Justin piped up from the back. “You don’t have to take me to rehab. I’ll be fine on my own. Just drop me—”
“No!” I snapped. “You’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t asking if you want to go. You’re a liability to us out here on your own, so you’ll go to rehab and you’ll damn well stay there until I tell you otherwise.” I glanced over my shoulder, narrowing my eyes. “We clear?”
He scowled, but nodded. I didn’t know why he looked so pissed. Thought I was being pretty fucking charitable.
Cam fidgeted in her seat. “Sounds expensive. I know you’ll offer to cover it, but I’ll pay you back.”
I clicked my tongue. “I don’t want your money, Cam. And I think you’ve paid enough for your brother’s mistakes, don’t you?”
Her eyes dropped to her lap while she chewed her lip. It would never stop unless he got himself clean.
The traffic eased once we moved further from the city. Cam’s breathing slowed, and her movements were less twitchy. Justin kept his mouth shut in the back. Lucky for him because I itched for an excuse to make him hurt more.
I broke the silence. “You want to tell me what Lou did to make you happy to see him dead?”
She sighed. “Some awful threats against you and me. Plus, he was grabby and rougher than he needed to be. Jerk gave me this.” She pointed at the purple swelling on her cheek and the cut on her lip.
I’d hoped the crash caused those injuries.Fucking Lou. At least Cam got to end him.
I reached across and cupped her jaw gently. “We’ll get some ice on it soon.”
We pulled into the entrance of the clinic. There were only a few cars in the parking bays because it was late and visiting hours were over. I stopped the car at the side of the building where we were away from security cameras and the lighting was poor.
Once out of the car, Cam hugged her brother. Justin winced, but put his arms around her, too.
She pulled back to look him in the eye. “Shep’s right, you know. It’s not safe for you out here on your own.”
“What’s going on, Cammy?” He kept his voice low, but his eyes darted to me with a look of disapproval. “Are you with this guy, or what?”
Justin was the second asshole in as many hours to remind me I wasn’t good enough for Cam. It grated on me that they were both right.
“Kind of.” She shook her head, her wavy hair falling around her shoulders. “It’s complicated.”
Justin’s one good eye bugged out. “Jesus, you saw the massacre at the club. He’s even worse than the Wolf Street crew. You can’t trust him.”
I’d heard enough.
“Time for you to go.” I reached for his arm, but he stepped away.
“No! Not until you tell me what you’re going to do with my sister.”
“I don’t have to tell you shit.”
Cam put a hand on her brother’s arm. “Justin, please.”
“Stay with me, Cammy. This guy killed a bunch of dangerous people without breaking a sweat. You can’t seriously want to go with him?”
“She’s coming with me,” I growled.
“Why don’t you let my sister make her own decisions?” Justin glanced at Cam. “Or is she your prisoner?”
“Jesus, Justin. Shut the hell up,” Cam ground out.
Justin ignored her. “You’re not a cop. Who the fuck are you, anyway?” he said, jutting his jaw out.
Kid picked the wrong time to grow a pair. I was done holding back.
“Who am I?” I advanced on him. For every step I made toward him, he took one back. “I’m the man who killed your biggest enemy and helped get you out of that club alive. I’m the man who’s been cleaning up your goddamn mess all week. I’m the man who helped your sister when you” —I stabbed a finger at his chest— “wrote her death sentence. I’m the man who would do anything,fucking anything,to keep her safe.”