Page 118 of Sweet Oblivion

“You see, when your daddy hired me to kill your momma, he used you like a bond. He needed to pull the money together and told me if he didn’t have it when I came back with proof of death, I could have you instead.” This disgusting man sticks his tongue out like a lizard, and I gag. “I actually hoped he wasn’t good for the money that time. You were young and tight with curves for days. But the fat fuck came through with the money, so you got to stay home. So color me surprised when you showed up in the hospital having been attacked by one player and defended by another.” He shakes his head. Your name had just gone around the precinct not too long ago when you put the miserable bastard in jail, and look at you now. Looks like you came out smelling like a fucking peach.”

He walks around the small counter space separating us and lunges, grabbing me by the front of my hoodie. Ryker’s hoodie. I drop the box as the fucker yanks me toward him, kicking and screaming and clawing wildly to break free. But he holds me there, suspended, until a wild sound comes screeching through the apartment, and I’m thrown to a heap on the floor, my head bouncing off the hardwood as I see Brooks kick Tori.

“Fucking pig,” he groans, and it’s the last thing I see before the world goes dark.

RYKER

Boys, make sure when someone tells your wife they can’t rely on a man, yours has a reason to say fucking watch me.

—Sebastian Beneventi’s advice to Ryker and Maverick

Iwalk out of The Busy Bee with Bodhi’s hand in mine and Hendrix throwing an irritated glare my way.“Not my fault he likes me better.”

“You don’t have to tell him no. He’d probably like Barney the goddamned dinosaur better than me right now because I told him no more chocolate milkshake.”

“No way, right, little man?” I squat down in front of him and smile. “You want to go see Delaney with me?” I look over at the shop to see the lights off and wonder if I missed her already. Damn. Maybe we won’t be stopping by the shop after all.

“Things going well with you two?”Hendrix asks nonchalantly, like he probably hasn’t been dying to ask me that since we sat down at the diner.“You know... after everything with the asshole detective?”

I stand and run a hand through Bodhi’s mop of sandy blond curls. “Yeah, man. It’s good. Better than good.”

“I’m happy for you, Ryker. Don’t fuck it up,”the asshole fucking taunts me.

“Your kid’s going to start cursing any day now. You know that, right?” What the?—

Detective Brooks slinks along the side of Love in Bloom, looking over his shoulder like he’s expecting someone to be behind him.

Or maybe like . . .

I give Hendrix Bodhi’s hand and jog across the street as the detective climbs into an oversized truck parked in front of the shop.

“Hey.” I slam my hand against his window. “What’s going on, detective? Did you need something?”

Quickly glancing between him and the shop, I miss whatever he says, too frozen as I watch flames lick up the front of the window of the shop. A pot hanging by a decorative rope falls to the floor as the rope catches fire, and I bolt.

“Hendrix,” I yell, not bothering to look back. “Call 911.”

People are already gathering in front of the shop. Neighbors. Customers. All shadows in my periphery as I try the door and grunt when it’s locked.

Voices meld together that I ignore.

Someone reaches for me, but I shrug them off.

I need to get in there.

The sign in the front window crashes to the floor next, flames engulfing it, and I make a split-second decision and sprint for the back.

An arm catches mine, and I yank and turn.

Hendrix. His mouth is moving, but all I see is the panic in his face as I grab his jacket. “Delaney’s in there. Tell the cops Brooks was just here. And keep Bodhi away.”

“He’s with my mom. Safe. You can’t go in there,”he signs and speaks all at once, big and sharp because he knows better than to half-ass it with me when my head’s in a war zone.

The world narrows for a split second, and I snap. “The fuck I can’t.”

I shove him back, and lunge for the door, needing to get to my wife.

“The fire department is close,”he tells me, grabbing for me again as the windows beside us shatter.