Free Sudden Death by Allison Brennan Page B

expelled for fighting. Dillon prided himself on straight A’s; Jack prided himself on pitching no-hitters. Dillon went to college on full scholarship; Jack enlisted in the army the day he graduated from high school.
    Jack had wanted to be his dad.
    Now he wanted to be anyone but.
    “Take off your shrink hat, Dillon. I’m not open for inspection.”
    “I’ve never tried.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “Shit, Jack, you make this so hard sometimes.”
    “Don’t go touchy-feely on me.”
    Dillon laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Every time we make headway, you pull out the fact that I’m a psychiatrist. I specialize in violent killers, not stubborn mercenaries.”
    Jack leaned against the half wall of the office and gave his brother a wry smile. “How’s Kate?”
    Dillon tensed. “If you think baiting me is going to work, you’re shit out of luck, Jack. And if you think I haven’t figured out what happened, you must think I’m an idiot.”
    Jack picked up his overnight bag. He didn’t need Dillon’s lectures or disdain.
    “I have friends at the hospital,” Dillon said quietly.
    Jack didn’t say a word. His eyes closed. He didn’t want to explain.
    “Tell me,” Dillon pushed.
    “It’s none of your fucking business.”
    “Is family so unimportant to you that you’re just going to turn your back on us again?”
    Again. That stung.
    “I never suspected that the reason you disappeared was because of Dad.”
    “We all thought he was a saint,” Jack said, surprising himself. He took a deep breath and faced Dillon. He didn’t know what he was expecting—his father, a saint, or a shrink, but what he saw was his brother. The brother he once had. The brother he could have again if he wasn’t such a “stubborn mercenary.”
    “He’s human. So are you.” Dillon caught his eye. “I think.”
    Jack didn’t smile, but the tension dissipated. “Tell Ma—” He stopped. What should he say? That his father had disowned him? That her son may have been responsible for the deaths of an innocent family—or that her husband had been responsible? Could the family live with the fact that the Colonel had placed Jack’s career above the lives of civilians?
    “I can’t go back, Dil. Not now.”
    “What happened?” he asked quietly. “Jack, you and me. What happened?”
    Jack shook his head. He had promised himself twenty years ago that he would never talk about his father’s betrayal with anyone, especially the family. Ma loved him, and Jack wouldn’t hurt her again for the world.
    “Dad disowned me,” Jack said, staring straight ahead. “And that’s it.”
    “Don’t leave it at that—”
    “I realized tonight that twenty years isn’t long enough. I also realized that I shouldn’t have let him sever ties to my family. He thought that if he took away everyone I cared about, I would come back and tell him he was right and thank him for showing me the error of my ways and saving my career.” He grunted. “It’s clear now. I made a new family in the army and I didn’t need—I didn’t think I needed—you or Ma or anyone.”
    Jack faced Dillon, jaw tight with restrained emotion. “You’re my brother. I—” He paused. “I want my family back. But I no longer have a father.”
    “You don’t—”
    “I do mean it, Dillon. He told me never to come home. No more. He no longer exists to me. He disowned me twenty years ago, but he still controlled me all this time. Now I’m free. And if you can’t accept it, that’s you.”
    Dillon frowned. “You know this isn’t over.”
    “Yes, it is.”
    They stared at each other in silence for a long time. Dillon’s phone beeped. He read a text message. “Everyone is at Connor’s place. Come back with me. One night.”
    The radio buzzed behind him.
    “Kincaid, you’re cleared. The thunderstorms moved northeast.”
    Jack stared at the radio. Dillon didn’t say another word. It was on Jack now. Did he want his family back? Could he turn his back