Page 110 of Billionaire Bad Boy Auction

“I’ll visit every weekend. Bring you whatever you need.” I gripped his shoulder, feeling the tremble in his frame. “We’ll get through this.”

The gavel cracked like a gunshot.

A deputy stepped forward, cuffs glinting in the fluorescent lights. Seth flinched when they clicked around his wrists, his breath coming too fast.

“Hey.” I waited until he met my eyes. “It’s going to be okay. Just keep your head down. Don’t get into trouble.”

He nodded jerkily, but the terror in his gaze didn’t fade. Not even when the deputy led him away, not even when the courtroom emptied around me, leaving me standing alone in the echoing silence.

I sank back onto the bench, my hands hanging limp between my knees. I felt like I was suffocating under the guilt and regret. The failure.

I was supposed to protect him.

That had been the deal since the day our parents died. I was the steady one, the responsible one. The one who kept Seth from flying off the rails.

And I’d fucking failed.

Now my brother was going to jail, and the woman who’d somehow become my anchor—the one person who made the weight feel bearable—was gone. Because I’d pushed her away. I shrugged out of my jacket and took a couple deep breaths. There was a little voice in the back of my head demanding I bust out the checkbook and write a check to whatever organization that would help grease the wheels of justice. He’d serve a week or two and then get out because of jail overcrowding. It happened all the time.

I could do it. Fifty grand. A million.

It would be so easy.

The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, the sound grating against my frayed nerves. I should leave. There was nothing left to do here. But my legs refused to move.

A door creaked open behind me. Footsteps approached, then stopped at my bench.

“Mr. Jackson?”

I looked up to find the prosecutor standing there, her expression unreadable.

“You should know, the boat owner agreed to the plea deal because of you.”

I frowned. “What?”

“He said you’ve been nothing but professional through all this. That you took responsibility when your brother wouldn’t.” She gave me a tight smile. “Judge Reynolds respects that. It’s why she went light on the sentence. And of course, the promise restitution will be paid.”

Light. Six months in jail was light.

“I sent the money last week,” I said.

“I know.” She nodded. “For what it’s worth, I think your brother’s lucky to have you.”

She walked away before I could respond, her heels clicking against the linoleum.

The words should’ve been a comfort. Instead, they settled like lead in my stomach.

Lucky?

Seth was in handcuffs. Portia was gone. And I was sitting alone in a fucking courtroom, with no idea how to fix any of it.

I dragged a hand down my face. Now, I had Seth’s expression to haunt me. Between him and Portia, I was pretty sure I would never get a peaceful night of sleep again. The walls felt like they were closing in, the air too thick to breathe.

I needed to get out. I walked out, my jacket forgotten on the bench where it could stay. I didn’t plan on wearing it ever again. My bike was parked at the curb, the chrome gleaming under the harsh light.

I swung a leg over the seat and kicked the engine to life. I revved the engine and released the clutch. I didn’t know where I was going. But I couldn’t stay here.

The bike roared beneath me as I peeled away from the courthouse, the wind whipping against my face. I didn’t have a destination in mind—just away. The speedometer climbed as I pushed the bike harder, the rumble of the engine drowning out the chaos in my head. My grip tightened on the handlebars, knuckles white, but it wasn’t enough to steady me. Nothing ever was.

The outskirts of Larkspur Lake blurred past—scraggly pines, weathered fence posts, the occasional rusted-out pickup parked in a weedy yard. The town felt smaller than ever, like it was shrinking around me, trying to squeeze me into a box I didn’t fit into anymore. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe I was the one who didn’t belong.

I didn’t slow until I reached the overlook, a spot where the road curved high above the lake. I parked and cut the engine. My hands were still trembling when I pulled off my helmet and set it on the seat beside me. Maybe I didn’t belong here anymore.

When Seth got out, I would tell him it was time for us to go. We needed a fresh start. I didn’t want to be in town when Portia came back to visit. There was no way I would be able to face her again.