Page 184 of Burning Daylight

Frederick sighs.

“Great,” Benjamin complains. “Here they come.”

Merrick squints and sways. “Wow. Look at that. I still don’t care.”

I follow their line of sight and see Tyler at the front of the group, talking to Juliette’s brother Lance.

“Leave it alone, Ty,” Lance mumbles when they get close.

Tyler looks like he’s ready to murder someone.

“Nah,” he says, flicking a glare our way. “You leave it alone. I’ll talk to them.”

He stomps over before the others can stop him and halts right in front of us. He flicks his gaze to Frederick, and his lips thin.

Benjamin crosses his arms, and Merrick just smiles. Rosalie shrinks in on herself, and I wonder what the story between them is. She’s Tyler’s sister, yet she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him.

What kind of a brother just abandons his sister and pretends like she doesn’t exist?

I imagine doing that to Brooklynn, and it makes my chest ache.

“Hey, Roman. I want to have a word with you,” Tyler says.

Merrick cackles. “Just one word? Put it with something else, Ty, like a fist. Benny here wants to fight.”

Tyler’s eyes narrow, and he cracks his knuckles. “I’ll fuckBennyup any day, just give me a reason.”

Merrick sways, his arm propping on my shoulder to keep him steady. I let him, because he’s already escalating this situation, and the last thing we need is for him to fall over.

“You can’t find a reason without me giving you one?” Merrick taunts. “That’s lazy, Ty.”

Tyler sneers, his gaze landing on me before going to his sister. “I can’t believe you’re hanging out with a Montgomery, Rosalie. I know you’ve always stooped low, but he’s gutter trash.”

Merrick laughs, and I bristle. “Hangingout? You make us sound like we’re a band of groupies. If you wanted to hear us make some noise, that’s all you had to say.”

He straightens, something sinister flashing through his gaze now, suddenly seeming a lot more sober than he has for the past few minutes.

Frederick steps forward, shielding Merrick from view. “You want to talk to Roman, then you go to a private place, Tyler. This is public. It’s a bad look for everyone, and reporters are always lurking in the shadows just waiting for one of us to show our hand.”

It hits me then, fully, what’s happening. Tyler wants to talk tome, and Merrick has been protecting me, even through his drunken slurs.

Gratitude fills my chest, but it mixes with dread, because I don’t know why Tyler would have anything to say to me unless it involved Juliette, andthatI don’t like at all.

Besides, I don’t need Merrick to fight my battles.

Merrick gives Frederick an incredulous look. “What do I care if they see? Let them watch.”

This is getting ridiculous. I maneuver around them. “You want to talk, Tyler, then let’s talk.”

Tyler smirks at Merrick and Frederick and then gives a mock bow, and we move over to a different part of the sidewalk, far enough away that they can’t overhear us but close enough that everyone’s eyes stay stuck on us.

Juliette’s brother Lance hasn’t said a single word. He just stands off to the side with his arms crossed and his lips twisted into a frown as he watches us. Almost like he’s waiting for something, although what, I can’t be sure.

“Leave Juliette alone,” Tyler states, crossing his arms and pinning me with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My heart beats faster, nerves making my insides jump.Something isn’t right.