He shouldn’t have reached for me.

My arm moved back. My hand pulled out my knife, and I embedded it in his arm, right in the fleshiest part. His eyes went wide, staring at it. His face paled. “Bren!”

Someone else gasped behind me.

I felt hands on my shoulders, and I growled, whirling around.

It was Hawk. She stepped back, releasing me immediately. “Bren.”

God.

I hated that tone. Soft. Soothing. Like I was a fucking animal that needed to be tamed. Domesticated.

Fuck that. Fuck her. Fuck my dad. Fuck everyone.

My phone was ringing.

I heard it jarring, and then I felt it, and I pulled it out.

Channing calling.

I answered it, “I just stabbed Dad.”

There was total and complete silence on his end. Then, a soft, “Bren?”

“I want him gone. Now.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

He exhaled sharply on his end. “Walk to the bathroom. Wash up, and then go and sit in a cool office. Okay? Can you do that for me?”

My brother would do what he always did. He’d take care of it, and I knew he’d be sending Cross my way. So, because of that, because I trusted my brother, I nodded. “Their air-conditioner doesn’t work.”

“Bathroom. Wash. Sit in front of a large fan then.”

I repeated his words, and I felt Hawk hovering over me.

“Bren.”

“What?”

“Give the phone to Dad, then go to the bathroom. You have someone there with you? Where’s Cross?”

“He’s at the house.”

“Okay. Anyone else there with you?”

I looked and said, “Everyone.”

“Okay.” I heard him bite off a slight laugh. And he repeated, “Let someone go with you to the bathroom, and give the phone to Dad. Okay? I’ll make sure you’ll get your phone back. I promise.”

I had no argument. I trusted my brother.

I turned to Hawk, knowing I was speaking like a zombie, knowing I wished I were feeling like one. “I need you to go to the bathroom with me.”

She was nodding before I started speaking. “I will. I’ll do that.”

I looked at my phone, then her.

Her hand closed over mine, the same one holding my phone. She took it from me. “I got this, too.” She was smiling at me, trying to reassure me. She reached behind her at the same time, and I saw Brock take my phone.

I was okay then.

They’d handle it.

I could go and wash now.

For some reason, I felt dirty, and it was dirt that would never wash off.

Chapter Forty-Four

CROSS

I was in a shoving mood, so when Jordan and I got to Coug r Lanes, I was disappointed to see the doors had been propped open. We swept through, and the entire fucking lobby was filled with bounty hunters. And Trundle. He waved from behind the register, but even he looked stressed.