It was the same fucking truck.
It would have brought me to my knees if I hadn’t been driven by hate.
Hate for the man responsible for everything.
None of this would have happened if it weren’t for him. Not the tragedy nor the spiral.
He laughed a callous sound, sneer ripping between me and Brody. “Came here for what’s owed to me.”
I tried to stop myself, but there was nothing I could do but let my attention skate over my shoulder, praying Elena would do what I told her and take Kai back inside.
Terrified she wouldn’t since I saw the look on her face.
The way she’d gone cold, color draining from her face like the last drops of blood from a body.
Her own traumas had begun right here with this piece of shit, too.
Surprise nearly reared me back when I saw Brinley holding Kai, and she was dragging Elena along behind her with her other hand.
Hustling them away and out of sight.
I couldn’t even grasp the feeling that rose up in me then.
Complex and complete.
Chest tightening and stomach swimming.
She was protecting them.
I turned back to the scum standing at the edge of my property, hands curled into fists to stop myself from reaching out and choking the life out of him.
That one memory spinning through my brain on a circuit was his only saving grace.
It’s your heart. It’s your heart.
But I wasn’t feeling so graceful right then. The sight of him enough to stamp out that last bit of humanity.
Knew Brody had none of it. Not with the way every muscle in his body was strung like a bow.
An arrow set on a course to impale.
He was barely old enough to remember, and it was this shitbag who’d robbed him of the opportunity for those memories.
I cocked my head. “And what is it you think is owed to you?”
“The kid or money. You know the score. You don’t get what you don’t pay for.”
I scoffed. “Fucking rich from the likes of you.”
He let his gaze roam the front of the property, over the row of bikes and the gathering of my men. I nearly came out of my fucking skin with him even possessing that bare knowledge, but I forced myself to toss out a stance of not giving a fuck.
He turned his scorn back on me. “Looks to me like you turned out like your pop, after all.”
My spirit howled, but I kept up that quickly disintegrating cool. “Nah, doubt something so insignificant could make much of an impact.”
“Huh. Funny since you’re making an awful big stir about this.”
“Not about you. It’s about that kid. He’s what matters. And I’m going to tell you once more, and after that, there will be no further warnings.”
