Trouble Travels in Threes (Trouble, Tennessee 3)

“You expect me to believe you brought the two brothers who were kept in the dark this whole time?”

“I don’t care what you believe,” Allister said, making his presence known.

Vin was too smart to take his eye off the mark, but he was getting frantic, too, and Markie was afraid it wouldn’t end well. He looked at Draegan and tried to hold back his tears. He then swung his gaze to Mac and glanced over his shoulder at Harley and Allister. “I love you guys!” He then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to meet his maker.

Total chaos erupted. Shots were fired.

A sudden whish-whish-whish resounded. Markie cowed down to the floor, mainly because he couldn’t stand on his own and without Vin there to hold him up, he had no other choice but to stay close to the ground.

“Keep that door open!” Mac screamed.

“Where’d he go?”

“Damn it! He got away!” Draegan was nearby but when Markie looked up, he couldn’t see a blasted thing.

“Do not leave that exit, Allister!”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, asshole!” Allister and Draegan were undoubtedly into a brotherly tiff.

There would be time to sort out the details later. For now, Draegan and Mac had Markie by the arms, lifting him, carrying him, and doing what they always seemed to do best—saving him from the kind of trouble that could’ve claimed his life.

* * * *

Thanks to the tear gas, they’d had a rough time escaping the Vance house of horrors. Allister was the only one unaffected and fortunately, he’d remained outside during Vin’s escape, which must’ve been right after he’d freed the gases.

Allister drove them home and Draegan had to admit, he was pretty glad his brothers hadn’t listened to him. If they hadn’t been there, Draegan shuddered to think about what might have happened.

Bane met them at the gate. As soon as he opened the passenger doors, they tumbled out of the vehicle like little children, whining something awful about the pain in their eyes and the burning sensations in their noses.

“Doc mixed up some remedies for you.” Bane guided them to the right where Doc was working from the back of a golf cart. “Did they flush out their eyes with fresh water?”

Allister opened the back of the SUV, revealing nearly a case of empty plastic water bottles. “We stopped at a market on the way home. Nothing has worked.”

“Time and fresh air is the best remedy,” Bane said, seemingly the expert.

Doc was nearby. “I’ve seen this before. I’ll have them all fixed up in a few minutes. Bane’s right. Fresh air and time will do the trick. The solution will just ease the burn and clear out any chemicals remaining.”

Allister turned to Bane. “Markie needs rest. You can question him tomorrow.”

“It can’t wait, Allister.”

“Start with me.” Draegan grimaced. “I’m the only one who was close enough to really see what happened.”

“Then what happened?” Bane asked.

Allister cleared his throat and Draegan kept his mouth shut.

“Draegan, I need something to go on.”

Markie patted his arm. “I knew you’d come for me, sugar. I just knew it.”

“We’ll always come for you,” Harley said, groaning when Doc dropped solution in his eyes.

“That’s what families do,” Allister said, swinging his gaze at Bane. “We stick together.”

“You can stick together all you want, but I need some answers,” Bane said, lowering his voice as some of Trouble’s residents approached.

In a matter of seconds, Markie was greeted by the women who lived there. They all pampered and babied him, promised to check in on him every day and sit with him in shifts.