Chapter 1
Harley
“No, no!” I scream as Rick charges at Jacob, taking him down to the ground as they wrestle for control of the gun.I don’t know what to do, or who to go to first. There’s so much fucking blood everywhere. How the fuck did this happen? How did none of us clock him in the fucking house?So many thoughts run through my head of what I should’ve done as I berate myself, kneeling next to Caspian. Jesus, he looks whiter than he normally does. I can't determine how much blood he's lost or whether the bullet remains embedded in his flesh.
The sound of crunching bones and ragged breathing takes me out of my thoughts as I hear the gun clatter against the wood floor, then watch it skid down the hall. Getting up from the ground, I wrap my arms under Rick’s armpits and pull him off of Jacob’s now unconscious body. “That’s enough. You’re going to kill him,” I warn, but he doesn’t stop. He roars in anger, thrashing against me, trying to get out of my hold, but I squeeze tighter. “Mav, listen to me. What use are you if you arelocked up. That’s not what Presley would want!” I scream as he growls and takes a few deep breaths. A sudden rush of heat flows through my veins at the thrilling thought of killing him, but he’s not mine to kill. Pres should be the one to watch his life drain from his eyes.
Tapping my arms, I let him go as we race back to the others laying on the floor. Brax sits up, holding his shoulder.
“It’s just a flesh wound. We need to get them to the hospital. How the fuck are we going to play this?” Brax asks, and I shake my head, not having an answer for him. My mind is a mess and I can’t think straight.
“We can call Dale. You know he could use the money,” Rick says, and I nod, taking out my phone and dialing my friend.
“Hey, Harley. What’s up?” Dale says cheerfully.
“Hey, man, I need a favor,” I say, pacing the room, brushing my bloody hands through my hair.
“Yeah, sure, man. What do you need?” he asks.
“Listen, there’s been an accident at Presley’s house. My brothers and Presley were shot.”
“Who did it?” he asks, and I take a deep breath.
“Jacob Lee Radley, but before you say a damn word, he is not going to jail. We need to play this like a home invasion,” I spit out, and he sighs.
“Harley, I-I’m not sure I can do that,” he says.
“Name your price. We will get Radley out of here, but I need the ambulances to get here now or they will die,” I say with concern laced in my tone.
“Fuck, man. Seventy-five large,” he counters, and I take another deep breath.
“Deal,” I say as he shuffles around on his end.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes, but in the meantime, I’ll call it in,” he says, disconnecting the call. I look back at my brothers as Caspian grunts, trying to sit up, holding the side of his neck.
“H-he grazed me. I think I was more stunned than anything,” he stammers, and I nod.
“Fucking christ. We need to get rid of Stan and Radley before the cops get here,” I growl as Caspian scoots over to Axel and Presley, laying his head on our brother's chest.Please, for the love of god, don’t take my brother or her away. They aren’t ready to leave this world.
“His heart is beating, but slowly. Her pulse is weak. The ambulance needs to fucking get here,” he spits, then growls as Jacob stirs. “Why isn’t he dead?” he grits, tensing his jaw tightly, but I see his eye twitch from the pain and shake my head.
“Because he deserves a slow death,” I answer, and he growls as sirens blare in the distance.
“Fuck, we're running out of time,” I shout, but it’s no use. Dale comes barreling through the door, gun drawn as he enters the house, taking in the scene.
“Fucking hell!” he bellows as he places his gun in his holster, meeting my eyes.
“Got that right,” I say as he huffs, walking around the room.
“Whose under the tarp?” he asks, but Rick interrupts.
“It’s Stan,” he says as Jacob gets to his feet.
Stomping over to him, I grab the collar of his shirt and press his chest against the wall, caging him in. He looks at me with wide eyes, but I don’t care. He needs to take my next words fucking seriously. “This is what’s going to happen. You are going to get in your fucking car and go home. This shit never fucking happened, and if you speak a word of it, I will hand over the murder weapon with your prints on it,” I threaten as his eyes widen even more. “Oh, and if you come near any of us anytime soon,” I say, licking my lips. “You will find yourself buried next to Stan,” I spit, and he nods as his eyes connect with someone behind me.
“Run, Little Piggie, run. That’s the only warning you’re going to get,” Caspian says through gritted teeth.
Taking a step back and letting Jacob go, he races out of the back door, listening like the good little prick he is. Walking over to the video camera laying in someone’s blood, I lift my boot up and bring it back down, smashing the lenses. I keep stomping until there's nothing left but tiny shards and zero evidence of what happened here.I’m so fucking angry in this moment. I wanted nothing more than to kill that motherfucker, but we have to do it right, and the others deserve to have their turn with him, especially Presley.
