“Simple. My family was in danger. Nothing would stop me. It spiraled out of control. I hate how it went down. But there’s the test of loyalty. Pit my family against Titan, and my family wins. I didn’t question it.”

Jared snarled at him. “I didn’t even know you had a wife and kids. My second-in-command, the dude I’ve worked with for more than a decade, didn’t trust me with that kind of intel?”

“Seemed safer that way.” I was wrong though.

“You’re a moron.”

Brock checked the clock again. Only another hour and thirty minutes until they were back at the resort. He shifted in his seat, and his legs throbbed.

“But Sugar’s got a different take than I do,” Jared grumbled.

“She’s got a different take on life.” What was there to say? Glad you married the woman I almost killed. Sorry I abducted your now-wife.

“Yeah.” Jared’s knuckles pinked as he strangled the steering wheel. “You want to know what she says?”

“Not really.”

“Don’t blame you. That woman’s a ballbuster.” Jared laughed. Real and honest. “But she doesn’t think you should be dead.”

Not what Brock expected. “Why?”

“No idea. Far as I’m concerned, you should be six feet under.”

“You plan on taking care of that anytime soon?”

Jared opened his car door, and warm air rushed in as he got out. Great. Exactly what he needed. Brock followed out the passenger door. Whatever they would hash out, be it scheduling his payback or coming to an understanding, he didn’t want to do it while standing. His legs hurt too bad.

“How we gonna do this, Jared?”

Jared spun and glared. “I should kill you.”

“You’ve never been all talk, man. What’s it going to be?”

With his fists clenched at his sides, Boss Man stepped to him. Chest to chest, they squared off. “I don’t trust you.”

“You shouldn’t.” Brock had never seen Jared stumble for what to do before.

Fury ripped across Boss Man’s face. “I blew up your house.”

What? “In place of what, killing me? Or that just to piss Sarah off so she doesn’t have a home to go to after my funeral?”

A tiny smile cracked across Jared’s face, but he shut it down with a foul glare. “We’ve been through years’ worth of fighting side by side. And shit, I get the do-anything-to-save-your-girl concept.”

The explanation for not executing Brock was about as close to a heart-to-heart as Jared would ever have. My turn… what to say? “I knew that you’d get to Sugar before anyone hurt her.”

“Maybe you did. Maybe you didn’t. That’s not the point.”

“So what is?”

“Titan. Our team. We’re fuckin’ family.”

The reminder was a twisting knife to his gut. “Yup.”

“But the house is a goner. That pretty truck of yours is too.”