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“What did you guys think?” said Michael. “That I snuck out?”
“We didn’t know what to think,” said Nick. “The fire started fast.”
“I almost couldn’t stop it,” said Gabriel. “I had to keep it to the front of the house. I was worried about it getting into the garage.”
So Gabriel had stopped it. “You probably saved the business.”
“I was more worried about all that shit blowing up. Whoever did this had a plan.” Another pause. “And power. A lot of power.”
“Do you think it was Calla?” said Michael. “I haven’t heard from her in a week. She’s been pissed that I won’t help her start a war.”
“This would be a good way to start one with us,” said Gabriel, his tone dark. “But I have no idea. I didn’t see anyone.”
“Who was in the woods?” said Nick.
No one said anything for a long moment, but the confusion and fury in the car redirected toward Chris.
He didn’t look away from the window. “Sometimes I go for a walk, okay?” he snapped. “It’s not like anyone is sleeping lately.”
“But you ran,” said Hunter.
Now Chris whipped his head around. “I didn’t know it was you! You would have run, too!” Then his gaze darkened. “Or maybe you would have shot someone. Who knows?”
“You’re lucky I’m not shooting you right now.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t drown you—”
“Hey!” said Michael. He knew most of this was misdirected fear and uncertainty. That didn’t mean he wanted to listen to it. “Knock it—”
A horn blared from behind them, and they all jumped. Another car had stopped behind them, and Michael realized they’d been sitting here for a while, just blocking the intersection.
He turned around in his seat and put the car back into gear. He ran a hand through his short hair, feeling dirt and burned particles dislodge. Once they made the turn onto Ritchie Highway, he glanced in the rearview mirror again. Aggression hung so thick in the air that he wanted to open the windows to clear the cab.
“Have you been sneaking out every night?” he said.
Chris didn’t say anything.
“Chris!”
“He’s scared,” said Hunter.
“Fuck you,” said Chris. “If you want to sit around waiting for an attack, fine. I can’t do it anymore.”
They came to a traffic light, and Michael rotated in his seat to face his youngest brother. “Are you out of your mind? What the hell were you thinking, Chris? We could have—those fires—”
Chris wouldn’t look at him. “You think I don’t know?”
Gabriel hit him on the back of the head. “And you thought that was a good idea?”
“I stayed near the water. And who the hell are you to talk about good ideas?”
“You know what, Chris? You can—”
“All right, stop!” The light changed and Michael turned back to face the road. He knew better than to let them ramp Chris up. Nick was always reasonable. Gabriel would fight, but he was direct about it—and once he was done, he was done.
Chris would stew in his own thoughts for hours. In retrospect, Michael wondered if he should have been watching for this, for Chris to isolate himself.
He was too tired for all this analysis. And his brothers were too keyed up. He needed a distraction.
