Madoc growls at me, “We’re not ready to talk to you yet because you’re just going to double-down.” Then he steps toe-to-toe with Lucas. “You know why? Because she’s twenty-one years old. She’s a kid.”
I push around Lucas. “I’m not a kid!”
“He can speak for himself!” Madoc turns red.
I suck in a breath, Madoc’s howl something I’ve never really heard before.
“If he dares,” Madoc bites out.
I dart my eyes to Lucas, seeing the pain on his face. The pinch between his brows and the…shame in the way he looks down for a moment. He would rather die than have Madoc hate him. How can my brother talk to him like that? My chin trembles.
“Was this your idea?” Madoc charges, glaring at him. “A place of her own where you could seduce her away from her family?”
“Oh, come on, man,” Lucas explains. “It’s not like that.”
“I’ll tell you what it is like.” Madoc is almost spitting out his words. “She idolized you. Idolized an idea of you so much that she never entertained anyone else. She was in love with a dream!”
I can’t help it. The tears spill. If he gets in Lucas’s head…
Madoc continues, “And she’s going to give her life to you until you realize she’s too young and too devoted to someone who’s a figment of her imagination. All because you were horny.”
“I would never use Quinn like that!”
“You left for eight fucking years because this place wasn’t good enough for you!” Madoc rails. “What’s changed?”
Lucas’s tone turns solemn. “That’s not why I left.”
But my brothers aren’t listening. “I never thought you’d do something like this. You’re gonna hurt her,” Madoc tells him, “because you have nothing in common with someone just beginning their life.”
Lucas falls silent, and I look at him, waiting for him to fight back. Nausea racks my body.
He’s not going to hurt me. Lucas knows that. He’s not going to leave me.
I frown at Madoc. “Don’t talk to him like that.”
But my brother doesn’t even know I’m here anymore. He tells Lucas, “I have no fucking clue who you are anymore. I’m at a loss.”
Pain hits Lucas’s eyes, and I’m about to kick them out. Call Farrow and have him get them out of here, I don’t know.
But Lucas turns his gaze on me, and I have to hold back the sob in my throat as a crushing feeling hits me. That he thinks there’s no way out of this, and Madoc will hate him forever, and everything is ruined.
A knock lands on the front door, and it takes a moment for anyone to move. Jax finally goes over and opens it.
“Is Lucas Morrow here?” a hard voice asks.
We look over, seeing Shelburne Falls police officers standing on my porch. People loiter in the street below, watching.
Jax looks back at us, and the first cop walks in, addressing Lucas. “Mr. Morrow, you’re under arrest for the murder of David Miller.” Both cops approach. “You need to come with us.”
The first one—I think his name is Jesse Stevens—pulls out handcuffs.
I shake my head. “No.”
Madoc’s eyes shift from anger to confusion. “What the hell’s going on?” he barks.
A fist tightens around my lungs as the officer places Lucas’s arms behind his back and fits the cuffs on his wrists. “You have the right to remain silent…” the officer reads him his rights as commotion immediately ensues outside. People start yelling for Farrow, and my brothers move, looking like they’re not sure if they need to stop this or get on their phones.
“Quinn?” Madoc looks to me, his eyes suddenly filled with worry and fear.
