Free Harvest Moon by Lisa Kessler Page B

noticed the cut over his eye was healed, no swelling around his lower lip, and his hair was longer.
    “I’m Jared, Jason’s brother.” He put his hands up in mock surrender. “Not here to hurt you.”
    I glanced at the knife and set it on the counter by the cheese. “What is it with all these twins? Is it in the water here?”
    He shrugged with a crooked smile. “We’ve got a few of them in our family.”
    “Where’s Jason?”
    He sobered a little and crossed to take a stool at the bar. “I ask that a lot lately. He called to see if I could watch the place while he…worked out a few things.”
    I rolled my eyes and opened the box of crackers. “He told me he’s boxing.” I laid some crackers out on a plate and started cutting cheese. “Why would a doctor take that kind of risk? He knows what that does to your motor function when you take all those blows to your head, not to mention the beating on your hands.” I glanced toward Jared. “Sorry. It’s not really any of my business anyway. Want some cheese and crackers?”
    “I’m never one to turn down food.”
    I cut a few pieces of cheese and laid them on the crackers before walking it over to the bar. “So did your brother tell you why I’m his prisoner?”
    Jared raised a brow as he picked up a cracker from the plate. “He didn’t mention anything about a prison, but he did tell me Nero is looking for you. I don’t know your connection to them, but they’re dangerous. That’s why I agreed to hang out here until he got back.”
    “My connection. Short answer?” I took a bite and tried not to notice the way he studied me. “They killed my roommate. I found her. Now they want to keep me quiet.”
    He swallowed and shook his head. “I’m sorry you got sucked into their web. How’d you end up in Reno?”
    “Sebastian sent me a new ID and told me to come to Reno. If there was trouble, he told me to find Adam. I did that, but Adam doesn’t believe me so…” I shrugged.
    Jared rested a forearm on the counter. He had the same strong, solid build as Jason, but he wasn’t as cut. His muscles weren’t from a gym. His tan skin and rough hands told me he worked outside.
    “Jason told me you helped save our dad the day he was attacked.”
    I nodded. “I work in the medical center by his office. Can I ask you something?”
    “Sure.”
    “Why isn’t your father in the hospital? Jason told me he’d admit him that day, but he never did. Why did he lie to me?”
    “He had to tell you something.” Jared got up from the stool. “You probably wouldn’t have accepted the fact that our family can’t go to the hospital.”
    “What do you mean? Is it your religion? He’s a doctor. He knows your dad needs professional medical care.”
    “Yeah, he does.” Jared walked to the window, his back to me. “Why do you think he’s out there somewhere getting his face beat in?”
    “That makes no sense.”
    “Doesn’t have to.” He glanced over his shoulder. “He’s a doctor. But having the answers doesn’t mean you can solve anything. Our family is…” He focused out the window again. “It’s complicated.”
    “Has your dad regained consciousness?”
    He stared into the darkness. “No.”
    My chest tightened. The chances of his father waking up now were extremely slim. The brain damage must have been too severe. Jason would know that. Had he told the rest of his family, or was this a burden he’d been carrying all alone?
    I walked out of the kitchen and sat on the couch. “I’m sorry.”
    “Yeah, I am, too.” He came over and sat at the other end of the sofa. “Your family must be worried about you.”
    I hoped he didn’t notice my shoulders tense up. “I don’t have a big family like you. What’s left of mine is still in Hawaii. I’m on my own.”
    “Do they know you’re in trouble?”
    I thought of the message I’d sent Grandma Nani through our family aumakua . “I think so. I’m trying to keep them out of it.”
    “Family