Page 3 of Branded Betrayal

He paces in front of us, fisting his hair, eyes wild with anger. “They were burning, and you . . . you . . .” With a sudden turn, he glares at us both, his eyes wet with tears. “How fucking long?”

I open my mouth to speak, but the words knot in my throat.

“Six months,” Blaze says in a low voice.

“Six months of lies,” Nash yells, picking up a rock and hurling it at Blaze’s windshield. He falls to his knees and slams his hands against the ground.

Aunt Marg inches closer and kneels down next to him. “Nash, honey, please—”

Nash’s shoulders quake. His eyes are vacant as he looks at Aunt Marg, almost like he doesn’t recognize her. He turns back toward the house, then to me and Blaze. “I can’t . . . I can’t do this.”

He staggers to his feet and lumbers toward Blaze. He shoves him backward, hard enough that he stumbles. “Fucking bastard. You knew to stay away. You promised me. You son of a bitch. Get the fuck out of here.”

I’ve never seen my brother so angry. It shatters me even more.

But he doesn’t say anything to me, doesn’t look at me. He just turns away and stalks toward his truck.

Blaze takes a step toward him. “Nash—”

“Don’t.” Nash’s voice is void of any emotion. He just keeps walking.

Blaze turns back to me. His expression, etched with fear and guilt, makes my stomach free-fall into my boots.

“I should go,” he says, his voice tight.

“What? Just because Nash said so?”

“Your family needs space. I shouldn’t be here.”

“Blaze, please—”

But he keeps moving toward his truck, his eyes in every direction but mine.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, scraping a hand down the front of his face. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

Seconds later, his truck backs out of the drive.

Just like that. Gone.

I watch his taillights disappear, Aunt Marg’s arm around my shoulders while sirens scream in the distance.

Aunt Marg guides me toward her car, her sobs mingling with my own. Nash sits alone in his truck, his forehead pressed against the steering wheel, hands gripping his hair.

Blaze is gone. My parents are dead. And amid all the devastation surrounding me, a painful realization claws at my brain and my heart.

Nothing will ever be the same again after tonight.

Not my life. Not my family. Not Nash and me.

This is how everything ends.

Chapter One

Savannah

Six Years Later

This presentation could change my life.