Page 135 of Control Freak

Gray took hold of Emory’s hand. “Exactly. Let us back you up.”

“Yeah,” Axel said. “If we want to show these guys who they’re messing with, then let’s make it impressive.”

Bailey grinned. “I’m in.”

I pinched my nose, shaking my head. “But this isn’t your problem.”

“It’s not your problem either,” Shiloh put in. “It’smyproblem. And if you’re going to face them down, then so am I.”

“No way,” I said. “These are your harassers. You shouldn’t have to see them.”

Shiloh met my eyes. “You want to show them you’re not afraid? Well, so do I. I’ve been running scared for too long. I want them to know if they come back, they’ll be the ones who are sorry.”

I glanced around the table at my family, all rallying around meReady to go confront a couple of criminals on my behalf.

“Are you sure you really want to stick your necks out like this?”

Bailey scoffed. “I know you’re a control freak, but it doesn’t mean you have to do everything on your own.”

“We’re here for you,” Gray added.

“You’ve bailed us out plenty of times,” Axel said. “Let us return the favor.”

Emory nodded. “What they said.”

I blew out a breath. “Okay. Let’s figure out what the hell we can do to get the message across to these guys. We need to be ready tomorrow.”

“I’ll call Flynn,” Axel said. At my look, he shrugged. “Might as well have a little insurance if things go sideways.”

I nodded reluctantly. “Maybe Bailey should sit this one out.”

“No way,” Bailey said. “If you’re all going, so am I. I’m part of the Bro Code, too.”

I rubbed a thumb over the tattoo on my inner wrist, reminded of our pact.

“Okay,” I said. “But you listen to every word I say.”

Bailey smirked. “So business as usual, then.”

Gray and Axel snickered, and I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Control freak. I get it.”

My appetite returned, and I finally lifted my slice of pizza for a small bite. Chewed Swallowed.

“So, what are we doing, exactly?” Axel asked.

Great question. Now, we just had to come up with some answers.

Twenty-four hours later, we waited on a blacktop highway on the edge of town. We’d pulled our three vehicles, including the tow truck loaded with Brick and Curtis’s car, across the lanes of traffic.

These guys wouldn’t be going anywhere until we were good and ready.

Headlights cut across the road. That would be Dalton’s patrol car.

“Ready?” I asked my brothers, standing beside me and Shiloh, along with Flynn and three of Axel’s dogs. Sugar and Loki would add to the intimidation factor, but I wasn’t sure why Axel had brought his little Chihuahua.

“Oh yeah,” Axel said with a feral grin. “I can’t fucking wait.”

Flynn smiled grimly, crossing massive arms over a broad chest. And Bailey bounced on his feet, like a kid about to enter a theme park. Was he enjoying this a little too much?