“I bumped it.”
“Youbumpedit?” Nash repeated.
Nolan pushed away from the countertop and stalked toward me. “On what?”
I lowered my lashes. “It’s not important.”
“On a gun,” Liam said.
I shot him a look. Had he really needed to share thisnow? My brothers were already out for someone’s blood. Now they’d be out for two people’s blood.
Nolan froze. “A gun?”
“Yes, a gun. Can we refocus on the main issue right now? Your bloodlust—”
“Whose gun?” Nash gritted out, his fingers curled into a fist so tight his knuckles had turned white and brown fur was sprouting over them. Over his corded forearms too.
Adalyn gripped both sides of his face, forcing him to look at her. Slowly, his fur receded into his pores.
Storm, nonplussed by the anger electrifying the atmosphere in the cabin, squealed and made grabby hands for my plate of pasta.
I sliced up two more penne on his tray. “I was on my way to visit Bea this morning with Miles when we ran into Liam and Lucas in fur. Miles freaked and took out a gun.”
“And he hit you with it?” Nash burst out of his chair. So much for Ads calming him. “I willkillhim.”
Nolan cracked his knuckles. “I’ll go with you.”
I swung my gaze to our Alpha. “Liam, stop this insanity!”
He popped up an eyebrow, as though he quite enjoyed my brothers’ impetuousness. Probably found it convenient considering his dislike of Miles.
Growling a little, I turned back toward my brothers. “It was an accident. No one’s killing anyone. Not Miles and not Lori. Besides, Lucas already put Miles in a car accident. That was payback enough.”
Their twin blue stares beamed right onto Lucas.
After listening to Lucas’s little tale, Ads narrowed her eyes on my swollen temple. “I still don’t get how hitting someone can be an accident.”
“I got in his way. I was trying to block his shot of Liam to givethis one”—I lifted my chin toward our Alpha—“time to retreat.”
Liam rolled his shoulders. “You actually expected me to back away?”
I blinked at him. “I wasn’t in any mortal danger.”
Storm patted his tray. Instead of pasta, I got up to fill one of his bottles with water. He probably wouldn’t be too happy, but more food would upset his stomach.
As I passed by Adalyn, she spun in her seat. “Why are you decriminalizing what Miles did, Nikki? The bottom line is hehityou. That isnotokay.”
I strode into the kitchen and started banging around cupboards in search of Storm’s bottles. Found one drying next to the sink. “I know, but at the end of the day, I’m fine and he’s not.”
Sure, my head ached, but it would heal. How was Miles going to heal? And I wasn’t talking about the car accident, but about the loss of his sister. Because he would lose her if we didn’t find a way to save her.
I let the water run and run, until it cooled, then positioned the bottle under the spout. As I screwed on the lid, I turned back around. “Can we please refocus on Bea now?” I walked back over to the table and handed Storm the bottle under Adalyn’s watchful gaze. “I’m aware what Lori can do is dangerous, but as long as she didn’t do it out of spite, then she doesn’t deserve a death sentence. Right, Liam?”
All eyes turned to him, including his son’s.
Storm lifted the bottle and chugged a mouthful, drooling most of it out. His nose crinkled, but he drank some more, as though expecting the liquid to magically transform into milk. When it didn’t, he held his bottle out and dropped it.
Just dropped it.
