Page 47 of Without You, Scotch and Sammy 2

Well I guess that rounds out the four of them.

Marc stalks toward me and Ang, wearing dirty jeans and a flannel T-shirt unbuttoned over a white shirt. With a rag in his hands and boots crunching over concrete and gravel, his eyes burn me to the spot.

Angelo steps between us. “Cool it, Macchio.”

Marc leans around him so our eyes meet again. His teeth are bared like a wild dog, and if he had them, I know his hackles would be sitting high. “Get the fuck out of this town and leave my brother alone!”

“Marc--”

“And don’t even fucking speak to me!”

“Back it up.” Angelo steps forward to create some distance. “You need to cool it.”

“You stand between us?” he snaps. “You protect her?”

Ang nods softly. “I do. Someone has to. We don’t stand over women and intimidate them. We’re better than that.”

“She broke his fucking heart, Ang! She betrayed him.”

Angelo sighs softly, then nods across the lot. “Get out of here. Take a drive, cool off.”

Marc’s lip lifts in disgust. He glares at me for a long minute, then he looks down at Lily. “Glad you made it out alive, kid.”

I almost crouch onto the gravel and roll into a ball as his words slice me deep. He storms away and jumps into an old pick-up truck, then spitting up loose rocks with his speeding wheels, Angelo continues to stand in front of me as a safety barrier.

“Shit…”

“Jesus Christ,” Luc murmurs as he comes closer. “What the fuck is going on right now?”

Angelo sighs and turns back to me. “I’m sorry, Soda.”

Luc’s eyes flare. “Soda?”

“He’s really mad,” I murmur quietly.

“Can someone tell me what the fuck is happening right now?”

I look at Luc, and Angelo leans a little closer to me. “You wanna say hey?”

I nod yes. I shake no. “Is he mad too?”

Angelo watches me with a raised brow. “We’re all a little mad, Soda. You left us all.”

My eyes come to his, and though his words hit me like knives, his eyes aren’t mean. They’re sad. I nod regretfully. “I’m sorry I left, Ang. I thought I was doing the right thing. I really did.”

He frowns at my non-explanation, but Luc refuses to be patient any longer, so without waiting for me to come to him, he walks toward us. All these boys have grown into men in the last decade. I missed so much. Baby faced Luc is now tall and handsome, with a chiseled jaw and pouty lips. He’s broad across the chest, with muscles there now that definitely weren’t when he was fifteen.

“You look like an angel, Sammy.”

Tears well in my eyes. “You look like a man, Luc. All grown up.”

He steps forward hesitantly, forcing me to wonder if he’s turned shy and toned down his loudness since growing up. “You’re back?”

I swallow as he continues to look me up and down. It’s like he really does think I’m an angel, a figment of his imagination. “I’m here… for now.”

“Did Scotch see you yet?”

I nod and wipe away the single traitorous tear that slides over my cheek. “Yeah. We’re talking.”

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