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“Whoa!” Gabriel was suddenly on the ground, pushing Michael back. “Back off, Mike. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. You know what we’re dealing with, and—”
“Yeah! I do!” Gabriel shoved him in the chest, some real fury behind it. “We all do! And we dealt with it.”
Michael stared at him, more surprised by the anger than anything else.
“We’re not twelve anymore,” Gabriel said.
“You’re not adults, either—”
“Yeah, well, we’re almost the same age you were when Mom and Dad died.”
Michael didn’t want to fight—but he kind of did. Fighting with Gabriel felt easy, natural, and crowded thoughts of darker things out of his head. “I know how old you are. Maybe you could act like it.”
Chris burst out of the ambulance with a vengeance. “Maybe you could! You don’t have to protect us all the time, Michael. You’re not our father. You’re our brother.”
“Don’t fight,” said Nick. He stepped out of the ambulance, too. “There’s been enough fighting.” Then his eyes met Michael’s. “But I agree with them. We’re not helpless. You don’t have to keep acting like we are.”
He knew they weren’t helpless. He’d known that for a long time.
But if he didn’t have to watch out for his brothers, what else did he have?
Marshal Faulkner put a hand on his shoulder. “They’ll be okay. Aren’t you appearing in front of a judge in a few days anyway?”
Michael looked at his brothers. They looked so defiant—but strong and capable, too. He didn’t know what to say.
“It’s not safe,” he started.
“It’s never safe,” said Nick. “Never. And what are you going to do? Load us into the truck and take off?”
“The truck is totaled,” Michael said. But yes, he’d been planning something exactly like that.
His brothers looked stunned. “The truck—is totaled?” said Gabriel.
“Yeah. From the restaurant bombing.” Michael leaned against the edge of the ambulance. He rubbed at his eyes. The fire marshal was right. Nothing had changed. He had nowhere to take his brothers. No vehicle to take them in.
The night had been terrifying, and he’d been so relieved to have his brothers back that he hadn’t considered practicalities.
This sucked.
“What do we need to do?” said Chris.
Michael looked up and sighed—but Chris wasn’t talking to him. He was talking to the fire marshal.
Marshal Faulkner glanced between Michael and his brothers. “Same as before.” He hesitated. “You’ll stay with someone approved for emergency custody for a few days.”
“Fine,” said Nick.
“Fine,” agreed Gabriel. “Let’s go.”
“Not fine,” said Michael. He couldn’t let this happen again. He couldn’t go another night without knowing where his brothers were. Not now, not this soon. “I told you—”
“Wait.” Marshal Faulkner held up a hand. “Would you feel better if you knew where they were?” He looked at each of them again. “If you all agree to behave until your brother has a court date, I can pull some strings.”
Michael hesitated.
“We agree,” said Chris.
