Page 221 of Wicked Brutal

“And died.”

Danny’s jaw works once. “She died because Reece was a violent piece of shit surrounded by violent fucking adults who were using kids to move drugs.” Nobody laughs now. Danny’s voice stays eerily calm, which is the most dangerous he ever gets. “If you’re going to drag my dead sister into your little speech, at least get the story right.”

Victor’s expression barely changes. “And afterward, you attach yourself to Rebecca.”

Danny smiles. It’s a terrible smile. “Attach myself.”

“Her mother. Hartley.” No Mrs. Carney. No courtesy. Even Victor knows enough about Becca’s history with Hartley to skip it. “The scandal surrounding Theodore. Katya.” Danny’s eyes harden. Victor continues, tallying families like they prove something. “Another family imploding publicly. Another one of you directly in the center of it.”

Danny laughs once. “You make it sound like I planned a fucking season.”

“Perhaps you enjoy being needed.”

Oh, Victor. No.

Danny takes a small step closer. Kaid’s hand catches his arm — not to stop him, just there. Victor sees it. Reads it as fear instead of restraint. And then says the thing that makes my entire body go cold.

“And then there was the pregnancy.”

Becca goes white. Danny stops breathing. The whole world narrows.

Victor continues in that same calm, detached voice, and I understand right then that he doesn’t know what a line is, only where the nerves are. “The baby you lost.”

That’s it. Done.

“Hey.” My voice cuts through everything. Victor’s eyes come to me. Good. “Remember me?” His face hardens. I step forward, putting myself between his mouth and Danny without making it look like that’s what I’m doing. “You came over here because of me.” Danny doesn’t move beside me. Doesn’t fucking have to. Kaid’s got him. X is staring at Victor like he’s deciding where to bury him. Iz isn’t joking anymore. I smile. “So quit digging through everybody else’s graves because you ran out of shit to say.”

The hallway reacts. Victor’s attention settles completely on me. “You seem eager to make yourself the center of this.”

“I was already the center. You called me over, remember?”

“I called you over because Roman informed me you’d been behaving like a spoiled child toward Alison.”

“Then talk about me.”

Victor looks at me for a long second. Then smiles. Cold. “Fine.”

Good. Hit me. I can fucking take it, which is more than Danny could do with one more sentence about a baby that had a name.

“You don’t have quite the same catalogue of public disasters yet.”

Kaid mutters, “Slacking.”

Victor continues. “But you’ve managed to insert yourself into every one of theirs.”

“Friends tend to do that.”

“Police stations. Courtrooms. Investigations. Fights. Every time one of them creates another catastrophe, Ryan Harrington appears.”

“I’m supportive.”

“You’re arrogant.”

“Also true.”

“You think nothing touches you. You think your name protects you.”

“My name?”