Page 41 of Rescue Us

“She likes it,” he mumbled, stepped away from me, and opened the door to the passenger side of the SUV.

I stared at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. I realized then that Amber would need a whole hell of a lot of patience to break down Sammy’s walls.

My phone dinged, interrupting my thoughts.

Pet: You good? You and your brother looked like you were having a heated conversation.

I let out a heavy sigh before responding.

Me: He’s a dick. Ignore him.

Shoving my phone inside my leather cut, I joined Sammy in the driver’s seat and drove us to the Hell’s Harlem clubhouse. He was silent the whole way, puffing on that damn smoke of his. When he finished one, he lit up another. He was stressed about something. I knew, because it was the only time he lit up smoke after smoke.

“What’s going on with you?” I asked once we pulled into the driveway in front of the clubhouse.

“Do you think Mom and Dad would still be together if they were alive?”

My mouth fell open, taken aback by his question. Clearing my throat, I nodded. “I do.”

Sammy looked at me then. “How?”

“They loved each other. I know we were young when they died—”

“Killed, Cyrus. They were fucking killed. Murdered. Shot. Taken from us before their time.” Sammy left the SUV, slamming the door shut behind him.

I let out a hard sigh, knowing he was right. Maybe it was why he was so damn grumpy lately. It was as though the more years passed where our parents were no longer with us, the moodier he became.

A woman left the large house, running toward Sammy. I realized then that it was our cousin, Bee. When she reached him, he picked her up and spun her around.

I left the SUV, heading toward them, still pissed over how my brother was acting, but would leave it alone. For now.

“Cyrus.” Bee rushed to me.

I chuckled, crouched, and held my arms out.

“God, it’s been too long.” She threw her small body around me.

I lifted her into my arms, hugging her a little longer than I intended.

“Hey.” She wiggled out of my grip, staring up at me. “You good?”

“Yeah.” I hooked an arm around her shoulders, leading her to the house. “How’s the family?”

“Good! Manuel is with my dad and mom, and Tanner’s inside,” she said, nodding toward the house. “We’re taking a little trip just the two of us, so my parents are babysitting for the weekend.”

“That sounds fun.” I hugged her into my side as we walked to the front doors of the clubhouse. “Let’s get in there before my brother murders your husband for just existing.”

She snorted. “Whatever. Sammy likes him. He just won’t admit it.”

“Sammy won’t admit anything that has to do with him being nice,” I corrected her.

“True.” She laughed. “I take it you’re still fighting?”

“Yeah.” I forgot about the bruises on my face. “I made Cheesy go with me this time.”

“Oh, I bet he loved that.” Bee shook her head, a wide smile forming on her face. Her head of curls swung with the movement. “Poor thing. You guys are mean to him.”

“We are not,” I said as her husband, Tanner, took that moment to join us.

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