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Adam dropped the bakery bags.
“Adam!”
Maverick’s voice was deeper than he remembered. Did Adam even remember how Maverick used to sound? It had been so long.
“Adam!” Maverick moved around the counter to head in his direction.
He took a step back. Not out of fear or anything. Adam would never fear his brother. But what was Maverick doing there?
“Hey!” Suddenly Sam stood between Adam and Maverick. A thin, sparkly barrier, but serious in his protection of Adam.
“Oh look.” Maverick lifted his hands in the air. “I just want to talk to him.”
“Who are you?” Mickey had risen and stood just behind Maverick. The short blue-haired boy would be no match for a trained soldier—not that Adam expected his brother to hurt his friends.
“Okay, look guys. I’m not here to hurt anyone.” Maverick shifted where he could keep all of them in his view.
“I’m calling the police!” Caden shouted. He already had his phone up to his ear.
“The police?” Maverick frowned. “What is going on? I just wanted to talk to my brother!”
“Your brother?” Sam repeated.
“What?” Mickey shouted.
“Who’s your brother?” Caden’s voice sounded hesitant.
This was getting ridiculous, but Adam was having trouble speaking. He cleared his throat. “I am,” he rasped.
Sam glanced over his shoulder and Adam nodded. “I’m his brother. That’s Maverick.”
“The army dude?” Sam questioned.
“That’s me,” Maverick said. “Adam? Are you okay? What’s going on?”
He shook his head, and it was Sam who answered.
“We’ve had some trouble in the past,” Sam said. “We don’t like strangers coming around.”
“I noticed that when I stopped for gas and some water,” Maverick said. “For what is supposed to be a friendly little town, I was getting some suspicious looks.”
“We take care of our own here,” Sam stated firmly.
“Yeah?” Maverick replied. “And what about my own? My blood?”
What was Maverick even doing here? Adam hadn’t seen his brother since the day that Maverick had boarded a bus headed for boot camp. He’d hoped every night as he cowered in the corner of that house full of hostile relatives that Maverick would swoop in and save him. Adam had ended up saving himself.
“Dude.” Mickey snorted. “I’ve been here for months, and I’ve never heard Adam talk about his brother. And everyone in the room knows that blood doesn’t mean much to anyone anymore.”
“Look.” Maverick turned to Mickey. “Are you even old enough to work here?”
Mickey scowled and huffed.
“Mav,” Adam whispered.
His brother heard him though. Maverick faced him once again. “Adam.”
It really was his big brother standing in front of him.
