Page 124 of Alec’s Dream

Fucking hell.

Jonny Spencer

A bullet to the shoulder hurt like a bitch. Watching your psychotic brother kill your father in front of your mother and niece—Jesus, that burns your soul.

Jonny had no idea what had made Doug into the asshole he’d become. They’d had the same upbringing. The same two loving parents. Hell, when Doug had first come to live with them, Jonny’s parents had showered him with love and attention.

But something was broken in Doug. He always wanted more, needed more, needed to control, needed the adrenaline rush from gambling, fucking, and fighting—he was addicted to it.

However, Jonny would never understand how they’d gotten to this moment.

A son killing his father.

A father harming his child.

A brother shooting his family.

Jonny knew he’d lost consciousness for a few moments when he’d stumbled and hit his head on his mother’s coffee table after Doug shot him. So he’d missed some of the conversation leading to Doug killing his father.

The situation was beyond fucked. His mother looked stunned. And she would be seeing the man she loved more than half of her life dead. His niece had checked out. Her stare was blank, skin pale.

Jesus Christ.

Jonny didn’t have a choice.

This had to end, and it was he who needed to do it.

There was no stealthy finesse when Jonny reached for his back-up revolver holstered just above his ankle. He didn’t conceal the sound of Velcro ripping apart as he pulled the weapon free. He didn’t hide his movements when rolled to his side and leveled the .357 at his brother’s head.

Jonny didn’t need to conceal or hide anything—Doug wasn’t paying attention to him. He was too busy threatening to kill his own flesh and blood so her mother wouldn’t have her.

That wasn’t going to happen.

“Get Aurora,” Jonny shouted, and in one smooth pull of the trigger, the shot rang out, the bullet hit Doug in the temple.

Doug’s body crumpled next to his dead father’s and Jonny closed his eyes.

36

Get Aurora.

Alec couldn’t get those words out of his head. He also had not seen the bullet pierce the side of Doug’s skull. At Jonny’s direction, Alec dove for Aurora and shielded her from witnessing her father’s death.

Now Nixon was driving them back to Alec’s house. Aurora was curled up in Alec’s lap in the backseat and he didn’t give two shits it was illegal. He wasn’t letting the little girl go.

The EMTs on the scene had checked her out and physically she was unharmed. But it would take a long time for the horror she’d witnessed to fade.

It took Alec ten minutes to calm Macy down when he’d called her to tell her he had Aurora. And another ten to convince her to stay home. She didn’t need to see the carnage—Rory had seen enough for the family times ten.

And unfortunately, she’d seen and heard everything, excluding the bloody end to her father’s life.

“Almost home, baby,” Alec murmured and kissed the top of her head.

“I knew you’d come,” she whispered.

The knot in his chest started to loosen but he still couldn’t breathe.

“Yeah, sweetheart, I’ll always come.”