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“Uh . . .” Trenton stepped over to his dad, throwing his arm around my uncle’s shoulders. “Pops, Mom.” He gave them a disarming smile. “I know we ate, but we were thinking since we’ve been swimming and being active and—”
Alex stepped forward. “Pike’s Pizza is like five miles from here.”
“What’s Pike’s Pizza?” I asked Cohen, my voice low.
“It’s a local pizza and barbeque spot on the river,” he explained. “A lot of boaters like stopping by. They bring the food out to you. Also great for bathroom breaks.”
I nodded. Score. I was sold. I shot my hand up. “I gotta pee.”
There was a smattering of choked laughter, and my uncle blinked, gripping the steering wheel for a second. Jesus. He was weirded out by that?
I snorted. “Be thankful you don’t have a daughter or that I’m not bleeding right now.”
“Ramsay!” came swiftly from my mother, but she was grinning.
My aunt was laughing.
My uncle looked like he wished a wormhole would open and swallow him, but he nodded. “We can make a stop. That’s fine.”
Trenton shot a fist in the air. “Yes! Score one for the Pussy Republic.” He winked and snapped his fingers at me.
I didn’t care. I really did have to go to the bathroom.
Alex and Trenton got up to sit in the back section with Scout.
Cohen seemed to be dozing off next to me, so I moved over to where Alex had been sitting.
Clint turned my way. “What was that about before?”
I’d been hoping to put this off and have no drama until—I didn’t know, when I wasn’t around? But that was the coward’s way out.
I sighed and told him. Everything.
“Are you kidding me?” His eyes were stormy and dark, violence seeping from them. He glared toward the back of the boat. “I’m going to fuck him up.”
“Cohen said Scout felt bad about what he said, that he’d never do it. What I said was messed up too. I mean, think about it, Clint. I was going to toy with Cohen’s sister. You know me. I’d never do that either.”
“That dickhead needs to stay away from you. How about that? That’s what I’m thinking.”
“What’s going on?”
Cohen had woken up. He turned to me, and those eyes went on alert. “What’d you do?”
I sat up because screw him if he was going to blame me for this. “You talked to me and my cousin noticed. Just like you’re not going to lie for your ‘brother’, I’m not going to lie to my cousin.”
He scowled, scooting forward, his arms loose at his sides. “You told him? Everything?”
“Yep.”
“He was going to fuck me up or one of my brothers?” Clint asked Cohen, slowly standing though our boat was still moving over the water.
Cohen stood too, his hands flexing into fists. “It wasn’t like that. He was talking shit.”
“He was talking shit to my cousin about me and my brothers. How’s that okay with you?”
Cohen lowered his head, a flush working its way up his neck. This one wasn’t from the sun or the rum.
“He was nervous. She saw what I did—”
“And my telling both of you that she was cool wasn’t good enough? That’s where he messed up. He didn’t need to go to her or say what he did. He started this, not her.”
“What’s going on?”
Lovely. Stupendous. Scout had joined the conversation.
The pontoon slowed. We were nearing a bank, but all eyes and ears were on Clint, who didn’t waste his words. “You threatened my cousin, and when she didn’t fall in line, you doubled down and threatened me and Trent. That’s what’s going on.”
“What the fuck?” Alex joined the conversation, coming up from behind Scout. He moved to stand next to Clint. “That true?”
Scout opened his mouth.
My cousin beat him to it. “I said it. You know it’s true.”
Scout closed his mouth, but his dark gaze found me.
I felt punched by his look. The anger made his eyes glitter.
Then Alex moved forward, blocking his view. “You don’t need to look her way. Ever.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Fuck, it’s not like that. I saw the way you looked at her,” Alex countered.
“Come on, guys,” Cohen pleaded.
“He threatened her, and then he threatened us. How are you okay with that?”
“She threatened my sister.”
I jumped to my feet.
“I told him she was cool,” Clint argued. “It didn’t need to go there. He fucked that up, not her.”
“What are you all talking about?”
That was my uncle.
We had parked at a dock, and it was obvious something was going down.
Alex spoke up, his voice sounding strained and unnatural, “It’s nothing. Just . . . high school friendship shit.”
“It sounds like more than that,” my mother said.
“It’s really stupid petty high school stuff, Aunt Chris,” Trenton said. “Let us all sort it out and everything will be fine.”
“Off the boat,” Clint added, through gritted teeth.
Scout led the way, brushing past me, his gaze ominous as he caught the side of the boat and launched himself over. I ignored the shiver that went down my spine and moved to follow because I wasn’t going to get blamed for this whole thing. Clint stopped me with a hand on my stomach so he could go next. Instead of jumping over the side, he went through the gate and stepped off the boat like a normal person.
