“Ask your new friend Kara.” He snorts with ugly laughter. “My niece wouldn’t be dead if it weren’t for her sister’s boyfriend.”
My eyes widen and lock with Wilder’s. What. The. Fuck. He’s talking about Alicia. She’sBrian’sniece? I frown, my head spinning with this newfound information as the other man in the mix finally speaks.
“That kid drank himself stupid over the girl and crashed the car into my little sister.” Fucking hell. It’s definitely Alicia’s brother. Dammit. “Did you know Alicia had just turned sixteen that day?”
I edge over to the window to have another look, since it’s obvious they are fully engaged in their twisted conversation. Kara squints at him. “Did you know Royal wasn’t even driving that night, you fucking idiots?” Her question comes out on a hiss right before Brian’snephewbackhands her. The slap is loud. Vicious. Kara winces hard, but simply glares at him.
Echo tugs on my arm, points to herself, then the window. Quietly, she breathes out, “I recognize that voice.” Without a word, I stoop, belting my arm around her slim waist to bring her up to the window. She grabs onto the sill. “Holyshit,” she whispers in a panicked voice. “It's my English prof's TA. Trent. Or Brett. I can’t ever remember his name.”
I let her back down, waving a furious hand to pull everyone in close. “It’s Brent Redgrave. Your TA is Alicia’s brother and Brian’s nephew, apparently. Echo, he must have been the one to have eyes on you this entire time.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
WILDER
I exhale hard,shaking my head as I watch the scene unfold through the window. I’m itching to bust in there, because the crazy eyes on that Brent guy give me a horrible feeling in my gut. Brian’s an asshole abuser, but this Brent guy… his preppy almost-a-professor exterior is meant to hide something. But he’s only semi-adept at the facade. He seems not quite all there. Unhinged. We’ve gotta do something and fast.
“Stop hitting her.” My sister’s voice rings out loud and clear as she gives her asshole husband a twisted smile. “She’s not used to it like I am, dickhead.”
I blink.Whoa. Where’d that attitude come from?
Brian chuckles as he steps in to take Brent’s place before the two girls. “You’ve gotten quite the mouth on you since you’ve been away. How the actual fuck are the two of you friends after all this? That’s what I want to know. You get that I’ve been fucking her for months, right?”
River throws her head back and laughs. “I hate that for her.”
Kara shakes her head, giving him a grim smile. “I hate it for me, too,Todd. And to answer your question, we were already friendly, so when you showed up tonight and we realized we were with the same insufferable prick, guess what? Instant girlbond, you jackass.” Brian lunges and roughly grips her face with one hand, coming in close to whisper something in her ear that I can’t hear. It can’t be good because she rears back before spitting in his face.
My blood runs cold. Brian lets go of Kara, but with a sick curl of his lips, shoves her by the shoulders so that the chair tips. She screams as her head hits the wall behind her with a deafening crack. The chair topples to the floor with her tied to it.
Oh, fuck. I cover my mouth so I don’t make a sound, then turn, my gaze bouncing among Beckham, Royal, and Echo. As I stare, disbelief pouring through me, Chase lets loose with a wail. “I want my mamaaa!”
I’ve never seen Echo so scared as she is in that instant. She motions to the window. “Let me see.” My throat has gone completely dry as I lift her by the waist so she can have a quick look. From the look in her eyes when I set her back down, I can’t say that she feels any better, having seen her child crying in the arms of that mad woman. Echo’s breathing is ragged, and her hands cover her face.
I rasp out, “We’re going to get them out of there, but we need a diversion. Now.” I touch Royal’s shoulder. “What do you want to do?”
Even though he appears badly flustered by the sound of Chase’s distress, Royal regroups quickly, then points at the empty metal trash can a few feet away. “We knock it over, then watch for what they do. They’ll send one of them out to find out what made the noise, I’m sure of it.”
“Good idea. We take one out of the equation.” Beckham exhales with a quiet huff, rubbing a hand over his cheek, his eyes bright.
I hold up a finger, creeping back to the window to look inside one more time. My eyes flick to Brent as he approaches Meganwith Chase, who continues to carry on, which, good for him. His cries are another distraction we can use in our favor.
“Babe,” Brent barks, “calm the kid down, fuckin’please.” And then… he grabs Megan by the back of the neck, yanks her lips to his, and kisses her thoroughly. I blink. What the fuck?
I glance at Beckham, who is also watching what he can. “That’s?—”
“His stepmother,” Beckham finishes, a disgusted look slides over his face. “Let’s do this.”
With her history, it makes me wonder how long they’ve been fucking around behind her husband’s—his father’s—back. And it’s not important right now, as twisted as it is. “Beck when I give the signal, you and Royal go left, Echo and I will go right. Whichever pair doesn’t encounter whoever comes out to check on the noise gets the pleasure of going into the cabin to deal with the ones remaining inside.” I meet each of their eyes, the love I have for each of them nearly suffocates me. But I can’t let it hold me back or stop me from what we need to do. “Royal, kick theshitout of that can.”
A moment later, Royal boots it, and it goes flying, first crashing against the back of the cabin before hitting the ground, landing with a clatter on top of its lid.
All of us keep clear of the window as the noise draws the attention of the group inside. After several seconds of confusion, I poke my head back up just enough to get a visual. The blood drains from my face as Brian produces a gun from behind his back.Fuck.I should have anticipated a firearm from the filthy cop. I hold up my hand, making a pistol with my hand.
Royal’s quietly murmured, “Fuck,” is all that’s said, but I know that information has reached Echo and Beckham, too, based on their quick inhalations.
“Here”—Brian gestures to Smith that he should take the weapon from him—“go out and see what the fuck that was.”When Smith doesn’t automatically follow orders, Brian shoots a nasty scowl in his direction.
Backing up unsteadily without his cane, Smith’s leg almost gives out. He must have dropped his walking aid at some point—possibly when we made all the noise back here.Good.Anything that throws them off balance. Pun intended, poor fucker. Smith shakes his head, his eyes darting to the women, where River has scooted herself backward in her chair, eyes trained on Kara.
