Rev (Jack 'Em Up #4) by Shauna Allen

think of nothing more painful than talking to the families of the brothers who were dead because of me.
    “It was time, man. You might want to do the same. It might ease some of your burden.”
    Only Wyatt Dempsey understood that burden. How could he even suggest I open that wound again? I shook my head and looked away.
    He said nothing else about it as we ate, but his words were burning a hole in my gut. Suddenly, the pain I’d run so far from was up close and personal and I was struggling to focus. I tried to listen as he talked all around the elephant in the diner, throwing in appropriate responses when called for. These past years since the war, I’d learned the art of faking social niceties, but I was getting the feeling he saw right through me.
    Finally, we stood to leave after settling the bill. As nice as it was to see my old friend, I was anxious to be alone. To cope with the ball of emotion he’d stirred up in me.
    Outside, he extended his hand. “Thanks for meeting me, Micah. I hope we can do it again.”
    I accepted his shake. “Absolutely.”
    I watched him slip into his rental and fire up his GPS to get directions to the hotel where he was meeting his dad. He peered back up at me, his face deathly serious. “Think about what I said. I’ll shoot you an email with the family addresses.” He turned away. “If not for yourself, do it for them. They’d want you to.”
    I nodded once, knowing he meant our fallen brothers. I just couldn’t believe they’d want anything like peace for me.
    Dempsey drove away and I immediately headed for the gym. I needed to work out some of this emotion, not to mention the cheeseburger I just ate.
    JD greeted me with a sweaty smile as he jogged a rapid clip on the treadmill. Other than him, the receptionist, and three other people working out, the gym was quiet. Just the way I liked it. I changed into my workout clothes and started with a quick warm-up on the treadmill next to JD.
    He tipped his head to me in acknowledgment as he focused on his breathing. I plugged my earbuds in and started working on a sweat.
    Thirty minutes on the treadmill, thirty with weights, and forty sparring with JD, and I was finally feeling the buzz of endorphins. I rolled my neck as I bounced on the balls of my feet and began to cool off. I swear, if I didn’t have this, I would’ve been insane a long time ago.
    Air like a furnace smacked me in the face as I stepped outside into the bright sunshine. The streets were at a crawl for a hot summer afternoon. Everyone had probably headed south to the beach. As I climbed into my Jeep, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jewel was doing with the rest of her day.
    I decided to find out. I shot her a quick text. The truck OK now?
    Her reply came ten minutes later, just as I was letting myself into my apartment. It is. Thx
    I poured myself a big glass of water and moved to my bedroom. How was ur day?
    I yanked off my T-shirt and grabbed clean stuff for a shower. I kept glancing at my phone, waiting for her reply. It suddenly dawned on me that I’d never been this anxious to talk to anyone. Ever.
    Fine
    I frowned at her answer. Something niggled my mind. We weren’t exactly a chatty pair, but her to-the-point answers just weren’t like the Jewel I’d been coming to know.
    You sure?
    Yes
    That was it. I slid my finger across the screen and dialed her.
    “Hello?” Her voice gave her away.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “What makes you think something’s wrong?”
    “You don’t sound like yourself.” I moved to the bathroom and yanked down a clean towel.
    “You got all that from a ‘hello’?”
    “And your texts.”
    She was silent several seconds. “I’m fine.”
    I sighed. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, I get it. Believe me, I do. But my intuition is kicking my ass here. I think something’s wrong and I wanna help if I can.”
    “Did you leave a rose on my truck window?”
    My frown deepened. “No.”
    I heard her suck in a