Jack appeared, breaking into the circle where we all were standing. Trent was on instant alert. Must have been the wary look on Jack’s face.
“Thought you might wanna know,” Jack said, trying to keep his voice down, but it was a party and he wasn’t leaning close. So obviously, people could hear him. “Con’s in the house. He’s talking a lot… Saying some shit. Getting people riled up.”
Trent let out a curse. “He drunk?”
Jack nodded, grim. “Want me to handle it?”
“Nah, man.” Trent clapped him on the back. “It’s time I deal with him once and for all.”
Braeden was already starting for the house, Romeo right beside him. Trent turned to me. “Just stay here.”
I laughed.
Trent’s eyes stared unflinchingly into mine. “I’m not gonna lie in there.”
I stared unflinchingly back. “I don’t want you to.”
Trent measured me a second longer and then nodded. He walked right through the path B and Romeo were cutting, and I followed right behind. T was the first to walk in the back door of the house.
In here, the music was so loud it actually made my body vibrate. People danced all over, and there was a game of beer pong set up near the kitchen.
Trent went right through toward the main living space. It’s like he had radar for the guy, like he knew exactly where Conner would be.
The vibe the four of us gave off as we moved through the house got a lot of attention. All of us were impressive in height and build. I was the smallest, but I wasn’t so small I’d get lost in the crowd.
It was Romeo who garnered the most attention. He was intimidating when he wanted to be. His quiet power and blue-eyed stare were enough to make even the drunkest person sober enough to get the hell out of the way.
And Braeden… well, he simmered with temper. He was a hothead, had been since the day I’d met him. I knew he’d throw a punch. Hell, we’d exchanged a few ourselves.
Conner was in the center of the living room. His eyes were blackened from the hit I gladly delivered to his nose, and it was puffy and painful looking. Probably explained why he was self-medicating with the excess alcohol tonight. Maybe he was trying to dull away the pain of getting punched in the face.
He was talking animatedly to a group of mainly Omega members, but there were girls hanging on some of the guys, too.
Their gazes all shifted to Trent when he approached. Tension in the room spiked, and some people turned a wary eye.
“I hear you’re in here talking shit again, Conner,” Trent said, his voice icy and hard. He never talked to me like that. To anyone. “How many times have I told you if you got something to say, then say it to my face?”
Conner’s face screwed up into a mean look. His eyes swept toward the family standing at Trent’s back. “I see you brought backup.”
Trent shrugged one shoulder. “I know you like to fight in groups.”
Conner’s face paled.
Jack appeared, stepping around me, B, and Romeo and moving to stand near Trent and all the Omega brothers.
Conner sneered. “Had to run and tell, didn’t you?”
“I think maybe our president has a right to know what you’ve been saying about him. Don’t you?” Jack replied.
“He knows exactly what I’ve been saying about him,” Conner said. “He’s just too chicken shit to admit it.”
“Like you were too chicken shit to come at me in a fair fight?”
Conner laughed. “Your threats are getting old, Trent.”
“No threat. I think you’ve seen some action.” Trent raised his voice. Everyone around us grew quieter. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Romeo gesture for the music to be turned down.
Just like that, the music settled into a much lower tone.
“I knew it!” he yelled, pointing at T with an accusatory glare. “That was you! You’re the one who brought the biker over. And that game today?” He held out his arms. “That was just an excuse so you could thrash me!”
“I know it’s hard to believe,” Trent said, “but not everything is about you.”
“Admit it.” He pressed. “Admit the shady shit you’ve been pulling.”
“I can honestly say I haven’t done one shady thing. If you got knocked around in the game today, it’s because you’re a wimp who can’t handle himself.”
Conner’s eyes flared, and he threw his beer across the room. The cup hit the wall, and the tawny liquid splattered everywhere.
“But you…” Trent continued mildly, like Conner’s outburst was nothing at all. “You’ve been throwing all kinds of shade, haven’t you?”
“You deserved every last bit of it.”
I stiffened because that was a clear admission. One punch to his face just wasn’t enough. Nothing I’d done to this kid would ever be enough.
Trent kept his cool. I had no idea how or even why, but he did. “Conner’s been trying to get me out of here for months. He tried to do it by the book, and when that didn’t work, he resorted to other, more unorthodox methods,” he announced.
More of the Omega brothers gathered around. In fact, the party had pretty much come to a screeching halt.