He bares his teeth at me as he moves through the house, settling in the kitchen to sit at the island. “It’s six fucking thirty, so this had better be an emergency because I was about to rail your sister awake.”
“Ugh, gross.” He gives me a bratty smirk, and I roll my eyes. “We need your help,” I say with a sigh, running a hand through my hair.
Lincoln’s face turns serious as he studies me. “What happened?”
“There was…an accident.”
Panic flashes in his gaze, but he schools his features quickly. “Is Flowers okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. But Michaels killed a guy.”
Lincoln’s face cracks slowly into a rare full smile, and he chokes back a laugh. “Brantley did? He’s such a puppy. I didn’t think he had it in him.”
“Yeah, well, love does weird shit to people.”
“I can relate,” Lincoln murmurs.So can I.“Is there a reason you’re calling me instead of Marcus or your dad?”
“I just don’t want to bring either of them into this. And I trust you to take care of it,” I say begrudgingly.
“Who was it? Flowers’s asshole of a stepdad?”
“We thought so at first, but it turns out it was her stepbrother. A guy named Nedry Abrams. She said he used to be FBI, so your guys should take extra precautions to stay under the radar.” I frown. “I suspect he was dirty. He would have killed her if Michaels and I hadn’t shown up.”
“Jesus, Seb, you guys weren’t even with her?”
I look away, guilt that I’ve been pushing down since yesterday rising in my chest. While Michaels and I had a nice little lunch in town, Fi was out here running from a psychopath. “It was a few hours. We had to go get her car. I thought—” I blow out a breath. “I thought she’d be safer here than in town.”
Lincoln gives me a tight nod. After what happened with Matt and my stepsister, I don’t think he’d dare say I made a poor choice. But that doesn’t make it any easier to think about her here, alone, in danger.
Lincoln rubs the stubble on his chin. “I’ve got a couple guys who are really good. They can make it look like a suicide or just make him a missing person. You guys need to leave now. Just text me the address.” He pauses. “Wait, how did he die?”
“Michaels took an ax to his chest.”
“Fuck,” Lincoln says, raising his eyebrows. “That’s brutal. And kind of dramatic.”
“You’re telling me. Honestly, I don’t know if I should be disturbed that Fi wasn’t more upset by the whole thing.”
“Nah, I’m not surprised. She’s the toughest chick I know. Can you get her to leave? Because she’s also stubborn as fuck.”
“She certainly is that. But I think we convinced her last night.”
Lincoln gives me a dark look. “Does this mean Michaels isworth forgiving? Because Iwillbeat the snot out of him if he steps out of line. No one fucks with Fi, goddammit.”
I give him a wry look. “Yeah, they talked it out.”
“Sure,” Lincoln says with a sly wink. “I’m sure theytalked.Are youtalkingwith her too?”
I ignore his comment. “I’m hanging up now.”
“Wait, one more thing, Sebastian.”
“Yeah?”
“You know that I’m going to have to tell Charlie about this, right?” I nod reluctantly, and he gives me a hard look. “And I want you guys to come stay here. You can sleep in the extra room at the theater.”
“Are you sure? Dennis is still around, and I doubt he’ll just let Fi off the hook—especially after Michaels killed his son. I’m guessing it’s even more personal now.”
He sighs. “Yeah, I know, and I hate putting Charlie and Trey in harm’s way, but you know what will happen if I ask them to stay out of it?”
