Keep him talking. Get him to explain. Make him feel heard.
“You said the sheriff knows you messed up,” I say, keeping my tone concerned and nonjudgmental while really fucking hoping Holden’s guys show up soon. I don’t want to think Mike will hurt me, but then… I wouldn’t have thought he was capable of any of this either. “What does he know, exactly?”
Mike’s face crumples. “I took some stuff. From Luc Tremblay’s stupid construction site. Pipes and electric wire. Trash, Rob! Just leftover shit, mostly. Nobody should’ve even noticed it was gone! I sold it. And I… I took some cash from the guys in advance and promised I’d get more stuff from the site. But then I got fucking fired, thanks to fuckingLuc. And now I don’t have the money they gave me and I don’t have a job and I’mfucked.”
He lifts his gun hand and swipes his wrist over his forehead. His entire body’s shaking, and he’s a strange combination of pale and sweaty. The sirens are getting louder, but Mike doesn’t seem to notice.
“Maybe… Hey! Maybe you’ll gimme the money?” His face screws up. “I really need it, Rob.”
A bunch of sheriff’s deputies pour into the backyard. I notice Holden immediately. His face is grim and his gun drawn as he surveys the scene.
“Robbie,” Holden says calmly. “Get out of there.”
I’m not sure where he wants me to go when Mike’s standing between me and the stairs. Besides, I’m standing between Mike and the house—between him and Anna, Kaylee, and Brie. If I move, Mike will have a clear line of sight to the glass door.
Mike notices Holden finally, and his eyes are wild when they finally track back to mine.
“This is all wrong,” he insists, panicked. “I didn’t mean for anything to happen, Rob?—”
“Robbie?” shouts a terrified new voice—a voice I’d recognize anywhere. “Please! Do what Holden says and come here.Please.”
I can see Ames out of the corner of my eye, being held back by the sheriff’s deputies. Even though he’s forty feet away, just knowing he’s here and potentially in danger sends adrenaline surging through me.
“Mike,” I begin, trying to keep my brother’s attention focused on me. “Look at me.”
I don’t move my eyes or acknowledge Ames in anyway, but Mike’s attention swings to him anyway, and so does his gun.
My vision tunnels, and for a second, I can’t breathe. Literally cannot get air past the vise grip around my lungs.
Then Mike shouts, “AmesfuckingAxford! What the fuck are you doing here? This is afamily matter?—”
“Hey!” I shout back, angry and scared enough to get past my fear and thinkfuck de-escalation.“You’re standing in your ex-wife’s yard, terrorizing your daughters, Mike. Is this what you think loyalty is? Is this what you thinkfamilyis?”
“I’m tryna provide for?—”
“Bullshit!” I shout, all my rage and frustration and hurt pouring out. “You only ever think about yourself. Loyalty’s not something you’re automatically entitled to because you share the same parents. Family’s not about sharing a last name. It’s about showing up for people and letting them show up for you. TheAxfordsare my family,” I continue, voice breaking. “The guys at the station are my family.Annais my family.”
Mike blinks at me, confused. It would almost be amusing if it weren’t so fucking scary.Who the hell is this guy who used to be my brother?
“And you keep Ames Axford’s name out of your mouth, understand?” I go on. “Because that man has been my anchor and my home for sixteen years.Hemade me believe in myself.Hetaught me to fight for what I want and deserve.Heshowed me that I don’t owe any loyalty to people who aren’t loyal to me. And someday—” I hesitate, but then decidefuck it. I want Mike to hear this. “Someday, I’m going to marry that man, if he’ll let me, because I am so in love with him it hurts. And we’re goingto have a happy fucking life with the family we build together.”
I hear a sound that’s half sob, half laugh, and I know it’s Ames.
Oops. Spoiler, Amesie.
Meanwhile, Mike’s standing there staring at me, gun hanging loose in his hand, face slack with shock. “But Rob. You can’t— You’re not?—”
I don’t really notice Holden moving until he’s vaulting over the deck railing from below like some sort of superhero hurdle-jumper. The balls of his feet hit the deck just behind Mike.
I’m so surprised I freeze. Mike immediately whirls to face him, and Holden moves to catch his gun hand. But because Mike’s so uncoordinated right now, he stumbles as he whirls. His hand’s not where Holden expects, and he ends up catching Mike’s jacket instead.
And somehow, accidentally—because, yeah, I still want to believe it’s an accident—Mike squeezes the trigger. There’s a deafening bang… and then Holden Axford, the man who’s more of a brother to me than Mike’s ever been, slumps to the deck.
The next few seconds are a blur of chaos and fear. I tackle my brother, shoving him—unresisting—to the ground. Deputies rush in, some flying to Holden’s side, others taking away Mike’s gun and cuffing his hands.
From several feet away, I watch as Ames runs to Holden. He drops to his knees beside his brother, who’s lying on his back, and struggles to remove his arm from his sling.
A dark stain of blood’s spreading across Holden’sshoulder and chest under his olive-green shirt. His blue eyes stare up at the sunset, vacant and unseeing.
