Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,159

growled. “I feel it. I feel it. I feel it.”

“Something’s wrong,” I whispered.

The guys reached us, looking around wildly as if they could find whatever the hell was wrong and destroy it.

Chris was spooked. I could hear it in his voice when he said, “Ox. Gordo and Ox. What happened? Carter, what happened?”

“We need to get home,” I said with a grimace as the pressure increased again. “Now.”

Gavin nodded and started pulling me toward the truck we’d taken into town. I looked over my shoulder at the diner. The people inside were looking out the window. Will came to the door, a frown on his face. “Carter?”

“Be ready,” I snapped at him. “Wait for my call. You wanted a fight? I think you’re gonna get one.”

“You got it. Keep me in the loop.” He grunted as Dominique shoved by him, eyes orange, fangs dropping. “The sirens?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. It might be nothing.”

I prayed I was right.

safe

Mom and Mark were standing on the porch by the time we pulled up, rocks and dirt kicking up around us as Rico screeched to a halt. I was out of the truck even before he stopped.

Mark was pale, and Mom had a determined look on her face. “You felt it.”

“Gordo,” Mark whispered, swallowing thickly. “He’s….”

“Alive,” I said. “We would know if he wasn’t. Did you get ahold of them?”

Mom shook her head. “We tried. Bambi’s calling again. Jessie’s on the phone with your brothers and Robbie.”

Dominique headed into the house. We followed her through the open door. I could hear Jessie talking quickly in the kitchen. She looked relieved when she saw us. “Hold on. The others are here.” She held out the phone to me.

I grabbed it and turned around, heading toward the office. “Joe? Kelly?”

“Yeah,” Joe said, the line crackling. He sounded angry. “We’re here. Robbie too. You’re on speakerphone. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I said, opening the door to the office. The others followed me inside. Dominique was holding Joshua as Bambi disconnected her phone call and tried again. I could hear it ringing and ringing before Gordo’s voicemail picked up, his voice gruff.

“It’s Ox,” Joe said roughly. “Something happened to them.”

“We don’t know that yet,” I told him, even though it felt like a lie. “We’re still trying to get them on the line. Caswell?”

“The same as it always is,” Robbie said bitterly. “You would think Michelle Hughes was still in charge for all the bullshit that goes on here.”

I blinked. “What the hell does that mean?”

Kelly said, “They’re scared. Someone’s been talking. They’ve convinced half the people here that Livingstone is on a warpath and on his way to Caswell. There’s panic.”

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. I pulled the phone away from my ear and set it on the desk, switching it to speakerphone. “Do you have it under control?”

“Mostly,” Joe said. “I think me just being here helped.”

“Who’s been spreading shit around?”

“I don’t know,” Joe said, sounding frustrated. “We’re trying to find out, but it’s chasing a rumor. Everyone is saying they heard it from someone else.” He sighed. “They… they think it has something to do with Gavin.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

Kelly was pissed. “They’re so full of shit. They know you found him, that we brought him back to Green Creek. They think it’s his fault somehow. A few of them told Joe that if he cared about Caswell at all, he’d hand over Gavin to Livingstone and end this. They remember, Carter. What Livingstone did to them and why. They blame him for Michelle’s death and everything that came before it.”

Gavin grunted as if punched. It pissed me off. I slammed my fist into the desk. The phone rattled on the surface. “Fuck them,” I growled. “He’s not going anywhere.”

“We know,” Joe said. “And I told them the same thing. Gavin’s one of us. I don’t give a shit what they say. He’s staying with us.”

“That’s good, Joe,” Mark said. “But you need to be careful. You can’t forget they look to you. You’re their Alpha. Don’t burn bridges that you can’t rebuild.”

“I know,” Joe said. “But they’re not making it easy.”

Mom pushed by me as she rounded the desk. She jiggled the mouse next to the computer. The monitor lit up, bathing her face in blue. I hated how it looked. It felt too literal. Jessie was pacing back and forth in front of Bambi, who was shaking her head. Dominique too. Tanner, Chris, and Rico had surrounded Gavin, their arms crossed