staring down at my Mac. The car creeps onto screen at the same time as Hunt knocks on my front door.
“They were right there. Right fucking there. All they needed to do was look over their shoulder and none of this would’ve happened.”
“If you want to see it that way, you could also say this never would’ve happened if you didn’t cozy up with my sister and take her back to your house in the first fucking place.”
I ignore the throb reigniting in my head.
I count to ten.
Breathe.
I do whatever calming voodoo I can muster to keep my ass on the bed instead of launching my knuckles into Decker’s face.
“Does it show him following Penny after she left?” he mutters.
I keep every muscle clenched while the video continues.
My fingers twitch as I watch the desolate street, not a single vehicle passing before Penny runs from the house. She’s frantic, and I have to fight a wince at the pain in her features. The pain I caused.
She scrambles into the black Suburban in my drive and doesn’t stop when Hunter and Sarah come rushing after her.
The seconds after she speeds away make me furious. As my friends reach for their phones and pace my front lawn, the green sedan drives by, following less than a minute behind. He must have circled the block and been watching the house.
“He was right there.” I jab a finger at the screen. “If Hunt was paying attent—”
“It’s not Hunt’s fault.”
I scoff. “No, it’s mine, right?” I shove from the bed, my brain screaming in protest at the sudden movement. “This is all on me.”
“I didn’t say that.” Decker relaxes, settling into calm superiority. “But it sounds like you think so.”
Fuck him.
Not only for the judgment and the threats. Fuck him for nailing exactly how I feel.
It’s my fault for not realizing Robert had found her. It’s my fucking fault for not confirming he was dead in the first place.
I should’ve been all over this. I should’ve fucking known.
“Do you really blame yourself?” He shakes his head and scoffs. “Do you seriously think you could’ve stopped this from happening?”
Without a doubt, if I’d been on the top of my game. If my focus had been aligned.
But instead of protecting Penny I endangered her. Became distracted by her. And even now, with one of her friends dead and another injured, I don’t think I can regret falling for her.
“You couldn’t have seen this coming. Torian told me Robert was dead. That all Luther’s men were taken care of. Get your head out of your ass and realize you’re no better than anyone else. You couldn’t have predicted this. You’re just as helpless as the rest of us.”
“It was my job.”
“Yeah, well, it was my job to find her in the first place. She’s my sister. So quit the pity party.”
Is that it? Is all this macho hostility because I found her instead of him?
“And while you’re at it,” he snarls, “quit fucking her, too.”
“Don’t push me, Decker.” I grind my teeth to the point of pain. “I’ve told you I’m not fucking her.”
He scoffs and looks away, his jaw ticking.
The need to fight this out is reciprocated. There’s only one reason we aren’t, and she’s a few feet away, behind that bathroom door.
“Look.” I huff. “I care about her. And whether you approve or not, I’m going to keep protecting her.”
“With your dick?”
“Enough,” I warn. “We don’t have time for this.”
He straightens, his vicious eyes meeting mine. “Fine. But we also don’t have time for you bitching about how you let her down. So powder your fucking vagina and make up for your mistakes.”
My ears keep deceiving me. Through the threats, his demands sound similar to thinly veiled approval.
I breathe out a laugh. “She got to you this morning, didn’t she? Whatever she told you in the basement has you second-guessing putting a bullet between my eyes.”
“Hardly. I’m still trigger-happy, motherfucker. Keep pushing me and you’ll see how close I am.”
There’s little intimidation in his tone. Penny must’ve dug deep under his skin, and a whole heap of pride accompanies that knowledge.
She’s healing.
Slowly, but surely.
The water cuts off in the shower, then the screen door clatters open.
“She’s going to be out here in a minute.” I clap my Mac shut and sidestep Decker to grab my wallet and car fob from the bedside table.