Nick, his eyes a little wide, his face a little pale. “Michael. Let him go.”

“Go back in the house,” said Michael. But his hands were already loosening.

Gabriel wrenched free, scraping along the siding until he had some distance from his brothers.

But not enough distance that he couldn’t feel their judgment.

All of a sudden, he didn’t want to stay here. He didn’t want to have to walk past them, to go upstairs and do normal things like brush his teeth and wash his face, knowing that his brothers thought he was out of control. Not just out of control, but a murderer.

He couldn’t look at his twin, didn’t want to find accusation or condemnation or, hell, even pity on his face.

He wanted out of here.

But he had nowhere else to go.

Gabriel took a step forward, throwing the door wide again. He half expected one of them to stop him, to catch his arm or call his name or something. He was ready to argue, to fight, but silence followed him to the top of the stairs.

He’d never felt so isolated. Christ, by the time he shut his bedroom door and locked it, his throat felt tight.

God, he missed Nick.

Knock, he thought. Knock. I’ll apologize. I’ll explain. Knock.

Nothing. Nothing.

He wanted to burn this whole house to the ground.

Gabriel sat on the floor under his window and pressed his forehead against his knees.

If Layne called now, he’d be such a mess that he’d tell her everything.

He fished the phone out of his pocket, staring at it. Praying for exactly that.

But just like everyone else around him, the phone remained silent.

All night long.

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 18

Layne cantered her horse along the path in the woods, the breeze in her face stealing tendrils of hair from under her helmet. The sun had barely risen, streamers of red and yellow filtering through the trees to light the trail.

She wasn’t supposed to be riding out here alone, especially when no one was at the farm. Especially bareback. Especially when she’d left her phone sitting on the tack trunk, and if she had a bad fall, she’d have no way to call for help.

Reckless. She didn’t care.

Looking at her phone reminded her of Gabriel’s note, his handwriting in her notebook.

She’d stared at it last night.

She’d even dialed, but never found the courage to actually call.

The trail started downhill, a gentle slope, but at a canter, Layne had to shift her weight and focus. This was why she’d come out here. Stupid circles in a stupid ring would have done nothing to take her mind off Gabriel.

What had Kara said? He is insanely hot.