Page 126 of Last Man Standing

“Dead meat!” Koda slams his fist against the table, rattling cutlery and startling Uncle Bas from his not-quite-asleep, but not-all-that-awake state. “And I’m extra lucky, cause even though they annoy me, I still have two grown-up brothers. No one messes with me ever.”

“Gonna be a hard life lesson,” Mav snorts. “He’s growing up arrogant. Walks like he’s seven feet tall. Someday, he’ll be grown and still think he’s unbeatable, but then he’ll get a tap on the chin and realize he’s never had to fight his own battles before. He won’t know how.”

“That’s not true!” Koda kicks Mav a second time. “I know how to fight! I’m even gooder than you with a sword.”

“Gooder. Uh-huh.” Mav brings teasing eyes back to Scarlett. “Your brother freaking out about you being here on enemy territory?”

“Maverick!” Mom snarls. “Jesus. Can you behave just once in your life? This dinner is already balancing on a barbed-wire tightrope. I’m trying to keep us from falling, so if you don’t mind⁠—”

“He freaked a little,” Scarlett responds easily. Smiling, even if it’s as tight as the wire my mom walks upon. “I get the impression my brother is known for being formidable, logical, and authoritarian in his work.” She gulps and peeks up from beneath her lashes. “This reputation made him desirable to certain business owners who required someone with a detective’s brain and a history of completing jobs.”

Certain business owners… my mother’s father.

“At work, that’s who he is. But at home,” she exhales a giggling laugh. “He’s a worrier. An over-reactor. He’s a protector, but if he’s protecting me, he lacks certain layers of objectivity.”

Like tying a motherfucker down, torturing him, and allowing his sister to strike the killing blow, instead of… ya know, delivering him to the cops or putting a bullet between his brows.

“When he found out Sebastion was bringing me here, he panicked.” She shrugs. “But beneath the panic, he knew what was right and what was smart. Which is how he could accept the change of plans and still be able to function where he is right now.”

“He’s in Colorado, right?” Dad asks his question and avoids my eyes. Because he fucking knows where Linc is right now. “Looking for the person trying to make trouble for you?”

“Yeah.” Scarlett huddles deeper into her chair. “But we don’t have to talk about that⁠—”

“We can,” Mom inserts kindly. “If you like. Do you know who this person is yet? Or what they want?”

Timid, Scarlett shakes her head. “My brother said he’s meeting with someone tomorrow who might be able to help, so until then, I was told to wait and try to relax.”

“Relax,” Mom scoffs. “It’s the worst thing to be told when you’re waiting for information and worried about the people you love. Do you have any clue who left that note for you? Any gut feelings?”

“Mom…” I meet her eyes in warning. Quit it.

“No gut feelings.” Setting her glass on the table, then her napkin right after, Scarlett slides her chair out, even with my arm laid across the top. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to use the bathroom.”

“Oh.” Stunned, Mom nods and goes back to sipping her wine. “Of course. I’m sorry if I was prying.”

“Not prying. I just need to freshen up.”

“Princess.” I push my chair back and slam my beer onto the table.

I prepare to stand, but Scarlett simply lays her hand on my shoulder. “Stay here.” She smiles so bright, so fucking fake, and forces her dimples to pop. But none of it reaches her eyes. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

She spins on her heels and moves fast enough that her hair flies and her perfume wafts in the air left behind. The instant she’s gone, I bring fiery eyes back to my mother. “Are you kidding me right now? Did you invite her to dinner or a fucking interrogation?”

“I didn’t mean… I wasn’t intending to⁠—”

“Mom!”

“I’ve allowed you more freedom than I typically would.” The skin around Dad’s lips glows white as he shoots a fiery glare my way. His furious tone makes even Koda sit still. “I’ve swallowed my words and given you space, since I know things are tense. But you’re gonna find your respect, son. You didn’t speak to your mother this way before Scarlett came along, and I assure you, you won’t speak to her this way after Scarlett leaves again. Watch your mouth, or I’ll close it for you.”

“You already know the answers to your questions! You’ve been reading her texts since she got here. You’ve heard every phone call she’s made. You’ve intercepted every single fucking communication she’s had.” I bring my eyes back to my mother and sneer. “You had her believing tonight’s invitation was a genuine attempt at friendliness.”

“It was! I swear⁠—”

“But you question her about things she doesn’t need to talk about? You apologize for your coldness toward her since she arrived, but at least that behavior was real! At least she knew where she stood. This fake shit?” I look at my Dad. “You get coffee with her almost every single morning. She’s scared, but at least she figures you’re decent enough. You’re a connection to me, and the other connection, the one she’d prefer,” I growl toward my mother, “terrifies her. If you wanna hate her, hate her. If you wanna interrogate her, interrogate her. But do it with your full chest. Own what you’re doing, because she deserves to know you’re full of shit.”

“I was trying to find common ground to discuss,” Mom declares quietly. “It’s clear she loves her brother very much, just as it’s clear I lack social skills and the art of small talk, so I did my best to center our discussion on this person she loves. Sure, I ran out of questions, so I asked some I already knew the answers to, but don’t you dare sit there and lecture me, Sebastion. Don’t criticize my efforts. Not when you’ve read every single text she’s sent, too. You’ve listened to every phone call. Every morning when she thinks you’re asleep and sneaks out of your room to have coffee with your father, you’ve allowed that lie to continue. The other morning, when you followed her to the security room with a gun in your hand and a prayer on your lips? That was just another lie in a string of many.” She firms her jaw and looks me up and down. “Don’t talk to me about dishonesty, not when you share a bed and lack the courage to admit you’re just like the rest of us. You know her every texted thought, Sebastion. You’ve heard every whispered I miss you and want to come home shared with her brother. You’ve read every single scornful and scathing comment she’s made about me. About your father.” She pauses for a beat, all to dig her point in deeper. “About you.”

“How the hell am I supposed to tell her?” I shove up from my chair and slam it back against the table. “She needs someone to trust! She needs to know I have her back in this hellhole she considers a prison. For her own mental well-being, she needs to feel safe. So how the fuck is admitting that shit helping anyone? Least of all her.”