Page 143 of Killer Kiss

Eddie and Zane were gone. The only link left behind was their mother, who hadn’t been helpful. The woman was barely there, staring out the window, rocking back and forth, muttering nonsense beneath her breath.

She was broken, and every instinct in me said her sons were the reason.

All I could think when I looked at her was that it was better Fawn be dead than be like that.

We all needed closure though. I’d called Eve and asked if we could use the club to have a memorial service. Even if there was no body, Fawn deserved a proper send-off.

It was the least we could do after failing her so badly.

Augie lifted my chin and dipped his head. “Stop it.”

I both loved and hated that he knew me well enough to know what I was thinking. It was new, sharing that sort of intimacy with someone. Having a man who watched out for you, and knew when you needed a pep talk, because he understood your expressions.

“None of this is your fault,” he reminded me for maybe the hundredth time.

I was slowly starting to believe it. I wasn’t there one-hundred-percent, but with him, and the therapist I now saw twice a week, maybe I would be eventually.

Banjo came over with Luna on his hip, Lacey, Rafe, and Colt behind them. They hadn’t known Fawn, but they’d come for Augie.

And for me.

Lacey took my fingers and squeezed them, the shorter woman staring up at me with her eyes glistening in sympathy. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” I lied.

I could feel Augie’s frown, but it disappeared when Luna reached for me.

“Aunty Lia, can I have a sleepover at your place?”

I took her, even though my fingers trembled at the ‘Aunty’ tag. I looked to Banjo. “Did you…?”

He grinned and shook his head. “That’s all her. Do you mind?”

I gazed into Luna’s sweet, heart-shaped face. She wriggled in my arms, patting my cheek excitedly, no idea she’d just rocked my world with a single word.

“Can I?” she asked. “Mom said it was okay if it was okay with you and Uncle Augie.”

I kissed her forehead. “Absolutely. We’ll stay up until midnight, and we’ll eat all the candy and we’ll watch sca…” I glanced at Lacey. “PG-rated movies?”

Lacey nodded with a smile. “Good choice if you don’t want her sleeping in between the two of you.”

Except that sounded quite nice. I was ninety-nine-percent sure Augie and I both had too much childhood trauma to ever want one of our own.

But damn if I wasn’t going to be the best aunty to this little girl. I could give her that.

Banjo cleared his throat, catching Augie’s attention. “Listen, I know this is not the time or place to get into in depth, but I’ve been doing some thinking.” He held up his hands, both still bandaged to the hilt while his bones and tendons healed. “Not much else to do when you’re sitting on the sidelines, watching your team practice.”

Guilt stabbed at me, and again, without even looking at me, Augie squeezed my fingers. It was a silent reminder that this also was not my fault. I was not the one who’d put knives through his brother’s hands.

Banjo continued, not noticing the silent war I was having with myself. “After graduation, I want to start a not-for-profit.”

Augie squinted at him. “That does what, exactly?”

Banjo already had a pitch prepared. “I want to go around to the underprivileged schools in the area, starting with Saint View elementary, but with the aim to expand to the middle and high school as well. I want to run after-school football clinics. And maybe other sports too.” He stared at his older brother. “I want to keep these kids busy and active and out of trouble and gangs, the way you did for me and Colt and Rafe.”

Augie froze. “What? I never did that. You three were just good kids.”

Colt shook his head. “After my dad died, it would have been easy for me to get myself in trouble. I had such a chip on my shoulder. The whole reason I didn’t was because you and Banjo were out on the street every night, tossing that ball around and expecting me to show up as well.”

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