He started for them, pointing at me. “The guys miss you. They want to rib you about Sebastian. You know that, right?”

The group overheard him, and Rome yelled over, “Yeah, when are you going to finally smash that pretty face of his? I thought you were the all-star fighter, Kade?”

I shot back, heading for Logan, “You hit like a two-day-old kitten, Rome. You’d have better luck sneezing on him.”

He groaned. “I should. That’s my new weapon if someone gets in my face. Watch out. Here come my germs.”

A couple of the other guys started laughing, but I got inside. Logan shut the door, crossed his arms over his chest, and lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t say a word. I felt like I was being schooled by Mama Malinda.

I asked, “What?”

The corner of his mouth curved up. “Where have you been all night, son? I’ve been worried sick. I’ve been sitting in this living room, waiting for you, since the crack of dawn.”

“I’m fighting the urge to slap you on the back of the head.”

He dropped the facade and moved back, holding his hands up. “I surrender. Sorry. Thought some parental acting might make you feel loved.”

“Is that Mason?” came from the second floor. “Is it? Logan? Is that Mason?”

I jerked a thumb up the stairs. “I take it Nate’s awake?”

“Yeah.” Logan’s scowl came back. He glared up to the ceiling and gave it the middle finger. “That’s what has had me up since the crack of dawn. He’s been yelling for you half the night.”

“Really?”

“Mason, I want to talk to you…if that’s you.” He paused. “Come up here if it is!”

A roar ripped from Logan, “Shut up!”

There was silence.

“You shut up! Mason? Is that you?”

Logan drew in an angry hiss and let loose, “Mason died! You’re stuck with me, Monson! How are you going to handle that?”

Another beat of silence.

“That’s not funny! You’re not funny all the time, Logan! You’re not funny half the time. How’s that? You think that’s funny?”

“Oh.” Logan went to the stairs, but he waited at the end. He continued to shout upward, “So original, Nate! You know what else is original? If I flushed your pain pills down the toilet. That’d be real original.”

“You—” he choked off. He sputtered out, “That’s horrible. That would really be horrible. I can’t even—I’m like this because of you and Mason. All the time, it’s me. I get in the car accident. I get blackmailed. I get threatened. I get beat up. I’m sick of it! I want you guys to finally get hurt and feel what it’s like…” His voice faltered.

Logan jabbed his finger in the air. His glare didn’t lessen from when Nate was yelling back at him. Logan said to me, “That’s his attitude. He said he’s fed up with being the punching bag. He’s taken our beatings for the last time. He’s been griping about this shit since three. Where the hell were you anyway? Seriously. I am ticked that you’ve been gone.”

Dropping my keys on the table, I figured it was time to deal with this. No early morning run and no breakfast with the team. It was time to do damage control with my own best friend. I said to Logan, “I went to see Sam. She called yesterday, and I never returned her calls.”

“Oh.” He frowned. The hostility was instantly gone. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah. She went on a run. Her roommate somehow got her into the gym where there’s a running track.”

“Yeah? The model roommate?”

I gave him a look. “The chick you want to bag, yes. But I doubt it’ll happen. She’s infatuated with me.”

“No way.” He was quick to protest. “She’s got a football boner for your stats. That’s it. The chick is cool.”

I gave him a questioning look. “The chick is weird and awkward.”

“See? Football boner.” He pointed to my junk. “Show her the goods, and it’ll probably cure her of her stupids.”

I punched him. “You show your dick.”

“Ouch.” He shot me a dirty look. “What was that for? And she doesn’t have a football boner for me. Seriously, Mase, the girl is wacky about football. That’s all it is. She doesn’t like you like that.” He quieted, his eyebrows pinching together. “At least, I hope not. Otherwise, you really can never bone Sam in her own room.”

“Mason?”

I glanced up the stairs. Nate was right about some of it. He got the brunt of a lot of payback that was headed our way. Some of it was accidental, and some of it was because he was the nearest link on our chain. He was owed an apology, at least from me.

I pointed upstairs. “I should go deal with him.”

Logan crossed his arms over his chest.

“You’re not coming?”

His only response was, “Good luck with that.” He dropped the clipped tone. “I have to go to class anyway.”

“Okay.”

I started up the stairs. As I got to the floor, a girl came from Logan’s room. She was freshly showered and was straightening her shirt. She didn’t notice me at first, so she almost walked into me. I caught her by the shoulder and pushed her back. She gasped, her eyes wide in shock, and then she relaxed when she saw me.

“Oh. Sorry.” She sounded breathless. “You’re Mason, right? Logan’s brother?”

I nodded.

“Mason?” Nate didn’t sound as agitated. “You out there?”

“Yeah. Hold on.”

“Oh, good.” He was relieved. “Finally.”

The girl tilted her head to the side, studying Nate’s closed door. “He’s been yelling for most of the night. Logan gave me some earplugs, so I could sleep through it, but I didn’t know he was still yelling.”

I didn’t want to know anything. Not where she came from. Not who she was. Not how she came to be in our house or how Logan picked her up. The girl looked too chatty.

I pointed downstairs. “He’s down there. Hurry. Catch him.”

“What?”

“Please.”

I wanted her gone. Having randoms in the house was normal but not when we just brought Nate home from the hospital.