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Every pair of eyes focuses on me. Like someone abruptly hit mute on a remote. Then dad’s booming laugh echoes through the resounding silence. I reach out and pull on his arm, throwing him over my shoulder and knocking him to the ground.
Now the stares turn into disbelieving noises of shock. Harsh curse words are spit at me.
Caine blinks and stares at me from where he’s lying on the ground. “You don’t fight like a biker, lass.”
I roll my eyes. No kidding. Bikers fight like street brawlers.
Caine springs lightly to his feet. My dad isn’t far behind, but he’s older and heavier. His movements are slower, more pained.
“This is stupid. We have a truce,” I say. Now that the fight is broken up, I don’t know what to do and my words feel inadequate.
“They attacked us. In my home,” Caine growls.
“Ain’t that exactly what you did to us?” dad says. His voice is a low and dangerous rumble.
“And we resolved that,” I say, fighting to keep my voice even. “So what do we have to do to put this to bed?”
“The disrespect of a common thug won’t fucking stand,” Killian says, shooting a menacing look at Hayden.
Caine takes off his shirt. It was shredded in the fight. Blood stains his undershirt and his immaculate blonde hair is a mess. He oozes violence and, by moving to the front of the group, all eyes land on him. How he commands a rival gang in a bloody undershirt is beyond me. Maybe it’s the ink covering his arms.
Caine reaches out and his hand tightens around my upper arm. It’s not painful, but it’s restraining.
Dad’s expression is grim, but he nods.
Hayden’s eyes widen, and he curses at Killian. Theo punches him out before he can attack Killian again. By the time I puzzle out what’s about to happen, it’s too late. I want to intervene, but this time Caine is ready for me. His grip tightens, and he yanks me back to his side.
“Do you want a truce or not?” he hisses in my ear.
I look at dad and see he’s stoic. Not even Liam moves. Whatever is about to go down, I won’t be weaker than the men.
“I do,” I say quietly.
“Then don’t intervene.”
“But -”
“Aurora,” Caine growls. There’s a warning note in his voice and I remember our conversation before this meeting. The one where Caine warned me he would handle this, how he would if I weren’t present. “You might want to go inside for this.”
I stay where I am. I pushed for this meeting and I’m not going to leave when it blows up.
Killian and Theo drag Hayden to the pool. I stifle a whimper.
They shove his head under water and hold him down as he drowns. His body spasms and I close my eyes.
I look away as the O’Connors kill Hayden. A member of the Dullahans, one of my own.
???
Once everything is over and Hayden is taken away like a piece of trash, I don’t feel anything. Just numb. I’m sitting at the kitchen counter clutching a beer like it’s a lifeline. Then there’s Caine typing away on his computer. Studying with a glass of scotch in his hand. He looks like nothing happened. The longer I watch, the more I start to feel. And what I’m feeling is pure rage.
I stand up and toss my beer bottle at Caine. He doesn’t even look up.
Bastard.
“You just stood there while they killed Hayden!”
I don’t know why I’m angry with Caine. It’s not like he gives a shit. But still, there’s a part of me that felt like there wassomethingreal between us. Until Hayden died.
