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"Stay inside and lock the doors," I order Autumn. "I'm going after her."
"Please be careful," Autumn pleads. "I need you to come home, Andreas. You're my brother and I need you to come home, okay?"
"I'm coming home, baby sister," I promise, my voice soft.
"Okay," she sniffles. "Please bring Catriona home too."
"Plan on it," I growl. "Stay inside."
"Okay."
I hang up and then immediately dial Giant.
"What's up, fucker?"
"Catriona went to confront her brother," I tell him.
"Shit," he growls, sobering. "How long ago?"
"I don't know, but I'm going after her," I say.
"Let's ride."
"I'm not asking."
"Good, because we're ride or die, motherfucker. You don't have to ask. We ride until we die, period. We're going to get your girl," he says. "Where are you?"
I check the road signs and give him my location.
"Be there in five."
"Just you, Giant," I say quietly. "If you bring everyone…"
"Yeah, I know. It'll turn into a fucking war."
Chapter Ten
Catriona
Mybrother'shousesitsat the end of a cul-de-sac in a dying neighborhood in Copper Creek. The gray two-story Cape Cod-style house is in good condition, but it looks sad and lonely. The houses on either side have for sale signs hanging in the front yards. They've been on the market for a while but living next to a known biker hangout isn’t appealing to most buyers. Neither is buying real estate in a town where most people live below the poverty line and job opportunities are scarce.
A light shines in the front window and my brother's bike is parked in the driveway. Thankfully, his is the only one tonight. I didn't come here to talk to the Vipers. I came to talk to Connor. Andreas is going to be mad at me when he finds out, but I have to do this.
I've been putting it off for long enough already.
I don't know if I can stop Connor from doing whatever it is he and the Vipers are planning to do, but I owe it to Andreas to try. I owe it to myself to try too. If I don't, I'll always wonder if I could have stopped them. I'll always wonder if I could have made a difference.
For a long time, I kept my mouth shut and watched my brother slip further and further down a dark path. I can't do that this time. Ignorance isn't bliss, and I know that now. I think I've always known that, but I was always too afraid to rock the boat. I didn't want to lose the only family I had left. Connor is my brother and I love him. I'll always love him. But loving someone doesn't mean enabling them. It doesn't mean supporting them even when they're destroying themselves. Sometimes, loving someone means loving them enough to walk away.
If I have to make a choice between family and forever…I choose forever.
I choose Andreas.
I pull into the driveway and park. My hands shake as I kill the engine and climb out. It feels like a lifetime since I left here. Part of me feels guilty for cutting off all contact with Connor like I did, but I think I needed to do it. Had I not, he would have badgered me into coming home and I probably would have let him. He's my brother. Ihatefighting with him.
Part of me will always feel like I owe him because he raised me. But I don't owe him my peace of mind. I don't owe him my future and my happiness. I can't spend the rest of my life trying to straighten his out for him.
I push my car door closed and jog up the steps to the front door, and then I hesitate. Should I knock? Use my key? I'm not sure. This isn't my home anymore. It hasn't felt like home to me in a very long time.
