“Okay, I’ll give you guys two minutes, and then if you’d like to join me in your dad’s room, I’ll have an update.” He waited until we both nodded and then disappeared.

The guards didn’t.

“Unbelievable,” I seethed.

“I could say the same thing,” Xander snapped under his breath. “We’re not kids anymore, Cam. I barely kept you out of jail the last time you were here. It took me giving Hudgens ridiculous boardwalk space in the historical district to keep him from pressing charges.”

I might not have winced outwardly, but the emotional blow hit its mark. “You could have pressed them, too.”

“I would never, and you know it. I love you. You’re my little brother. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. But we’re adults now, and I can’t shield you from every consequence.” His entire posture softened. “Cam, you gotta work with me here.”

“You let them put a tube down his throat.” I reached for my hat and cursed inwardly yet again when one wasn’t there. At least when I was on a mission, the weight of the Kevlar grounded me, took away that one nervous tell I’d never been able to get rid of out of uniform.

“Yeah, I did. It was that or let him die. Don’t even say it. I’m well aware that you would have let him die.”

“I hope that I would have given him what he wanted, no matter how hard it would have been. But you know what? Up at the house, I helped you. I’m partially responsible for this, and that makes me sicker than anything. I get it, Xander. I do. I don’t want to lose Dad. Doesn’t matter how mean that asshole is or how deep his loathing of me goes, I want every possible second I can get to turn it around.”

“So you agree with me?” Wrinkles appeared in his forehead and at the corners of his eyes.

“No. I don’t. I’m saying that emotion can override logic in the moment. I’m saying that you need to take a good long look at the possibility that you’re letting your emotional needs trump Dad’s God-given right to say what happens to his own body. It’s his. Not yours. Not mine.”

“He’s not capable of deciding anymore, and I’m doing the best I can.” His entire face fell, and his mouth twisted.

“I know you are. That’s what makes this so damned hard. Now, let’s go hear what the doc has to say.”

“You’re not going to rip the tube out of his throat?” Xander questioned with a sad tone but sarcastic rise of his eyebrows.