Blane rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands, rubbing his throbbing head. Kade and Mannie’s yelling at each other was making him want to throw himself from the car. Unfortunately, he’d have to squeeze through a six-inch opening to do it.
“Shut up!” he exploded when he couldn’t take any more. “Just Shut. Up. Both of you.”
They clammed up, thank God, just as Mannie pulled into a little subdivision. He drove slowly, reading the numbers on the rows of tightly spaced ranch-style homes, until he stopped in front of one.
“This is it,” he said.
“Let me out,” Blane told Kade, who obliged. Once he was out of the stifling back seat, Blane headed for the door. Kade followed.
“Pretty sure I can handle this on my own,” Blane said over his shoulder. Kade kept walking.
“Yeah, probably. But considering the surprises we’ve already had today, it’s not a bad idea for me to come along. Just in case.”
Blane wasn’t going to argue. He had a point.
The doorbell was a melodious chime and Blane waited, pushing his fingers through his hair and belatedly wishing he’d changed his shirt. It would’ve been nice to feel more put together to greet his…ex-wife. Shit.
The door swung open and he steeled himself, feeling Kade at his back and standing slightly to the side.
There was a split second where Blane saw the gun leveled at him, then Kade tackled him to the ground.
Chapter Four
In seconds, Kade was up and launching himself through the doorway. Blane heard someone grunt and the sound of bodies crashing to the floor.
Adrenaline iced his veins as he jumped to his feet. If Kade was hurt…
But Kade had the weapon in his hand and was pointing it at someone. The sunlight blinded Blane to the dimness inside the house as he stepped inside.
“You’d better talk fast on what the fuck that was for,” Kade snarled. “I’ve had a real shitty morning and you just pointed a gun at my brother.”
He was talking to a guy who was about his height but slighter in build. A little on the thin side, the guy had on jeans and a faded T-shirt and he was gazing malevolently at Kade as he swiped blood from his lip.
Behind him stood the girl, Amy, looking scared. Her face was pale and her eyes wide with fear.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” she stammered.
“I thought you said it was over with this guy,” the unknown man growled.
“It is, Tommy, I swear. I don’t know why he’d come here.” She shot Blane a look, as if he was supposed to know what that meant.
“You usually just point a gun at whoever comes to your door?” Kade asked.
“When it’s some dude who wants to take away my woman and my baby, yeah,” Tommy retorted.
Blane was utterly confused. He held up his hands. “Okay, everyone, just…stop. Kade, put down the gun.” Their gazes met for a moment. Together, they could handle Tommy if he decided to act like a dick.
“You don’t mind if I keep this, do you?” Kade sneered, lowering the weapon and thumbing the safety before tucking it into the back of his jeans. Tommy’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reply. Perhaps he recognized the danger radiating from Kade, a hard edge that set off self-preservation instincts in those who were wise.
“Listen…Amy,” Blane said. Everyone looked at him, waiting, as he tried to figure out what the hell to say without giving away the fact that he remembered nothing. Finally, he said, “We got married last night.”
“It was a mistake,” Amy blurted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re a great guy and all—”
Tommy snorted in derision. Blane ignored him.
“So you didn’t want to get married?” Blane asked. This was getting weirder by the minute.
Amy looked at Tommy. “Can we have a minute?” she asked, adding in an undertone, “I told you he was in love with me. I want to let him down easy.”
Blane’s brows shot up at that, but he kept his silence, waiting until Tommy had left the room, though not before sending a suspicious glare Blane’s way.
“What’re you doing here?” Amy hissed, the moment Tommy was out of earshot. “I told you that it worked. You didn’t have to come to my house!”
“Listen,” Blane said, deciding he’d have to come clean. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t remember anything about you, much less why I’d marry you.”
Amy stared at him, jaw agape. “For real?” she finally asked.
“For real.”
“Wow. Okay, well, then here’s the short version. You and your friend here were playing the slots and he was hitting it big. Like really big. But I guess you got bored or something because you went to the bar to have a drink. I was bartending and I was upset because Tommy and me were gonna get married, but he got cold feet and broke up with me. So I was crying and you asked me why and I told you the whole story.”
None of it was ringing a bell for Blane.