Feeling a killer headache coming on, I pulled up a number I rarely dialed and hit Send.
“Hey.” Hard rock wailed over the sound of coffee cups clinking in the background. The music lowered. Ethan cleared his throat. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know… not really.” I let my head thump back against the chair. “Sorry about earlier. Think I just won dickhead of the year.”
“Ask Hayden. After our stunt out on the street, pretty sure I made the finals.”
“Was good what you did, letting me know Lacey was okay. Know that couldn’t have been easy.”
Ethan was silent for so long that I checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. And then— “You were right, you know. Hays and I… it was our wedding day and it was chaos, but that’s no excuse. If it had been anyone else who hadn’t shown up, I would have sent someone over to check on them. But things between you and me have been effed up for a while now.”
“Sure.” I watched the big live oaks off Cal’s porch swaying in the wind. “You really thought I’d miss your wedding day?”
“Honestly? Yeah, I did.” For a beat, there was nothing but the creak of the porch swing. “You’ve always kind of had it out for me. Guess I wasn’t surprised when you didn’t show. And, Dally, for what it’s worth, what you said last month at The Spoke, about how would I like it if you’d hooked up with Hayden and made her feel like trash. God—” He made a strangled sound under his breath. “I don’t even know how I’d start getting past something like that. So let’s just say I get it. I have a lot of amends to make for stupid ass decisions I made back then. I’ll keep apologizing to Lacey until she’s sick of hearing it, and I need you to know I’m sorry for what I did to you, too. You’re my brother. That comes before anything else.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Pretty sure you’re not the only one who’s made a mess of things lately. Maybe we can start by setting this thing between us right.”
Ending the call, I tapped my thumb against the wooden porch railing.
Me: I just transferred the money into your account. There’s more on the way. Use it. Burn it. Take it and rent a series of billboards out on Highway 29 proclaiming what a jackass I am. Up to you. But you’re having my kid. And if you think I’m going to sit around while you and Fancy go halvsies on the last carton of expired takeout in your post-apocalyptic refrigerator, think again.
BabyGotBake: Death wish?
BabyGotBake: Also, was there an apology in there somewhere? Because I seem to have missed it.
BabyGotBake: You know, in between you giving our cat an identity crisis. *skull emoji* *knife emoji*
Damn. I was in trouble.
Me: I was an ass. I’m sorry. And not just for tonight. I owe you an apology for every time I promised you the world then asked you to lie about us like we were a dirty secret. I’m sorry I let us get in so deep, all the while keeping back the truth about who I really was.
Me: I failed you that night senior year when I didn’t stop to tell you the truth before we took that final step. Because it doesn’t matter that we should have been safe. I broke your trust. And you’re the one who’s had to pay for it ever since. And worse, you’ve stood by while I’ve half-assed things and refused to deal with my issues. That ends today. I have no idea how to be a good father. But I’m pretty sure that step one is to go to whatever doctor Cal finds for me and get my head screwed on straight.
Three blinking dots appeared. Vanished. I stared down at the screen, breath crystalizing in the cold night air. A second later, West burst out onto the porch, Cal hot on his heels.
“We’ve got a situation.”
I shot to my feet. “What’s going on?”
“I checked the video feed. Topher’s gone. He jumped August, locked him in the cage.”
“How long ago?”
“He’s got maybe an hour lead on us. I don’t know how he managed to jack up the tracker in his wrist cuff. When I find him—”
“Topher’s going to have to wait.” Cal ushered us towards his truck. “We’ve got bigger problems.”
I shrugged into my coat, still off balance from the bourbon. “Come again?”
“Sensors just recorded movement out north of the Christmas tree farm on the edge of town.”
“Don’t tell me.”
“River pulled up the aerial cameras remotely when August didn’t alert anyone to the tripped sensor. We’ve got incoming. At least half a dozen undeads.”
12
Lacey
“OKAY, SERIOUSLY. YOU’RE SCARING HER.”
Crouched at the other end of Dallas’s leather sectional, Hayden paused in what were either the lyrics to Daisy Addiction’s latest opener, some epic fail in cat-whispering techniques off of YouTube, or more likely knowing her, the beginnings of an exorcism, to scowl.
“I’ll have you know that cats love me.”
“You said that twenty minutes ago when she was behind the washing machine,” I reminded her.
“I also suggested a butterfly net.”
I growled. “You are not netting my cat.”
Huffing, she rocked back on her four-inch platform Doc Martens. “Someone’s no fun.”
I got down on my hands and knees, peering back into the crawl space. Godiva mewed when our eyes met.
“Why don’t we move the couch?”
“Please. That’s like, her favorite game.”
Sighing, Hayden pulled out her phone. “Looks like she’s staying with Daddy, then.”
“Because, helpful?”
“You’re the one who picked out the cat without checking to make sure it wasn’t possessed first. Although she totally goes with my tattoo.” She snapped her fingers. “That’s what you need.”
“A tattoo?”
“I’m thinking a skull. Or a cupcake. Oooo… maybe a zombie cupcake.”
“Yeah. Not my scene.”
“Okay, but tats are hot. Plus, I bet Dallas would be into it. Especially if you get inked where he could see it while you two were—”
“Um, overshare much?”
Hayden’s phone chimed. Frowning, she swiped the screen. And then jumped up. “Change of plans. Got your weapons?”
“Step away from my hell-cat.”
She snorted, whirling to blow the sectional a kiss. “Cute. That was Ethan. Topher’s escaped and we’ve got vampires headed towards town.”
I shot her a look. “Are you sure the guys aren’t pranking us? Because this all lines up a little too neatly for me. The undeads didn’t grab him… he just happened to run off at the exact moment they appeared?”
“Yeah, that part doesn’t make sense.”
My phone chimed at the same time hers did. Briefly locking eyes, we read the coded text from Brody.
GameNight: Group meetup happening now. Dirty dozen poker tournament. Bring refreshments.
Me: Cupcake and Daisy can’t wait. Text with deets.
Going to the closet, I keyed open the gun safe in back and yanked out my go bag. “I’ve got extras. You drive.”