She snorted at that, then huffed, “Fine. They’re from my ex-boyfriend.”
My fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. Her ex-boyfriend? When the fuck was this prick her boyfriend?
Rage.
All I could feel was rage. I didn’t know if I was more pissed at her or him. She would tell me his name and then I was going to kill him, slowly. It wasn’t her brother she needed to be concerned with, it was fucking me.
“Duke,” Carbon barked, breaking my train of thought, “You all right, brother?”
My harsh breathing and flared nostrils were clear indicators that I most definitely was not okay. It came out harsher than I intended, but that couldn’t be helped. “Who the fuck is this prick?”
Reese flinched at my harsh tone, then grimaced, cradling her broken arm against her chest. Immediately, I felt like shit. Yes, I was pissed at her, but it wasn’t my intention to cause her pain. Carbon’s big fist tagged me on the shoulder, “Tone it down, asshole.”
Fuck that hurt. Big bastard. “Right. Sorry, Reese. You okay, sugar?”
“Fine.” Oh hell no, she was not retreating into her one-word answers. I knew she did that shit to hide her emotions and protect herself, but she wasn’t doing it this time.
“Reesie Piecie,” Carbon murmured, “I need you to tell me who he is.”
I heard her swallow and take in a deep breath. She slowly exhaled. “His name is Allen,” she paused, seeming to brace herself, “but you know him as Omen.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, everything seemed to happen at once. Carbon exploded. Reese jolted and cried out in pain. James woke up, screaming bloody murder. I hit the hazard lights and pulled over. I took my time bringing the cage to a full stop so I didn’t jostle Reese around any more and give the others time to stop, particularly Phoenix. I was by no means a small man, but I needed Phoenix, and maybe Patch, to help get Carbon under control.
I jumped out of the cage and bellowed, “Phoenix!”
He was already walking toward the cage, but started running when he heard my shout. When he got closer, I yelled, “Carbon!” and pointed toward the door. We made it to the side of the cage just as the passenger door flew open.
Carbon burst out of the car in a fit of rage, all muscles tensed and flexed. He roared like a wild beast. Phoenix didn’t waste one second. He tackled Carbon from the side and took him down to the ground. Phoenix quickly had him on his stomach, but Carbon was fighting like hell. “Get his arms,” Phoenix gritted out, using all of his strength to keep Carbon in place.
I grabbed an arm, Dash grabbed the other. Phoenix kept his knee on Carbon’s back and used his hands to brace himself on Carbon’s thighs. I looked up to see that Coal and Edge had wordlessly joined the fray, each holding a massive calf in their hands.
Patch strolled up like he was taking a leisurely walk on a sunny day. He wiggled the syringe between his fingers and squatted down in front of Carbon’s face. “Yes or no?”
Carbon started vigorously shaking his head no. Phoenix barked, “I ain’t doing this shit again today. You sure about that, Carbon?”
He didn’t speak. He just shook his head yes. Suddenly, Carbon’s big body relaxed. It almost looked like he deflated. I assumed Patch gave him the injection anyway, but then I heard her. Reese. Sobbing his name. “Carbon. No, please don’t. Don’t hurt him. Carbon!”
I dropped his arm and yanked her door open. She almost fell out of the car. She had been plastered against the door, staring down at her brother through the window. I managed to catch her gently and scoot her back into her seat. Grabbing her face with both of my hands, I wiped her tears away with my thumbs. “Shhh. It’s okay, sugar. He’s okay. Phoenix would never hurt him. None of us would. You know that.”
Her lips trembled, her big green eyes were red from crying. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell him,” she whispered.
Well damn, just who in the hell was this Omen fucker?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Reese
Phoenix wanted Carbon to ride in the cage with Coal, Edge, and Patch, but I insisted that he get back in with us. When our emotions ran high, we turned to each other. We only had each other after our family was killed. As a result, the bond we formed was unbreakable and, to be perfectly honest, extremely codependent. So, even though he was furious with me, he still needed to be near me just as much as I needed to be near him. For him, it was to make sure I was safe, especially after the bombshell I just dropped on him. For me, I needed to be near him because, unbeknownst to his brothers, I was the only one who could calm him down when his anger took over. Yes, they could restrain him and lock him down until he calmed, but I could stop it in the midst of it happening. I didn’t want them drugging him or restraining him when a few words from me could pull him out of the red haze. Had I been able to speak instead of screaming in pain when he first started to rage, Duke wouldn’t have even needed to pull over, but all I could focus on was my pain and my baby crying and the situation quickly got out of hand.
The ride back to Croftridge from that point on was uneventful. We didn’t talk about anything related to the letters or the accident. Instead, we discussed what to do with my house in Devil Springs and our grandmother’s house in Reedy Fork. That had me wondering where I would live in Croftridge. I hadn’t even thought to ask about living arrangements. I assumed I would move in with Carbon like I had before. I was concerned about how I was going to take care of James with one working arm and one working leg, both on the same side, which made balancing a right bitch.
“Has Ember kept you up to speed on what she’s been doing with the farm Phoenix inherited?” Duke asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“A little. She said they kept the dairy farm operating as it was, but changed the fake farm into a horse barn and something about growing organic vegetables.”
He laughed lightly. “She converted the fake barn into a stable for horses. Blackwings Stables boards horses and gives riding lessons and has recently expanded into breeding and training horses. As far as the organics go, she took a portion of the land and reserved it for growing organic plants and vegetables. She also has a small set-up for hydroponic farming.”
“Hydro-what?”
