“Outside,” was all Ethan said before ducking out and heading toward the back exit.
Ethan paced the space between the building and the parking lot, trying to find some level emotional ground.
Just as Ethan stepped past the exit door for the sixth time, it opened.
“What in the hell is wrong?”
The thick attitude in Austin’s voice snapped something inside Ethan. He whirled on his brother, surprising him enough to force him back a step. “I know you threatened Delaney last night, and I’m here to tell you that you’re on the razor-thin edge of losing your career. If you go near her one more time, I will make sure you pay for it. Am I clear?”
Austin’s shock cleared in an instant. “You stupid prick. You think you’re different than the dozens, hell hundreds of guys she’s fucked? You’re not. You’re nothing to her but a means to an end. So stop making a fool of yourself. You should be pissed at her. If it wasn’t for Hart—”
“If it wasn’t for her, you would have found some other reason to fight with the bikers that night, Ian would have still died—if not in that fight, then another—and we both know it. This has nothing to do with Delaney. This only has to do with someone in the wrong place at the wrong time becoming an easy scapegoat.”
Austin huffed a laugh. “Good luck trying to sell that version to anyone who matters.”
“I’m the only one who matters. I don’t give a shit what you or Dad thinks. And I care even less about what either of you want.”
“Better watch it. No one’s going to be offering to help you out with that liquor license if you don’t shut your mouth.?
?
Ethan’s brain stumbled.
And let me guess who you know offhand with a ton of cash at their disposal to toss away on a liquor license . . . The way Delaney had jumped to that conclusion at the time had seemed so ludicrous. But now . . .
“How’d you know?” he demanded, taking a step closer.
“What’s important isn’t how we know. What’s important is that we know. We know everything. Which means we know where your loyalties lie, and I’m warning you, bro, you’d better get your ass back on the right side of the fence or that little fantasy of yours is going to evaporate.”
We. That could mean only one group of people: Jack, Wayne, and Austin.
Rage broke free in Ethan’s chest. The people closest to him, the people who should be supporting him, had been manipulating Ethan behind his back. The people he’d given up his future to help heal were using his dream as leverage to control him.
And Delaney had seen it so clearly.
Ethan was virtually vibrating with the chaos of emotion rattling through him, and he’d never been as grateful as he was for Delaney’s clever ideas.
“You’ve got that backward, bro,” he said, barely holding back his fury. “What’s important is that you remember that you’re on video threatening and abusing Delaney. If you want the incident at the bar last night kept quiet, then you will keep quiet.
“You will not go near Delaney again. The first time you even look at her wrong, it’s game over. I’m not spending one more day, one more minute living under anyone’s manipulation. If I have to blackmail you to get you off my back and out of my life, so be it. I’m a Hayes. It’s obviously in my blood. So don’t underestimate me.”
Austin’s face had turned red, his expression furious. He pounded his index finger into Ethan’s chest. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
Ethan knocked Austin’s hand away. “I’ve known you your entire goddamned life. I know your habits, your patterns, your preferences. I know your crutches and your weaknesses. I know what makes you tick. So, yeah. I know exactly what and who I’m dealing with. And I will act accordingly. You’ve been warned. The gloves are off.”
Delaney and Avery descended the front steps of Wildly Artesian with Phoebe holding the door open to the store.
“Avery’s got vision,” she told Delaney as if she didn’t already know that from growing up with her. “She’s going to be able to see how magnificent the changes will be.”
Delaney and Avery shared a knowing grin.
“I’m sure she will,” Delaney said.
“When I get home,” Phoebe continued calling after them as they turned toward Delaney’s Jeep, “we’ll sketch out organizers and displays for your space, Avery.”
“Potential space, Auntie,” Avery called. “Please don’t forget—”
“To unpack and refrigerate. I know, I know.”