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“Caden thought you’d left without a care.” He throws the locket in her direction, where it lands and breaks in half on the patio paving, and still, she doesn’t flinch as she stares down her aggressor.
Pride fills me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
“Iallowedyou to live in peace with your spawn, even though IknewI should have ended you both when you were still within reach…”
He trails off, dipping his chin down and talking as though to himself.
“The moment you were taken into Burton’s care, you were beyond evenmyreach. That bastard will pay too.”
He jerks upright, pinning Summer with a dark look. “You should have listened to me, Summer. You should have stayed away…the repercussionswillbe harsh.”
Summer exhales heavily through her nostrils. “Youdon’tscare me anymore, Noah. I’m through being frightened by you. Youstoleeverything from me.”
Noah throws his head back, laughing to the heavens. He laughs and laughs as each bystander turns confused eyes toward one another.
The laughter stops abruptly, and the night air is pierced by a sudden ear-splittingbang.
There’s an audible grunt, and Jake falls to the paving with a grimace, a hand pressed across his midriff. We all watch on in silent shock when he lifts his palm from his stomach to display his white t-shirt rapidly staining with blood.
Beau steps forward, catching our friend before he falls and pressing his own huge palm across the bullet wound.
I swing my incredulous eyes back to a manically grinning Noah.
“You should be scared of me, Summer.” He waves a gun in his hand. “Very. Fucking. Scared.”
CHAPTER37
SUMMER
Everyone movesto rush toward a gasping Jake, whose head is resting in Beau’s lap. But we all freeze when Noah’s voice booms through the night surrounding us.
“Don’tfucking move!”
I exchange glances with Clary and Cade, both of whom stand still and unmoving, telling me with their eyes to do the same.
Sutton steps forward, and I place a stilling hand on his upper arm. His brown eyes turn to me questioningly, and I shake my head.
He stops in his tracks, doing as I’ve silently requested, but instead of remaining silent, he addresses Noah.
“What the hell are you playing at, Noah? Put that damn gun away and stop being fucking crazy.”
Noah regards his oldest friend with blank eyes.
“You really hadnoidea, did you?”
Sutton throws his hands up in exasperation. “Noah, so help meGod. Jake needs medical attention, and fast. Call 911 right the hell now!”
Noah huffs a laugh. “Wow! You reallydidn’tknow. Did you neveroncequestion the similarities?”
Sutton exhales through his nose, glancing quickly towards a moaning Jake. “Whatsimilarities? What the hell are you talking about?”
“The similarities between me and your father.”
My stomach drops, remembering Vaughn’s discovery.
“Far enough to find that Noah was the result of an affair. His mother refused to tell anyone who his father was, so that’s something I’ve had my guy dig further into.”
“Your father. My father.” Noah tilts his head, his eyes boring right into Sutton’s, before he spits two jaw-dropping words. “Ourfather.”
