Page 97 of Legacy

“That’s what I want to hear. You protect my sister. Because if you hurt her, I’ll bury you in the backyard.”

“If I hurt her, I’ll let you.”

“Damn it. You say things like this, and it’s why I remember you’re my best friend.”

“Well, I’m glad somebody still thinks I am.”

“Hey, Atlas forgave you right away. I wanted to punch you.”

“I’m still waiting for the punch,” I said as I grabbed my keys and we headed towards our respective trucks.

“The punch can come any minute.”

I nearly ran into Rune as he froze.

“What is it?” I cursed under my breath. “What cat left a fucking dead bird on my porch?”

“I didn’t even see that. I’m looking at that,” Rune said, and I cursed again.

“Are you fucking kidding me? How long were you in here? Did you see anything when you walked inside?”

“I was inside your house for like five minutes, and I wasn’t paying attention to your truck when I walked by. Fuck. Who the hell keyed it?”

“And why would they key the word ‘dead’?”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I looked around the end of the cul-de-sac into the forest beyond. But I didn’t see a thing. Felicity was out with Keely, thank God, so she wouldn’t see this. But I pulled out my phone and shook my head.

“It has to be my dad, right? He’s such an asshole.”

“He needs to leave town or just leave this earth. Nobody fucking wants him here. Hell, Callum. How are you going to fix this?”

“Bodhi will know someone or something. Shit. We’re going to be late.”

“Well, call the sheriff’s station, and I’ll wait with you. But maybe we should go inside.” Chills slid up my spine, and I nodded. “Yeah, we should.”

By the time we dealt with the authorities, and I left my truck right where it was, Rune drove me to the axe-throwing place.

“Okay, I’m going to need to break some shit,” I growled.

“Damn straight.”

The others were already there by the time we showed up, and at their questioning glances, I explained why we were late. It was a small town, and the report was already filed. They would figure it out soon.

“Are you okay?” Bodhi asked, his voice low. “Did they hurt you or the house or anything?”

I shook my head. “No. Nothing else was out of place.”

“There was a dead bird,” Rune put in, and Bodhi cursed.

“A dead bird?” Thatcher asked, drawing out the word. “I don’t like the sound of that. Who did you piss off?”

“Well, I think I’m the only one you’ve pissed off recently, and I didn’t do it,” Rune said as he handed me a beer. I tapped mine to his and took a swig.

“What’d you do to piss off Rune?” Thatcher asked. He had his attention on his phone, though, and I knew he was probably texting about his kids. This was his one night off, and I was glad that he was spending it with us. Sterling was working, and if his place wasn’t packed, with no reservations, we would have bothered him at the restaurant.

“He’s dating my sister,” Rune blurted, and I narrowed my gaze at him.

“Really?”