T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,60
from hell. I just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and pretend that nothing had happened—that I hadn’t actually seen my brother and Beckett kill those people. I knew it was crazy to think I could simply forget about something like that. I just didn’t want to believe that either of them were capable of doing something so awful, so cold and heartless, especially when I cared so much for them both. No matter what was going on in his life or mine, Clay had always been there for me. He was the best brother and a good man. The same held true for Beckett; he had done nothing but shown me kindness and affection like no other. It broke my heart to discover that neither of the men I loved were actually who I thought they were.
I was barely keeping it together as I pulled up to the house. I’d just gotten out of my car and was walking towards the front door when my phone started to ring. I looked down at the screen and wasn’t surprised to see that it was Jack. Even though I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, I knew I had to answer. I promised him that I’d let him know when I got home, and after what had happened, I was sure he had to be worried. With a deep sigh, I swiped the phone and answered, “Hey, Jack. I’m home, and I’m okay.”
“Damn, girl. You had me scared half to death,” he fussed. “I thought you were going to do something stupid like follow those guys or something. Where’d you go?”
“I was ... I was just kind of freaked out and wanted to get the hell out of there.”
“Oh, good. I can’t blame you for boltin’. Hell, I would’ve gotten the hell out of Dodge, too, if I could,” he scoffed. “Seems like this shit is happening more and more around here.”
A part of me felt guilty for doing it, but I had to ask, “Did you know the people who were shot?”
“I didn’t know them personally, but I knew who they were. Everybody does. They made sure of that,” he grumbled.
“What do you mean?”
“They’re all members of the Fallen Ones. Just a local gang that’s always stirring up trouble. A couple of the guys who got hit last night had just gotten out of prison a few weeks ago, and they were already back at it.” Sounding hurt and resentful, he continued, “Nothing new. That’s just the way it is around here.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“I didn’t figure you had. It’s one of the reasons why I felt so bad about having you bring me home.” I could hear the anguish in his voice as he said, “You never would’ve seen any of that if you hadn’t had to bring me home.”
“It’s not your fault, Jack. No way you could’ve known what was going to happen.”
“No, but I knew it was dangerous for you to come here, and—”
“Jack, really, I’m fine,” I said while opening my door and stepping inside. “Stop worrying about it.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“I promise it’s okay.”
“Well, if things keep going well at work, maybe Tony and I can find a place in a safer neighborhood.”
“That would be great.” I glanced over at the clock, and when I noticed the time, I said, “Look, it’s really late. I’ve gotta work in the morning, so I better let you go.”
“Okay, again, I’m sorry about tonight.”
“I know. Go get some sleep.”
“You do the same.”
“Good night, Jack.”
After I ended the call, I locked the door, dropped my keys and purse on the table, and headed to my room. I took a long, hot shower, hoping it would help to clear my head. Unfortunately, it did little. Even as I dried off and put on my pajamas, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. All of it. Every second of it kept flashing through my mind as I crawled into bed. I was on the verge of crying again when I heard a knock at my door. Panic washed over me. I wasn’t ready to see Beckett. I needed time to think about what I was going to do, so I just lay there, hoping that he’d get the hint and go on home. Unfortunately, there was a second knock and then a third. Realizing that he wasn’t going to leave, I got out of bed and went to answer the door. To my surprise, it wasn’t