Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
We shattered that illusion tonight.
I didn’t expect her to be helpful, but then she probably wants to get us out of her face after watching us walk in with Frank between us and Dad waiting at the elevator, looking like he was ready to end our lives. After checking the computer, she murmurs, “It looks like she hasn’t been transferred upstairs yet.”
Without another word, we turn and walk side-by-side to the doors leading into the ER. At the very least, Sarah deserves to hear what happened—if she doesn’t already know. Paul might have been in to talk with her by now. I hate to think of her lying there alone and in pain, imagining the worst.
As it turns out, that’s exactly what she’s been doing, since she bursts into tears as soon as we find her. “What did you do? What were you thinking? I should never have told you anything!” she sobs.
“Hey,” Preston says with a shrug as he sits on the edge of her bed. “Is it our fault the asshole was stupid enough to show up here? He probably wanted to make sure you were protecting his ass.”
“He got what was coming to him,” I add, while staring at the stitches in her chin. She’ll have a scar now, all because that motherfucker can’t control himself. All because nobody ever taught him there are certain things a man doesn’t do.
I wish we had killed him before that nosy cunt found us out there.
“And don’t even try to defend him,” Preston warns.
“No, I’m not doing that,” she insists, with tears in her eyes. “Never again. That’s a promise.”
I hope she means it, because I don’t think I could handle her going back to him. I want to believe she’s smarter than that, but I’m realistic. I doubt today was the first time he put his hands on her that way. It’s just the first time we found out about it.
Her swollen blue eyes well with fresh tears as she looks back and forth between us. “What’s going to happen to you guys? Chief Wilder was in here, and he made it sound like you beat Brody up pretty bad.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her with a smirk. “We can handle it.”
“I can’t live with the idea of you guys getting in trouble for trying to help me.” A single tear rolls down her bruised cheek—how can something that small make my chest ache like it does?
“We made our choice,” Preston tells her while I nod in agreement. “And we don’t regret it.”
“I just wish you didn’t get caught.”
Now the ache in my chest is more like a burning sensation. If it wasn’t for the anonymous girl with a big mouth, we could have gotten away with it.
“Don’t worry,” I grunt, watching my sister cry while picturing the anonymous girl in my head again.
She’s damn lucky I don’t know her name. If I did, I might have to make it my business to make her regret sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong.
3
PRESTON
“Fuck.” Briggs and Tucker exchange a look after we finished telling the story of what happened yesterday. It’s obvious just from looking at them they would have handled things pretty much the way we did. “How is that fucker still breathing?” Briggs asks with a growl.
“And is there anything we can do about that?” Tucker adds before his jaw goes tight. “Because I would love the excuse.”
“I kind of feel like I shouldn’t be hearing this.” Carter tries to keep the mood light, laughing and everything. “Not like I would tell Dad or anything like that.”
As far as I’m concerned, he can tell his dad whatever he wants. I still think it’s bullshit that the chief is okay with letting Brody off the hook—not that I want to stand in front of a judge after what I did or anything. I spent a lot of time thinking about it last night, since sleep was pretty much a hopeless dream. I couldn’t get my brain to shut up long enough for sleep to catch up with me. Not when the memories of Sarah whimpering and sobbing were so fresh.
“So now what?” Carter asks, looking over my shoulder. He’s clocking the girls, who got up to get smoothies or some shit. I wasn’t really paying attention. There’s too much on my mind, but it’s obvious the guys don’t want to talk about this in front of their girlfriends. It turns out there are men in the world who want to protect their women, not hurt them. What a shame Brody never learned that lesson.
My brother exchanges a glance with me before we both shrug. “Dad is dreaming up punishment for us maybe as we speak,” Easton predicts with a smirk. “He’s probably caught up between having us drawn and quartered and putting us up in front of a firing squad.”