Page 25 of Unhinged
Atticus darted his gaze to August, aggressively gesturing to Adam in ado something with himgesture.
August shook his head. “Adam, you’re putting us all in danger by associating with this boy.”
“Atticus almost married that psycho Kendra, and none of you batted an eye at that train wreck,” Adam snapped.
“She didn’t know about our secrets,” Archer said, sounding bored.
Adam could feel his anger rising. “Exactly. If she had, she would have used it to drain our family dry. She was an absolute fucking nightmare. Noah doesn’t want anything from us. Besides, if you’re so concerned he’s going to go run and tell the world, wouldn’t the more prudent move be to keep him close, not alienate him further?”
“Adam, you’re being childish,” Atticus said.
Adam shot a glare in Atticus’s direction. “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be synthesizing a protein or growing ears on the back of rats or something? Why do you care who or what I’m doing all of a sudden?”
“I care for the same reason we all do. There are a million guys you can stick your dick into—what is your deal with this one? Is this just another cry for attention? Haven’t you gotten enough?”
Adam sent the knife in his hand sailing towards Atticus, feeling some satisfaction at the way his brother flinched when it embedded into the wall just behind his head.
Atticus blew a breath out of his nose. “There. That right there is what I’m talking about. You’re almost thirty years old. Stop acting like a spoiled brat.”
Adam leaned forward. “I’m twenty-seven and, yes, I am an adult. As an adult, I can stick my dick in whoever I want.”
“So, youarefucking him? The child of the man you murdered?” Archer asked.
“Don’t say it like that. He’s twenty-one.”I think.
“He’s setting you up,” August said again, voice almost completely devoid of emotion.
“No. He’s not. I’ve been following him for weeks. He had the chance to kill me and he never took it.”
“Because you decided to show him evidence that his father was a child molester,” Atticus said, fuming.
“What should I have done, Atticus? Let him kill me? Kill him? That goes against our code. It’s not Noah’s fault he was raised by a sick fuck like Wayne Holt. He was one of his victims, too, you know.”
“So, what?” August asked.
Adam froze. “So, what?”
“Yeah, so, what? What do you care if he had a shitty childhood? I know we’ve all been taught to act as if we have emotions, but you aren’t pretending. So, what’s happening here?”
“What do you care? I like him. I like being with him.”
“Calliope says she sent you that information two weeks ago. Why are you fighting this hard for a guy you don’t know?”
“Because I do know him. And he knows me. In all the ways that matter.”
“Oh, Christ,” August muttered. “I might have expected thisRomeo and Julietbullshit from Avi or Asa, but not you.”
Adam gripped tightly to the one nerve he had left, spitting, “Oh, fuck you, August.”
“Lower your voice,” August cautioned, leaning back in his seat. “The closer you get to him, the worse it's going to be when you have to let him go. End it. Now. Because if you don’t, we’ll have to tell Dad, and I don’t think you’ll like how he chooses to end it.”
Adam shoved his chair away from the table, the feet scraping loudly over the marble floor. “Go ahead. Tell Dad. And while you’re at it, tell him this. I’m keeping Noah. He’s mine.”
“He’s not a toy. He’s a human being,” Archer muttered.
His rage took hold, his hands fisted at his sides. “He’s mine. I won’t give him up. Don’t push me on this or I swear to fucking God, I’ll burn it all down. Do you hear me? If you make me choose, I’ll choose him.”
“You don’t even know him, Adam. And you don’t get to make these decisions for all of us.”
