to keep them hidden, without even thinking about it, I guess. It hadn’t even occurred to me that you haven’t seen them.”
I moved even closer to him. “They weren’t there ten years ago.”
He frowned. “Russ didn’t tell you about what happened?”
“We had a don’t ask, don’t tell policy about Lunar. I couldn’t stand the thought of hearing about you three living your lives and starting families and Russ had no interest in telling his stalker little sister about her supposed victims.”
“Fuck.” August moved up the bed until his back was against the headboard and I was against his side. “Fuck us for letting Russ treat you like that.”
“I literally couldn’t care less about that right now, Aug. What happened?” My heart was in my throat, my mind imaging the worst. It didn’t matter that I was in his arms at that moment. I needed to hear what happened to convince myself that he was okay.
“My retirement from the SEALs.” He held me tighter. “A mission went wrong. The long and short of it is that I took the brunt of a blast. I made it out with burns, but I made it out.”