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Irish reached out, and Michael jumped. He had the gun pointed before he’d finished a breath.
Irish put his hands up. “Take it easy. I’m sorry. You’re hurting—”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Fine,” Irish said equably. “But I’m not your enemy.”
“We’ll see.” After a second, Michael put the gun away.
“There are more of us than you’d think,” Irish said. “The Guides don’t like us much either, for what it’s worth.”
“Why?” said Michael.
Irish shrugged. “Younger generation. New way of thinking.” He paused. “A lot of us think it’s time for a change.”
“Me, too,” said Michael.
“Maybe we can make that happen together,” said Irish. He held out his hand.
After a moment, Michael shook it.
When Irish tried to pull away, Michael held fast. “What’s going on between you and Hannah?”
“She asked me to tell her everything.”
Michael felt that like a bullet. He winced. He should be telling her.
He should have told her.
But maybe it was better this way. He’d never be safe. Not really.
“Good,” he said. But he still didn’t let go of Irish’s hand. “You didn’t really answer my question.”
Irish raised his eyebrows.
Michael repeated himself. “What’s going on between you and Hannah?”
Irish smiled. “Ask her.”
CHAPTER 31
Michael’s brothers sat in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in blankets. They’d been examined and questioned and told to wait.
So Michael sat on the tailgate and waited. He didn’t want to move. He felt like if he stayed right here, he could keep his brothers safe.
They hadn’t said much since the paramedics had left them alone. Michael couldn’t blame them. He didn’t feel like talking, either.
He kept turning around to look at them, though. He couldn’t quite believe they were safe and unharmed, as if one of these times he’d swivel on the tailgate, and the ambulance would be empty and this whole night would be a cruel joke.
He kept hoping he’d turn around, and Hunter would be sitting there with them.
When he’d done it one too many times, Gabriel said, “We’re still here, Mike.”
“I know.” He studied them, their drawn and filthy faces, the way they sat huddled together. “I thought . . .”
He couldn’t finish that sentence.
Nick nodded as though he knew what Michael was trying to say. He glanced at his brothers. “We thought we were dead, too.”
