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How quickly would the women find out?
Grant rounded on me, grief and fear already twisted into rage. He shoved his hands into my chest like he wanted to start a fistfight. “Where’s Gabriel? Where’s our brother? Where’s my friend?”
Grant and Gabriel were the closest pair in Devil’s Luck. They were inseparable at times, joined at the hip in razzing at least two Devils at once, most of the time. And what was one without the other?
Brody approached slowly, arms out like he was trying to calm a wild animal. “I’m sorry, Grant. Gabriel’s gone.”
“Gone?” Grant repeated like he had never heard the word before. “The fuck you mean? I asked where is he. Where’s his fucking body?”
That hit me like a slap. “You just left him?” I roared at no one in particular. “You left our brother’s body in the middle of the goddamn forest?!”
That made Abel angry. He stormed toward me, looking like he was ready to take a swing at my already busted cheekbone. I braced myself. I deserved it. His death was my fault. He and Grant came to warn me about Jackson coming. And now he was dead in a forest.
“We put him in the trailer, for your information, jackass,” Abel snapped. Jameson grabbed his arms and held him back from breaking my nose. “We barely escaped by the skin of our teeth. The Wolverines beat us to shit then left after Princess left.”
Mason whipped around. “Where’s Bates’s bitch?”
I glanced toward the back door. Caroline was nowhere to be seen. Had she gone inside? That didn’t bode well.
I blocked Mason from marching over. “Don’t even think about it, Roller,” I snapped. “She’s under my protection.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck, Knox!” he snarled. “She’s not yours. Like I said, you fuck her in a trailer and now you’re her guard dog. You’re her bitch. Don’t you see?!” he asked wildly, flinging out his arms. I was just thankful he didn’t reach for a weapon. “This is all an act! She’s infiltrating us and you’re too busy thinking with your dick to see it!”
I took a threatening step toward him. “That’s not fucking true!”
“Yeah, it fucking is?—”
“Shut up, both of you!” Jameson roared, cutting between us. “This is not the time to be infighting, you dumb shits. Gabriel is dead, but his body is safe, all right? The Wolverines will come for our asses, and we have to be a united front when they do. So put your fists away. Mason, Knox’s face is already fucked up. Just let him be for now. Knox, you fucked up. You don’t get a say.”
Grief was making me lash out. I glared at him. “Since when are you in charge, Tex?”
“All of you, ENOUGH.”
Everyone froze, as if our lives depended on it.
It was Jackson, and he turned toward us, still at the end of the drive. The sun was getting low, and he was limned in a reddish glow of the clouds. His grief curdled into wrath. He looked like a vengeful god, his fists clenched, his chest heaving with wrecked breaths.
At the worst possible timing ever, Caroline emerged from the shop. She stopped short when she saw every one of the Devil’s Luck watching her.
Jackson went livid.
“You.” He started stalking toward her.
I stepped into his path immediately, blocking him without hesitation. “Back the fuck off, Jack,” I said, rough and controlled. But barely.
Jackson’s teeth gnashed together as he glowered at me. “Get out of my way.”
“I’m not moving.”
“I’m not gonna kill her,” Jackson said through his teeth. “But I sure as hell am gonna make her understand what she cost us.”
I didn’t back down. “She’s gone through enough.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You’re gonna get her out of Reno, Knox. Tonight. And if she’s still here by morning…” Jackson shook his head. “There won’t be a conversation next time.”
CHAPTER 22
CAROLINE