“Then I assume you have a very good reason for making him think so.” He hesitated so long that she opened her eyes to find him looking at his hands. “When I met Delores, I . . .” He trailed off, his cheeks growing ruddy. “I’m a recovering addict. You know that, right?”

Dani knew it. It was common knowledge in their circle of friends. “Yes.”

“Did you know it was Diesel who stuck with me when I went through detox?”

“No, but I’m not surprised to hear it.” Diesel had sat with Meredith as she’d recovered from her injuries the year before. He possessed a gentleness that made Dani’s heart hurt. “He’s loyal.”

Stone’s nod was fierce. “He found me delirious and seizing with withdrawal. Got me into rehab. And never told a soul. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him. So would Marcus. Diesel took a bullet for him in Iraq. Still carries it. Right here.” He thumped his chest with a meaty fist. “VA docs said they couldn’t remove it. Said that someday it would . . . slide. Just a smidge. And pierce his heart. He’s been a dead man walking for years.”

Dani’s breath froze in her lungs as her blood ran cold. “What?” The word was a soundless gasp.

“He doesn’t talk about it. But he won’t go to any more doctors about it.”

“Because he hates white coats and hospitals,” she whispered.

“Exactly. You know that song ‘Live Like You Were Dying’? That’s what he does. He builds houses with Marcus for women and their kids after they’ve run from domestic violence. He coaches the Pee Wee leagues. He volunteers all over the city, trying to make the lives of kids better. He works overtime at the Ledger, finding dirt on lowlifes who’ve slipped through the justice system. He never sleeps, Dani.”

She covered her mouth with her hand, horrified. Yet . . . it made sense. It all made sense. He was a man living on borrowed time.

Which was the first thing she’d address. “How long has he been carrying the bullet in his chest?”

“Ten years.”

She squared her jaw. “That will change. I’ll find a doctor to take it out.”

“He won’t go. And that isn’t why I told you about it. He doesn’t want you to fix him, Dani. He just wants you to want him. That’s all he’s ever wanted—to be wanted. We do—our family, I mean. We want him. We love him. He’s one of us. We’re all a little broken. You’re not the only one who travels with baggage.”

“I know,” she managed.