Then I heard something click at the back of the fence. I turned my head, narrowly missing clocking Brute square in the face. There was a door to the yard and Kelly stuck a hand through it, waving at me. That was her signal. I hadn’t asked for her to find a door, but I had hoped there would be one. She just saved us a lot of time. And Emerson was right there.
It was time.
Brute was breathing down on me, still gripping my arm firmly. He lifted me, making me stretch to stand on my tiptoes. I looked right at Luke, then Elijah. Both saw the change in me and narrowed their eyes. They shared a questioning look, but I didn’t care. I hoped they would follow my lead. I closed my eyes, remembering the times I fought with Braden.
“You have such a hard head!” he had shouted one time after I head-butted him. He’d been right. I did. Not much could hurt my skull. I had laughed then, sticking my tongue out at him.
“And I’ll do it every time you wrestle me. Get ready for headaches, Braden!”
He had yelled back, but ran off, yelling for our mom.
“Here’s one for my brother.” I reared back and brought my forehead back as hard as possible into Brute’s face.
Crying out, he dropped me instantly as he bent forward and cupped his head with both of his hands. No one moved for a second. They were all shocked, but I wasn’t. I darted forward, plucked the knife from the girl’s fingers and immediately started backing up. I was in front of Luke before anyone thought to run after us, but I kept backing into him.
I yelled to Elijah, “Grab Emerson. There’s a car for us back there!”
Then everything happened at once. Everyone realized what had happened. Luke’s hands gripped my sides, but he switched our positions immediately. He took the knife from me and blocked me instead, moving backwards. Then we both darted for the fence.
Elijah had grabbed Emerson. He had a firm hold on his arm, and he dragged him to the fence, but Emerson was still dazed. He didn’t know what was going on, so Luke went to him and grabbed the other side. Both of them hoisted Emerson in the air. They half-dragged and half-carried him the entire way. I held open the fence door. As soon as they were through, I slammed it shut, but I couldn’t lock it.
“Fuck!” I screamed.
“We don’t have time!” Luke yelled at me as he and Eli threw Emerson into the back of the car. They both climbed inside, and Kelly yelled from her window, pounding the steering wheel, “Come on, Bri!”
Spying a chair, I wedged it underneath the handle. As soon as I did, they were there. I heard shouts from the other side and then someone ordered, “Go around the back. Block their car in!”
“Let’s go!”
I sprinted and dove for the seat.
Kelly pressed her foot down on the accelerator, flooring it before I even shut my door.
We got out of the alley just as they were running for their cars.
Kelly was a badass driver. She ducked down side streets, through alleys, and took us on a drive down streets I didn’t know existed in Grant West, but no one had followed us. When we finally relaxed, Emerson farted.
“Seriously.” I groaned, covering my nose.
Kelly was hunched forward, her knuckles almost white as she held the steering wheel with a death grip. A laugh fell out of her, and she whispered, almost to herself, “You guys are nuts.”
“Yes, nuts.” Elijah was waving his hand in the air. “That’s apparently what Em ate last. Shit, man. Seriously.”
Emerson laughed, still sounding high as a kite. “Sorry, guys. There were peanuts everywhere. They were talking to me.”
“I’m sure,” Luke griped. “Move over, come on. Kelly, you need a bigger car. Three guys in the backseat is not comfortable.”
She glanced up in the rearview mirror. “No offense, but I don’t usually buy my vehicles based on how many guys I can fit in the backseat, although, maybe I should.” Then she shrugged, turning onto the main highway that ran through Grant West. “This night’s been lovely, so enjoyable, but, uh, where am I supposed to be driving to? I’m running low on gas.”
Luke met my gaze in the mirror, too, but he asked Elijah, “Do we need to worry about retaliation?”
“No.”
Elijah’s answer was too short.
I turned around in my seat. “Hey. Retaliation. Give us the truth this time.”
He looked up, searing me with the anger still suppressed there and said, “I said no. I meant no. You won’t be touched. I promise.”
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t like how you’re saying that.” My fingers curled into the seat, and I swallowed over a knot forming in my throat. “Are you going back to finish things?”
“You can’t do that.”
Elijah whipped his head to Luke’s, silencing whatever else he was going to add. Then Eli murmured, way too softly, “This is my business. I know how to handle things.”
“You didn’t back there,” I argued.
He snorted. “A mistake I won’t be making again.”
I remembered his words. That he could’ve taken his crew there in the first place. “You really thought you could go in and get Emerson, and there wouldn’t be a fight?”
“I had hoped.” He turned to look out the window, raising his hand to idly tap against it. “I know better now. Trust me, Bri, I won’t be involving you or Pretty Boy in any more situations. I guarantee that.”
Luke spoke up for him, telling me, “Emerson was personal, not business. That’s why he got me.”
“I know.” But I was still worried about Elijah. I looked back at my ex. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”
“What?” Elijah snapped. “You mean like my old man? My brother? Nah, no way, Brielle. They both got shanked in prison. No, no worries. I won’t get myself killed, not like them anyway.”
“Elijah—” I started.
Emerson quieted me. “Shut up, Bri. I’m seeing fucking rainbows, and even I can tell you’re fighting a losing battle. If the moron wants to throw down, let him throw down. It’s what he does. He’s stayed alive this long. He must know how to do something right.”
I growled back, “Go back to fucking a rainbow, Em. All of this happened because of you.”
“Whatever. Worse shit has happened because of you.”
The car got deathly silent.