Page 58 of Wicked Attraction

I hit his nose two more times until I heard the crack of a bone breaking, maybe shattering in pieces.

“Don’t try to be a man now. The time for that has come and gone. It won’t save Bonnie now, and it sure as shit won’t save you.”

Cal crouched down low and ran at me until his shoulder landed in my stomach and sent me flying to the floor. He sat tall on top of me and wailed on me with his fists. Hand after hand landed on my sides until I bucked him off me and climbed on top of him.

I smiled down at Cal’s busted and bloody face. “Family is family, asshole.”

My fists rained down wherever they fell, face, chin, jaw, chest, stomach. It didn’t matter to me. I didn’t give a fuck at that moment that this was my little brother, the one Virgil and I protected from the worst shit humanity had to offer.

“We don’t turn our backs on family.” Another crushing blow to the jaw. “We sure as shit don’t try to kill family.” Another hit to his nose.

“Son of a bitch!”

Blood rushed down either side of his face, and Cal tried to sit up because I was sure he couldn’t breathe.

“Stop.”

I should have stopped. Hell, I told myself to stop, but I couldn’t.

My eyes didn’t see my brother with the same eyes, damn near the same face as me. All I could see was rage. Blind rage that it was Cal, my own fucking kin, responsible for the stress and the hell of the past few months, the enhanced security for family and employees. All of it. And it was his fucking fault.

My fists had a mind of their fucking own, refusing to stop until I felt hands on me, tugging at my shoulders and shirt, pulling me until my fists could no longer touch Cal anywhere.

“Let me the fuck go!”

Virgil got between Cal and me, so I knew it was Terry’s arms that yanked me to my feet and spun me around.

“Man, I know you’re pissed, rightfully so, but you can’t kill him.”

“Yeah?” I spit blood from my mouth. “Just watch me.”

I wrestled away from Terry and turned back to Cal to find Virgil a barrier between us. “Move,” I barked at Virgil.

“No. I want to beat the fuck out of him too, Jasper.” Virgil turned to look at Cal. “More than any fucking thing right now.”

Terry’s hand landed on my shoulder, and he stood beside me, the way he always had. Good or bad or ugly as fuck, Terry had been at my side for all of it since before we had hair on our fucking nuts.

“He’s your dumb as fuck kid brother, and he did a fucked-up thing that’ll he will have to pay for, but above all else, he’s your goddamn brother.”

My shoulders fell, the last of my steam gone at Terry’s words. I couldn’t kill my brother for trying to kill my mother. That was some fucked up Shakespearean type of shit. We were Ashbys, Irish and angry and drunk and deadly, but not Shakespearean.

“Fine,” I growled and shrugged Terry’s arm off me. “He’s right,” I told Cal, fire still burning inside me. “You owe Terry your fucking life, and I never, ever want you to forget that shit.”

Cal nodded but stayed silent

“But I want you to think about one thing. Think about how you’ll feel if Sadie doesn’t wake up again.”

His eyes flashed with surprise. “She woke up?”

He didn’t deserve an answer; even if he did, no updates would come from me. Not for him.

“How will you feel if you accomplish your goal and Sadie dies. Is that what Ava Rose deserves? Is that what Kat and Maisie and the kids they’ll have deserve?”

“She’s not gonna fuckin’ die,” Virgil growled, his beefy hands curled into fists.

Cal dropped his head. “She’s not going to die.” He whispered those words to himself over and over again, like a mantra, maybe a fucking prayer he thought could save his life if she did die.

“Sit the fuck down. Everybody,” I growled. It was too goddamn early in the morning for this shit.

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