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His behavior rarely surprises us and I have never been this scared of what he could do up until this point. But the gun doesn’t waver from Luke’s face.
Damian turns his face to the left to spit into the trimmed grass of the mansion's lawn. "You heard me? Back off," Damian repeats.
"Easy, man," Luke says, his hands in the air. "I'm only here for Adeline."
"Damian, lower the gun, please!" I beg, daring to grab my brother by the arm.
He glances at me, face creased into a deep frown that shows he's about to lose his shit. "This isn't your business, Addy."
It is my business! Luke’s here because I’d invited him. I was thrilled to see his message yesterday, asking me to see a movie. He's finally taking me on a date! I didn't think twice before replying that I would love to. Then he asked for my house address and I gave it to him.
The first problem is Luke's decision to drive to my family's mansion, knock on the front door and ask to see me. He did get a response but it was from my brother, a mad man holding a gun to his face.
"Seriously, just drop the gun," I tell Damian again.
He isn't listening. Damian takes a step forward and presses the muzzle of the shotgun to Luke's chest. A gasp escapes my lips.
Luke does nothing but lower his gaze to the gun. He looks up at Damian, the corners of his lips arching to form a slow grin. The cold response has my pulse stuttering. Luke almost looks as if he wants this…
"Damian!" A voice booms from inside the house.
My oldest brother, Lawrence, steps out of the house. His displeasure burns in his eyes as he moves swiftly to Damian, bending the barrel of the shotgun to the back. The action angers Damian and he tosses the damaged gun aside, shaking his fist at Lawrence.
"That's my gun!"
"Well, it's gone now. Deal with it," Lawrence sneers at him. "Go inside and don't come out!"
Damian grumbles something and throws one final glare at Luke. He turns around and storms inside, slamming the door so hard the thick glass panels at its center rattle.
Lawrence faces Luke and me. His smile is puzzlingly warm. "Sorry about that."
Lawrence is as insane as Damian but somehow, my oldest brother can put a leash on his madness. At the same time, he’s the only one who knows how to control Damian, like a puppet while he holds the strings.
"Have we met?" Lawrence adds.
The question heightens my fear. Suddenly, I wish Damian was still pointing the gun at Luke and Lawrence was inside the house, staying out of this. If he remembers I met Luke at the bar the other night, he won’t let him out of here, not alive!
"I don’t think so," Luke answers as if he can hear my silent prayers that Lawrence doesn’t remember him. “Or your brother wouldn’t be pointing a gun at me.”
Lawrence scoffs. He puts his hands in his pockets and grins at Luke. "Are you scared of a gun?"
A stupid question! Luke’s human. He isn't anything like me. One shot and I'll be weeping over his dead body.
"It's a gun," Luke replies. "Who isn't scared of a gun?"
Lawrence folds his arms. "Hm, because I could swear for a second there that you didn't move an inch when Damian pointed the shotgun at you."
I quickly step between them. "Lawrence, please, I really need to get going. Luke is taking me out to see a movie."
Lawrence doesn't object. I expect him to flare up and tell me to get back into the house. He just smiles again and says to Luke, "Take care of my sister. If anything happens to her," he pokes the air in Luke's direction, "I'm coming for you."
My belly bubbles for joy, sending a smile to my face, one I can’t contain. He just gave me the green light to go out with Luke! I grab Luke by the arm and pull him out of there before Lawrence can change his mind.
"Is this your car?" I ask Luke as soon as we get to a red Ford parked outside my family mansion.
"It's Jacqueline's." Luke holds the door for me. "Come on."
Luke starts the car and drives away. Lawrence is still standing in front of the house, hands in the pockets of his pants, eyes trailing the car as we leave.
