“We don’t want you.” I slow the delivery of my words so they’re unmistakable.
Scarlett screams with fury and slams the butt of her gun in the side of my head. Her blow, hitting the perfect spot, causes me to fall to my knees. My hand covers the injury, and I feel something wet and slippery.
Raven releases an outraged cry and thrusts her head backward into Trey’s face. Her attempt glances off his jaw, but Trey still lashes out. He spins Raven around and throws a punch right into her gut. Raven bends over, groaning and clutching her stomach. But Trey isn’t satisfied with the punishment he’s dished out. He cocks his fist back and sends it flying into the side of Raven’s head.
I don’t hear my own roar as I watch Raven’s eyes close and her body fall to the ground. Shoving Scarlett aside, Knox and I bolt.
The whites of Trey’s eyes become visible all the way around as he sees us coming for him. He points his gun at us and fires offa few shots as he runs in the opposite direction, but all his bullets go wide.
I lift the hem of my shirt, reaching for my gun where it’s holstered at my back as Knox does the same. I squeeze the trigger of my gun three times, but none of my bullets hit him. Knox and I push our bodies hard as we chase Trey through the maze of booths. When Trey is out of bullets, he tosses his gun to the side.
Tired of the cat and mouse game, I stop and aim. Knox does the same with me. With both eyes open, I line up Trey in my sights.
Knox calls his shot. “Arm.”
“Calf.”
We pull the trigger at the same time, and Trey’s body jolts in each spot. He falls like a sack of potatoes.
Knox and I approach with our guns still drawn. He goes right, and I go left.
Trey’s body shakes with the force of his breathing. One hand is trapped under his body, and the other is balled in a fist. He glowers up at us, shooting us with a different kind of bullet. But they have no effect.
“Fuck you guys!”
Knox shakes his head. “It didn’t have to be this way.”
Trey’s hidden hand swings out. The hanging lights glint off the side of the sharp blade. Trey slashes out at Knox.
Our reaction is pure reflex. We unload the rest of the bullets in our magazines into Trey’s back. He’s riddled with bullet holes, and his eyes remain open, unseeing.
I should feel something after just killing my brother, but I can’t muster up even a drop of guilt or sorrow. Trey ceased being our brother when he abandoned us. He didn’t want to be the family we needed, and that’s fine. But he couldn’t let it go. Hechose to come back with a chip on his shoulder and a loaded gun. Trey threw down the gauntlet, and he lost.
“Isn’t the saying ‘don’t bring a knife to a gun fight?’” Knox scratches the back of his head.
I grunt my affirmation.
Knox sighs. “What an idiot.”
CHAPTER SIXTY
RAVEN
My head feels like a drumline has taken up residence inside. I struggle to open my eyes as bits of light make my skull feel like it’s being crushed.
“God, you’re a fat bitch.”
Something rough and cold scrapes against my cheek in intervals. With each scrape, someone grunts. Then I feel the tug on my wrists.
My eyes finally open all the way to find Scarlett dragging me across the grass of the fairgrounds. I have no idea where she’s trying to take me, but it’s not going to happen.
She almost had my son killed. She ridiculed Knox’s scars. She threatened Griffin.
Scarlett played dead for years.
I think it’s time I make that true.
Twisting my hands, I grasp Scarlett’s wrists and pull. She screeches in surprise as I use her weight to help me stand. Spinning my arms, I break Scarlett’s hold, then grab a handful of her hair, yanking her closer. As I shove her head down, I swing my fist into her face.
