Page 129 of New Nebraska Heat

“No.” Hunter held up his palm, with tears flowing freely down his cheeks. “I’ve blamed you for way too long. Don’t start blaming yourself.”

“Start?” Dagger’s scoff had no bite, only despair. “Hunt, I’ve blamed myselfevery day.”

Hunter grasped Dagger’s forearm, and Serenity quietly withdrew her hand from Dagger’s, letting them have their moment. “You helped our parents try and fulfill their wish. Right or wrong, they wanted what they wanted. It wasn’t my right to interfere with that, or to hate you for helping them.”

Dagger’s thick, broad shoulders sagged. “It means a hell of a lot to hear you say that. Seriously. But if not for me, they’d be here.”

“Whatever happened in the jungle, neither of you could have possibly predicted or stopped it,” I said, compelled to speak up by the heartbreak in both the twins’ eyes. My nose was starting to clog, needing a good blow, which was rare for a vamp, even a half one.

Dagger’s red-rimmed eyes flicked to me. “According to the local police and what I could find out from news reports, they never made it to the jungle. Thugs in Rio de Janeiro pulled a gun on them down some dark street. Dad shifted, took care of business. Then an armed mob realized they were paranormals, outnumbered them.” He gulped, shaking out the words. “Murdered them. Their bodies were never found. And that was that.”

“Hey, look at me.” Hunter pointed his top two index fingers athis eyes. “You didn’t kill them. It wasn’t your fault. I should never have told you otherwise. I was wrong.”

Dagger exhaled hard. “The whole fucked up situation was wrong. It still is.”

“But we didn’t have to lose each other over it.” Hunter’s shining eyes bored into his brother’s. “That was all me, and I hope you can forgive me.”

Dagger turned bodily in his seat and opened his arms as best he could while his tattooed hand tried in vain to stop the streams flowing down his cheeks. “I do, brother.” They embraced hard, patting each other’s backs. “I’m sorry too. For going behind your back and for antagonizing you at every turn since, when I should have been trying to make things up to you. Can you forgive me?”

Hunter noogied Dagger’s hair. “That I can, and that I do.” They sat, Hunter’s arm still round his brother’s shoulders. “Let’s forgive each other once and for all and look to the future.”

Bryce thumped the tabletop twice, then grabbed an oyster, holding it up in place of his emptied glass. “A toast, to your birthdays, and to a future of love and understanding, between everyone at this table, now and forever. Cheers, everyone.”

Everyone grabbed an oyster, and an emphatic “Cheers!” came in reply from around the table as we all tipped back our first delicious morsel.

Pinch me so I know I’m not dreaming, Serenity’s voice sighed in my head.Wasn’t that a great surprise? God, I’m so happy.

I’m thrilled for them,I agreed. And with that tension out of the house, we can really start being the family I think we all want. You know?

Serenity winked.I know exactly.

Beside her, Bryce’s reserved, cool manner had cracked too. He was fidgeting with his butter knife, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Apart from the twins themselves, I got the feeling he was the only other person in the lounge who knew exactly how mucheffort was being exerted by both of them to shake off all the baggage that had separated them.

“Hey, scooch over, Seb,” Dagger said, shaking his glass at me. “I need a piss and a top off.”

Bryce rolled his eyes. “Dagger, the waitress can—”

“No, no,” Dagger intoned as he shuffled along the booth, nudging me out to let his hulking frame pass. “I’m not used to feeling the love like that. I need some air so I can get my mojo ba …”

Staring into the night, he trailed off just as I sat down again.

His eyes flared yellow in the window reflection, and he whipped around to face us all, hand fishing a switchblade out of his pocket. He spiked its vicious blade from the handle and cocked back his arm.

I jumped a good half inch off my seat as I blurted, “Dagger, what the fuck!?!”

“Hunt,” he growled, “duck.”

Sebastian

Hunter ducked. The blade whirred past me in a circular flash of steel, sailing over the top of the booth’s back, across the lobby below and into the main section. A scream rang out as we all rocketed to our feet, clattering cutlery, plates and glasses. Hunter almost knocked the goddamn table over.

A waiter was splayed at the bottom of the main section’s stairs, his tray of drinks—headed to our table—strewn around him. Dagger’s switchblade was buried hilt deep in one of his lifeless eyes.

One of Bryce’s security guys crouched to check for a pulse while the other two rushed upstairs toward our table, hands on their gun holsters.

Serenity let out a shriek. “Oh my God, Dagger, what have you done? You killed a—”

“That vamp’s no waiter,” Bryce said, his face aghast.