“What have you done?” Brent sounded like he’d been ripped in half. I knew how that felt. My heart broke for him.
“She’s been mine. I wouldn’t admit it and you kept pushing to get her to go out with you, so she did. I should have said something then. I didn’t. I fucked up. But she’s mine. She’s been mine all along.”
How could she do this? I understood loving one Sutton and being with another, but I’d never do this. Or was what I was doing even worse? Was this what it would feel like for Steel if I kept this up, knowing he’d never have my heart?
“Dixie, you need to take Scarlet,” Asher’s voice was loud and cold. His gaze locked on Bray. Daring him to say anything. He moved toward Bray. “Let her go with Dixie. We got shit to clear up,” Asher wasn’t asking. His voice was tight and hard.
“Scarlet,” I said taking a step forward. I would do whatever they needed me to. I agreed with Asher. They all needed to deal with this on their own and Scarlet needed to leave. Her being there just made it all worse.
“Don’t touch her,” Bray growled as my hand touched her arm. In that moment, my heart skipped a beat from the sheer terror I felt. The look in Bray’s eyes was that of a demon. Evil. Cruel. Nothing like his usual self at all.
Scarlet was startled by his words, too, and I jumped. Moved away fast. Something was wrong with him.
Dallas was there suddenly, pulling Scarlet back, just as Asher’s fist slammed into Bray’s face. Scarlet screamed. I screamed. I heard other screams.
“Don’t ever fucking talk to her like that again,” Asher’s threat was full of his own anger. This was the first time I’d seen him like this, too. His fist landed again on Bray’s face.
Scarlet was trying to break free from Dallas. She was screaming, “Stop! Please stop!” She was begging Asher to stop.
He was going to kill Bray. Or it looked that way, at least. Bray couldn’t seem to get his head clear enough after each hit to do anything. None of the others were stopping Asher. He’d regret this. I knew him too well. If he truly hurt Bray, he’d never forgive himself. Dallas was so busy holding Scarlet, so I was able to go to Asher. I grabbed his arm before he swung again.
“Asher, don’t,” I said hoping he could hear me over Scarlet’s screaming. He did. He stilled. Bray began wiping the blood running from his nose.
“Back up, Dixie,” Asher said, not looking at me. His glare remained fixed on Bray.
Bray moved then. But not toward Asher. He moved toward Scarlet. “Let. Her. Go.”
Dallas shook his head. “Seriously, Bray, you got some shit to work out. She needs to leave with Dixie.”
Asher finally looked at me. “Step away from this. If you’re hurt, I’ll end up killing him.” He wasn’t exaggerating. That wasn’t a threat. He was serious. I moved back then. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Knowing he’d physically hurt his brother over me.
“You need to leave with Dixie. And Dallas needs to take you both home,” Asher told Scarlet. I looked at her pleadingly. She needed to listen to him. This was only getting worse with her being there.
“Okay,” Scarlet agreed, “but don’t hurt him again. I did this. It was all me. I played games and caused this. I just wanted him . . .” She didn’t finish. She’d said enough right there. Enough to cause damage. Was this what Asher didn’t want to happen between him and Steel?
Asher swore again and shook his head, then pointed to Dallas’s truck. “Take ’em home. Then you need to come back.”
Dallas nodded. No one was arguing with Asher. “Let’s go,” he said to both of us and I walked over to stand beside Scarlet. Dallas let her go and put a hand on both our shoulders. “My truck,” he said in a low voice.
Scarlet looked at me then. She was scared and she was sorry. I could read the regret in her eyes. But she also was worried about me. Because of Asher’s actions. He hadn’t hit Bray over Scarlet. He’d hit him because of how he spoke to me. But what did I do with that? I couldn’t hope. After tonight, after this, he’d never do the same to his brother. But then, I wouldn’t either. I’d end things before that ever happened. It was what Scarlet should have done in the first place. I turned back to see all of them squared off, bodies tense, and blue lights coming down the road. The cops had been called. Wouldn’t be the first time the Sutton boys were greeted by the police. It was a good thing. Otherwise none of them might survive the night.
Bray Sutton
BRENT’S TRUCK WAS parked out by the barn when I finally came home. So was Asher’s and Steele’s. Only the old rusted farm truck was missing. I headed for the barn, not sure what I was about to face. There was a good chance they would all take turns beating the shit out of me.
When Brent would be ready to listen, I would find a way to explain it to him. But if he needed to hit me until his hand was bruised, I’d let him. I owed him that much. I handled this wrong. I wouldn’t apologize for needing Scarlet. That was something I wasn’t going to do. Because I needed her. I hadn’t been sure that I could ever feel any real emotion until Scarlet managed to get under my skin and wedge herself firmly in my heart. It was like I had walked through life without understanding passion, jealousy or even love . . . before her. I’d only known anger. It was a numbness I never wanted to live with again.
Scarlet changed all that for me. Maybe I was obsessed. Fuck, maybe I needed a new medication. But I needed to touch Scarlet and feel her to experience real pleasure. She gave me something I didn’t know existed and now I wasn’t willing to let that go. Not even for my brother.
I opened the barn door and Asher turned to look at me. He was the only one in there. And he was going to hand my ass to me now that I was home. I was prepared for that. As long as I had Scarlet. As long as she was mine, I would happily take whatever they wanted to give me.
“He’s out helping Steel,” Asher informed me.
I nodded. I wasn’t sure what he thought I should do. Go find him? He’d be back soon enough. I turned to walk back out of the barn. I needed a shower. Sleeping outside in the back of my truck all night hadn’t left me smelling good. I could still smell Scarlet and sex on my hands, too. I didn’t want to wash her off, but I also knew the sex smell would have told my brothers more than any of them needed or wanted to know.
“She came by to see him,” Asher said just before I walked out the door.
I froze. I didn’t want Scarlet coming to see Brent or anyone else for that matter. I had unleashed some kind of fucking monster last night when I’d allowed myself to lay claim to her. My hands clenched tightly into fists at my side at the thought of her apologizing to Brent.
“When,” I bit out through my teeth.
“About three hours ago,” Asher replied.
I took a deep breath through my nose and tried like hell to calm the fuck down. “What did she say?”