Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Vega hits the ground with a thud.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Eagle, get down!” I yell.
But there’s no need. The two minions rush out, and within minutes, they’re unloading a shit-ton of drugs out of their truck and onto our property.
“What the fuck?” Hawk races after them.
Eagle stands, the gun still pointing where Vega stood.
Vega’s blood has soaked through his shirt, but I’m more concerned about my brother than trying to revive a drug lord.
“Eagle,” I say, willing my voice to stay calm. “Please. Give me my gun.”
He stares, trancelike, straight ahead as if Vega is still standing there.
“Eagle…”
Outside, I hear the truck engine start and then screech away, the four-wheel drive trudging over the bramble presumably back toward the border.
Shit. Those two will get back and tell the second-in-command what happened here, and they’ll come after Eagle to avenge Vega.
Fuck.
Hawk returns. “They unloaded their cargo. Now what the hell do we do?”
Only then does Eagle look at me. “Falcon?”
I grab his shoulder. “Yeah, E. It’s me. Everything’s going to be okay. Just give me the gun.”
He looks down at Vega’s immobile body, the blood now soaking his entire shirt.
“It’s okay. We’ll fix it,” I say. “Just give me the—”
Eagle escapes my grasp and darts out the door of the old barn.
Hawk and I follow, as Eagle shoots.
He shoots again.
“Eagle!” I shout. “Stop it. Stop it now!”
Hawk runs after him, but Eagle is quick. He shoots into thin air, in every direction.
Hawk and I watch our brother shooting like a lunatic.
Eagle continues to shoot until the cartridge is empty.
Still he shoots, clicking the trigger even though no more bullets rain down.
“Easy, Eagle,” I say, keeping my voice as calm as I possibly can, even though my heart is thundering like a machine.
“What the fuck?” Hawk mutters.
“Eagle?”
I take a step forward.
“Watch out,” Hawk says. “He’s in shock or something.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t have any more bullets—”
Eagle drops my pistol and then pulls his own out of a hidden holster. Damn it! He wasn’t supposed to be armed.
My heart thumps like a galloping stallion.
“Eagle…”
He points the gun at me.
I’m unarmed. My pistol’s at Eagle’s feet.
Hawk stands, reaches for his own piece, but I gesture to him slightly with my head to back off.
Putting another gun on Eagle will just spook him more.
I have to believe our brother won’t harm us. So I advance another step. Eagle still stands, holding the gun to me.
“Hawk, stay back,” I say.
“I’m not moving,” he says.
I take another tentative step toward my brother, who is still holding the gun.
“E? You need to put your gun down. There’s not going to be anymore shooting tonight. No one’s going to hurt you.”
He cocks his head slightly, but he does not lower the gun.
My heart is thumping so quickly.
I take another step.
Eagle steps back a few inches then.
Damn. He’s spooked.
Why shouldn’t he be? He just shot a fucking drug lord.
“Come on, Eagle. You need to give me that gun.”
I take one more step forward. Only about five feet separate us now.
One more step. “It’s just me. It’s Falcon.” One more step.
Three feet. If I reach out, I can grab the gun. But I know better than to do that. I need to be closer to him.
One more step and then one more. We’re face to face, and I hug him. I take my brother in my arms, and then I pull back slightly, retrieving his gun out of his grip.
Eagle falls back into my arms and lets out a sob.
“It’s okay, brother. I got you.”
Everything will be okay now.
Except everything’s not okay. My brother just shot a fucking drug lord.
And he did it with my gun.
38
SAVANNAH
“Everything isn’t on the table,” Vinnie says to me. “You know that. But I’ll tell you what I can. Everything will only make you unsafe, and I can’t have that.”
“Because you’re doing this to keep me safe.”
He nods. “This is my atonement. For you. For Michael.”
I sigh. “You and I both know there’s nothing you can do for Michael now.”
“I know, but I feel it in my soul that I need to do this. That it’s my calling.”
“To bring down your own family?”
His face darkens. “To bring down Grandpa specifically. And if I find Dad has been his innocent pawn all this time? I’ll see that he’s set free.”
“Did Dad know what Grandpa did to you?”
“I didn’t tell him. I don’t know what Mikey told him. For all we know, he did it to Dad before he let him marry Mom.”
“God.” I bury my face in my hands. “How much sicker can this get?”
“A lot,” he says, “but I can’t give you the gory details, and believe me, you don’t want them.”
I simply shake my head. There’s nothing else I can say.
“Right now, Dad needs to be in prison awaiting trial for the murder of Miles McAllister. It’s the only thing that’s appeasing Declan at the moment, and according to Grandpa, we can’t be working at cross purposes with Declan.”