A horse whinnied again, and I could hear Linc’s dog, Cal, start barking from within his house.
Every hair on my body stood on end.
A shiver of awareness.
A slick of dread.
I eased back a step and peered into the lapping darkness. Through the shift of shadows that played and danced through the wispy tendrils of the night.
Another crunch.
Quieter this time.
Controlled.
Measured.
My heart rate spiked, and my breaths turned shallow as I slipped back out, keeping my footsteps as light as possible as I edged that way.
Caught somewhere between alarm and the bare determination to protect my family.
Another crunch echoed to my left, and my attention jerked that way to see a shadow suddenly bolt toward a grove of trees behind the stables.
Didn’t think it through. Didn’t consider.
I shot after him.
Pants of aggression puffed from my lungs, violence stretching every muscle thin.
Consuming.
Overwhelming.
I could feel the panic ripple from the bastard who tried to outrun me. The darkened silhouette dove into a thicket of trees, winding into their massive trunks and beneath the camouflage of their leaves that cast the ground in a murky obscurity.
I sprinted after him, feet thudding on the damp ground as I darted around the stables. Cal barked like mad, enough that it caused a light to flick on somewhere in Lincoln’s house.
Fuck.
Last thing I wanted was my younger brother coming out here.
Couldn’t allow him to get involved.
Couldn’t put him in danger.
Problem was, I had no idea what I was up against. Didn’t know who would dare come here. Who was wishing for death so badly that they would risk stepping foot in Dalton, though I’d lay down bets it was whatever prick had been snooping around Royce and Emily’s engagement party.
Royce a clear target.
But my gut told me this went deeper.
I was determined to find out.
I made it around the stables and plunged into the disorienting haze of shadows. My eyes scanned, searching for movement.
For a sign of the fucker who was going down.
My hands desperate for retribution and knowing it wasn’t time.
That I was supposed to be biding the days and the only thing I wanted was to end this now.
Violet’s touch echoed from my flesh. Her words and her pain. Wanted it for her, even when she would fuckin’ hate me in the end.
A creak rode on the air from somewhere in the distance, and I angled through the trees, ducking below branches and dodging undergrowth as I searched through the brush.
I thought I saw something off to my right, and I turned, running faster.
Asshole was gonna die.
I had no care—no focus—nothing but putting a hand on this asshole and bringing him to his end.
I jumped over a fallen log and darted around another tree.
I didn’t even have the chance to process the rock coming for my head before it made impact.
No time to prepare myself for the gutting pain that fractured through my brain like a million tiny cracks.
It left me nothing but a pile of rubble.
Dropped me to the ground.
Facedown.
Barely coherent.
I came in and out of lucidity, no sound in the air but the piercing scream in my ears. Ricocheting agony through my head.
I gasped and writhed, trying to remain conscious. To fight.
I attempted to climb onto my hands and knees, but a rush of dizziness had me slumping back down into a pile of decaying, rotting leaves.
Darkness surged.
A morbid abyss threatening to suck me under.
Footsteps crunched as they neared, and I could feel the vileness in the air. Something wicked, the voice sounding distant though I knew he was whispering near my ear. “Where the fuck are they, you fuckin’ thief?”
A riot of barking suddenly took hold of the atmosphere, and another set of footsteps echoed through the night.
“Richard?” Linc shouted. “That you?”
The scumbag leaned in closer, oozing his depravity all over me. “Gonna end you, bitch. Gonna end you and all your friends.”
Then he was gone.
A harsh gust of air jutted from my lungs, and I fully collapsed and faded into the darkness.
Sixteen
Richard
I glanced back at the restaurant where the girls were still huddled in a group, at the way my wife bit her lip and sent me one of those sweet, seductive looks that would forever have me on my knees.
I was half inclined to go back for her, take her back to our hotel and love her right, but the hand landing on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze drew me back.
“Car is here, man, let’s roll.” Shawn angled his head. Our drummer urged me to follow. Rhys had bailed on this trip since his mother was sick. Dude was nothing but a mama’s boy. But it was cool. He’d already said he was game. Ready to sign. He didn’t need to be wined and dined and shown the life that was getting ready to befall them. He’d known they were headed for it the whole time.
“Later, baby,” I mouthed the promise to my girl who gave me a wave as she and the rest of the girls gathered to head out to go dancing to celebrate Lily’s birthday.
Hollywood style since the band had had to be here for the weekend, anyway.
Funny how some things just worked out.
Nerves rattled through me, this unchained excitement that burned through my senses. Anxious and eager when I slipped into the back of the black sedan and Shawn climbed down beside me. This was it. All the blood, sweat, and tears coming to fruition. Culminating in what we’d been working toward all along.
The car eased into the thick traffic. Neon lights glowed from the restaurants and clubs and hotels we passed, the sidewalks packed, laughter and voices seeping into the car and pumping a fever across our flesh.
The vibe in the air was like none other.
Ripe with potential. With riches and fame. Music and stars. Art and
