“I’m not on leave. I’m here for good. Xander called, and I came.” Hence my packed-to-the-hilt Jeep, jackass.

“Okay, you’ve been back all of five minutes and your father shot you. Does that sound like he should be living on his own?” His eyebrows rose, and he leaned forward a little.

That intimidation shit hadn’t worked on me in a good decade and sure as hell wasn’t doing it now. But I wasn’t going to let him taunt me into a reaction, either.

“It sounded like Xander needed me to come home, and I did. We’re going to make some changes that make it safer for Dad, and we’ll do it as a family. We appreciate the search party more than you know. Thank you for helping us bring him home. We can take it from here.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Listen here, son. You have no clue what it’s been like—”

“I’m not your son.” My voice dropped into that deadly, calm little space I reserved for moments I needed to keep my finger off the trigger. “And you’re right. I don’t know, but Xander does. So if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to head inside. Gid, are you good to catch a ride?”

“Yeah, no problem. Captain, let’s get out of here.”

Making sure Xander was with me, I started up the porch steps.

“Camden,” Captain Hall called out.

We both turned.

“Do me a favor and keep yourself out of trouble while you’re here? Hate to see anyone else get thrown through a window.”

Xander stiffened beside me.

I’d killed lesser men in my career. Better ones, too. His comment had his intended effect—rage coiled in my muscles, ready to spring.

“You have yourself a good night, Captain,” Xander said as he rested one hand on my shoulder, the shotgun still gripped by the other.

Of course he appeased the asshole. Of course he backed down to the place he was supposed to be, the place where everything was safe and everyone knew their roles.

Xander’s place was to make peace. Mine had always been to bring war.

“Will do, Mayor Daniels,” Hall responded.

I clenched my jaw to keep it from dropping.

The two Halls gave us nods that meant different things and climbed into their SUV.

We stood there in silence, shoulder to shoulder, like the unwilling sentinels we’d become, guarding the man who’d never done the same for us. A few moments later, with the searchers and police dispersed, there was only one car I didn’t recognize in the driveway.

“So, Mayor Daniels, huh?” I asked my brother as we turned to climb the rest of the steps.

He shrugged.

“Seriously? You’re not dishonest or power hungry enough to be a politician. Trust me—I’ve met my share.”