Easton

Liam had already done the math. Easton had been seeing Carla for over eight months, maybe even longer.

Eight months of a tumor growing inside his head.

Eight months of … being alone.

He’d had no idea Easton was suffering, and he couldn’t stand to know, he’d been the one to fuck up.

“What if he doesn’t make it?” Scarlett said. “I’ve never seen him look so angry and so afraid.” She sniffled. “Oh, my God, I kept his son away from him, and he … he might die. I never got to apologize for not sharing Junior with him. What am I going to do? I’m such a horrible person.”

“He’ll make it,” Liam said. “And when he does, you can apologize to him. You can make it right with him. Easton is ours, and we’ll take care of him. We’ll love him, and we’re going to make sure he gets through this.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do. Easton’s a fighter. He won’t let this get in the way.”

“This is about more than being a fighter. This isn’t an illness he can kill with antibiotics,” Romeo said. “They’re operating on his brain.”

“I know that. You think he needs us in here, arguing?”

“I don’t know what the fuck he needs,” Romeo said.

“He needs us all to be strong, and if none of you can provide that and just want to blame each other, you see the door. Walk yourselves right out of it,” Liam said.

All three men got to their feet. The violence was clear, and Liam was more than happy to go toe to toe with all of them.

“Liam,” Scarlett said.

He stepped up to them, refusing to back down, refusing to let them push the blame of this shit on anyone.

“You want to start with me, let’s do this. I got no problem with all three of you. You think you can use your numbers against me, fucking try it with me, boys. You’re nothing more than a bunch of kids playing at being men.”

“You don’t know what we’ve been through.”

“I’ve got a fucking idea, and you know what, still don’t give a fuck,” Liam said. “Your friend has been seeing a dead woman.” Taylor sobbed. “Shut the fuck up. I don’t care which one of these people you’re marrying. Your friend died ten years ago, and none of them were responsible for it. If you were any kind of woman, you’d get over your shit and stop making others guilty for moving on with their lives.”

“Don’t talk to my wife like that,” Axton said.

“It looks to me someone’s got to put a little perspective on life. Your woman is living in the past. You want to move on, you got to let her know you’re not going to keep being sorry for being happy. People die, and we have no choice but to move on. It’s the fact of life, and if you want to stay in the past, you’re going to end up fucking lost.” He glared at Axton and turned his attention to Taylor. “You’re going to kill that man in there. I get you’re sad about what happened, but Easton is a living, breathing person and he has a right to be happy.”

“I don’t need to sit here and take this,” Taylor said. “I’ve offered him support. I don’t want to see him suffer.”

“But you do it every single day you bring up the past. You think I don’t see how broken he is by the time he comes home?” Liam asked.

“Liam?” Scarlett said, grabbing his hand.

“These people are supposed to be his friends, and they’re not helping him. They’re crushing him. He could die on that operating table today. What do you think about that?” he asked. He looked at Axton, then Romeo, before going to Karson.

All of Easton’s friends look scared.

“I’m going home,” Taylor said, stepping toward the door. Liam watched her. He knew about this woman’s revenge plot. From the moment he found out about Easton, he’d made it his business to know every single little detail of the people in front of him right now. “Are you coming, Axton?” she asked.

“You’re going to sit down and wait to hear about my friend,” Axton said.

“Excuse me?”

Axton stood up and turned to face Taylor. The woman looked shocked to see Axton standing up for himself.

“You heard me. One of my best friends could die tonight, and you think I’m going to go home and wait. You’re wrong. If you love me, if your promises meant anything, you’ll sit down, take what has been said, and deal with it.”

“And if I leave?”

“Then you get the fuck out and you leave Carla. It’s as simple as that. I love you, Taylor, I will die for you. I’ve put up with all kinds of bullshit, but I’m not walking out of this room.”