Page 78 of Sweet Sin

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Page 78 of Sweet Sin

“When I left? When I was shoved behind bars is more like it. I didn’t leave of my own accord like you did.”

“Hey man, we’re not going back there again.”

Sammy wriggles out of my arms and runs toward his mother. “We won’t go back there. But I’m just saying, people change a lot in eight years. You and I both did. Maybe Scarlett did too.”

“Scarlett was here. Finishing college, going to paralegal school, working. She wasn’t watching people get killed in Afghanistan.”

“No, and she wasn’t listening to poor young boys screaming as they were raped every night in prison,” I say. “But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been going through her own stuff, man. Open your eyes, Leif. I need to find out what your sister’s up to.”

“My sister is not up to—”

“Stop it. I’m not making any accusations. I’m asking you, as a friend, to look into it.”

Leif shoves his hair off his forehead. “You’ve been leveraging our friendship a lot in the past twenty-four hours.”

I cock my head as a memory—one nearly as old as we are—invades my mind. “Do you really want to go there, Leif? Really? Have you forgotten that you owe me?”

He drops his gaze for a moment and then meets mine. “No. I haven’t forgotten.”

“Good. Just check it out. That’s all I’m asking. I have a hunch my brother’s into something because of your sister. I need to keep him out of trouble.”

“You’re not his keeper, Falcon.”

I nod.

But I don’t say anything.

Because the truth is that I am my brother’s keeper. I have been since that fateful day years ago.

“I got the money,” I say to Eagle, Hawk by my side.

“What’s he doing here?” Eagle glares at Hawk.

“I was with Falcon when we found the drugs,” Hawk says, keeping his voice measured, “but I’ll be happy to get the fuck out if you don’t want my help, you spoiled piece of shit.”

Eagle and Hawk have always been a bit like wildfire and rain. Hawk, with his quiet fortitude, and Eagle, with his rebellious rambunctiousness. I’m always stuck in the middle—there’s a bit of both my brothers in me.

“Did you think I was going to keep this from Hawk?” I ask.

“You could have told me.”

“I did tell you. I told you Hawk and I found the shit.”

Eagle paces across the floor of his room. He’s withdrawing, and he’s a mess. But he made his own fucking bed. He’s my brother, and I love him, but I can’t take away his physical pain. Part of me wishes I could. Another part wants him to remember every single second of this agony so he’ll never do something so damned stupid again.

Then there’s the third and last part of me—part heart and part brain—the part that knows I must protect him at all costs because I’m his big brother, and it’s my job.

“So what do you think?” I ask.

“You haven’t said anything.”

“Right.” I need to get my mind in gear. Flashing back to the past won’t do me any good. My insides are knotted, and my body’s telling me to run. To run like hell. “Savannah and I need to get out of here. Seriously. Go on the run.”

“Are you serious?” Leif says.

“Yeah. And you know what that means, don’t you?”

“I know how much your family means to you. I know how much Raven means to you. You just donated bone marrow to her. So if you’re planning on leaving, you’d better have a damned good reason.”


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