Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“No, motherfucker,” Brandon growled, “That’s why they”—he pointed at Freddy and Enzo—“called you. I called you because, while Carly was threatening to shoot me for being an asshole, the trigger only went off because someone shot at us first.”
Dread filled me. “What happened?”
“She ran away from me. And let me tell you, when I get my hands on her, I’m going to take her over my knee and spank her ass.” Brandon’s fist slammed against the wall as he finished.
“Bran!” I yelled. “Focus. What the fuck is going on? Who shot at Carly?”
“I don’t think they were aiming for her.” This was said by Freddy as he opened the door for another man to come inside the small room. The older, balding, portly man was a doctor who I’d known since I was a kid. Doc had been friends with my father, and he was the one we called for injuries if a hospital could be avoided.
“Move over, boy. Let’s see what this one is whining about.”
I stood to let him by, watching Brandon grumble at Doc for a second before turning a serious gaze on me.
“I was with Carly—don’t”—he held up a hand, clearly seeing my intention to question—“we don’t have time for that right now.” I raised a brow but let him continue. “Freddy and Enzo got to us just in time to see that little fucker Darby running off.”
“Would you stop wiggling, boy?” Doc snapped. “You need stitches and I’d rather not sew up your balls instead of the wound.” Doc smirked. “Though those may be pretty well shriveled and out of my way. Hear you got yourself shot by a little lady.”
Brandon rolled his eyes. “For the love of...”
I was getting ready to shoot someone myself. “Silence!” I exploded. I turned to Enzo, who’d been quiet this entire time, not surprisingly. He was usually more seen than heard. But this was the reason I looked to him for answers. He often saw more than most and was deliberate in his thoughts when vocalized.
“Explain.”
Enzo crossed his arms and leaned back against the door jam, his body only half in the crowded room. “Freddy and I had just come off shift at the bar and were having a drink when we overheard a couple of little shits talking about a reward Pat O’Reilly just put out for the capture of any DeLuca.”
Rage boiled inside me but I stayed silent, knowing there was more.
“Darby, his youngest, was hanging with the group, and I saw him sneak out the back. He was packing, so we followed him. I don’t know if he knew where Brandon would be, or if it was by chance, but he stopped outside Bran’s house and hid in the bushes. There was a pretty loud argument happening inside”—Enzo’s eyes cut to Brandon, who scowled in return—“and when Bran came into view, Darby took a shot before we could get to him. He’s a piss poor shot and it went wild, but when we heard the second shot and Bran went down, we rushed the house to get to him.”
The wheels in my mind were spinning one hundred miles an hour. What Carly had been doing at Brandon’s house was a question for another day. What I was most concerned about was the likelihood that Darby saw his sister inside.
“Did Darby see her?” I directed my question to Brandon, anger at the situation and worry putting a bite in my voice.
He nodded slowly. “It’s why she took off. She wouldn’t listen when I told her it was better for her to stay with me. I couldn’t exactly chase after her. She cursed me to hell and back, then hightailed it out of there.” He stopped and his eyes darted away, reluctant to continue. I stalked up to the head of the bed and got right up in his face, sick of his evasions.
“Stop fucking around and tell me the rest of it.”
“The thing is,” he said hesitantly, “she came to tell me about the reward.”
“For shit’s sake, Brandon!” I yelled. “Darby’s probably told Pat by now, and she’s out there on her own because you couldn’t do what you were specifically told to do and keep your fucking mouth shut?”
Brandon’s lips tightened into a thin line, but his expression gave no indication to what he was thinking otherwise. “I’ll find her.” I stared into his eyes and nodded when I saw the conviction there. It went beyond duty, though, and I worried about what might have sparked between the two of them.
Speaking of sparks, I was ready to get back to Gianna, but I knew I’d be stuck cleaning up this clusterfuck for the rest of the night. Doc finished up Brandon’s leg and told him to get some rest, but it was clear he had no intention to follow the suggestion. As soon as he could, he was out the door.