Page 257 of Secret Shifters Next Door

My anger had almost totally burned out, but hearing her name was like throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire. It raged back to life like a bomb blast. Gritting my teeth, I followed him downstairs.

“This thing with Ava has gotten your head all kinds of fucked up. She’s the one who’s got you doing this. You keep trying to spoil her, and it’s pulling you deeper and deeper into this. Her father and uncles keep dangling that money in your face, and she keeps bouncing her tits, so you’ll go running to do their little errands. There’s no reason to risk your life for some mob princess.”

Liam skidded to a halt in the living room and whirled around, his own anger reignited. He poked a finger into my chest. “Don’t talk about her like that. All you ever do is talk shit about her and try to blame her for everything that goes wrong in our lives.”

“Because she fucking is to blame!” Spittle flew from my lips as I yelled at him. I was going crazy with aggravation. How could he be so blind?

“No, she’s not, Blayne. You’re not seeing things the way I see them. She brings out the best part of me. I want to take care of her, and…” He looked at me with an intensity I didn’t remember seeing before. “I’m going to marry her.”

That brought me up short. For a few seconds, I had no words. Marry her? Ava Francis? I couldn’t imagine it. He was going to propose? The surprise must have been evident on my face because Liam sighed and shook his head. He looked like he regretted our entire argument, but I could also see his mind was made up.

“Listen, Blayne. After this job, I’ll have enough money to buy that house on the lake I’ve been looking at. That, and a ring that Ava can be proud of. I’m moving out. But don’t worry, I’ll keep paying for this house. It’ll be all yours.”

My jaw dropped open. Liam was actually planning on marrying her? He was going to bind himself to her family and become one of Gio Francis’s lieutenants or something? I was too dumbstruck to speak.

Seeing my distress, Liam stepped forward and hugged me. “This changes nothing. You’re still my number one—always will be. You’ll just be sharing that spot with Ava.”

When Liam pulled away, I was still staring at him in confusion. Nothing about this felt right. Not just the whole getting-married thing, but everything. I was always nervous whenever Liam went out on one of these missions for Gio, but this time? This time was different. There was an urgency to my nerves. It was like I was standing on a cliff about to jump off. That was why I was arguing with Liam. Something about tonight was different, and I couldn’t shake it.

Liam was almost out the door when I finally snapped out of whatever fugue I was in. I hurried after him and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around and pulling him into another hug. Liam, surprised at first, stood there unmoving for a moment, then he wrapped his arms around me and returned my embrace. We stood like that for a long time, and I imagined we’d held each other in the same way inside our mother’s womb. Two boys, not even born yet, but already closer than any two humans could be.

“Come home safe, Liam,” I said.

He patted my back twice. “Always, my man.”

“I’m serious.”

Liam laughed and gave me one last squeeze before breaking the embrace. “I know. So am I. I’ll see you later, bro.”

I stood at the door and watched him walk out into the darkening evening and get into his brand-new Mustang. That car had been paid for with the money he made off these little excursions for Gio, Michael, Sam, and Luis Francis—men I wouldn’t trust with a puppy, much less my brother.

The rest of the night went by with me trying to stay busy. I spent a few hours on homework and studying, but I might as well not have bothered. Nothing I’d read stuck, and when Iclosed my books, I couldn’t remember a single thing. Frustrated, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner, then went to bed early. The only way I was able to fall asleep was by telling myself a hundred times I would see Liam in the morning. After a lot of tossing and turning, I finally slipped off to sleep.

Late in the night, I jolted up in bed, gasping. Sweat poured off me as I dug my fingers into the sheets. Even though I heaved in breath after breath, I couldn’t seem to stop the rapid beat of my heart. A glance at the clock on my nightstand showed it was a little after three in the morning. Something was wrong. My heart ached like I’d been stabbed.

I put a hand to my chest and blinked away the rapidly forming tears. What the hell was going on? Panic and fear surged through me, but I had no idea why.

Swinging my legs off the bed, I stood and walked to my bathroom. My pajama bottoms were soaked with sweat, and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw something strange in my eyes. It was the same look I’d had when our parents were killed when I was a kid. A thought slowly began to build in my mind. As hard as it tried to claw its way up, my consciousness tried harder to force it back down. The thought was like a corpse trying to drag itself out of a grave, and my mind acted like a gravedigger, shoveling spade after spade of dirt back onto it, desperate to keep it down.

Before the thought could fully form and drag itself into the world, a hard banging echoed throughout the house. I jerked in surprise and went to the hallway to see if it was my imagination. As I stood in the dark passageway, the pounding sounded again. This time I could tell what it was—a fist beating on the front door. Liam? Was he hurt and needed me to let him in? I went down the stairs two at a time as I rushed to the front door.

I was halfway across the living room when the voice called out from the other side of the door. “Blayne! Oh God, Blayne. Please open the door.”

I slid to a stop. That voice, although familiar, didn’t belong to my brother. No, it belonged to Ava Francis.

A chill crept up my spine as I reached forward to unlock the deadbolt. I swung open the door, revealing the last thing I’d ever wanted to see. Ava, standing on the porch steps, tears on her face, mascara streaking down her cheeks. Behind her stood her uncle, Luis Francis. Luis’s T-shirt was splattered with blood, and he had the distant look of a man who’d seen something he hadn’t wanted to see. His eyes were bloodshot, and it looked like he’d also been crying.

The beast in my mind, the clawing, grasping thing that had been trying to drag itself into my consciousness since I’d woken moments before, suddenly sprang forward fully formed. I’d known it the moment I’d sat up in bed, but hadn’t wanted to believe it. Had done everything I could to keep the thought away. But seeing Ava’s tears and the blood on Luis’s shirt was like a slap in the face.

Liam was gone.

My brother was dead.

I crumpled, my knees hitting the floor hard, but I didn’t register the pain. Ava leaped forward, wrapping her arms around me. She sobbed against my shoulder as she rubbed my back. The empty ache in my chest exploded into a dark numbness that spread through my entire body. I should have sobbed, screamed, or cried out, but all I could do was stare at the two people on my porch.

At first, Ava’s comforting touch was nice—something I felt like I needed—then I remembered why she was doing it. My sadness warred with the rage rising like a bloody tide inside me.

When I finally spoke, my lips and hands quivered. “What did you do?”

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