“I can find out,” I returned smoothly.
“No. You won’t,” he said swiftly. “And thanks for beating the shit out of my little brother.”
“He asked for it,” I shot back.
“He’s been…impossible since.”
“And you expect me to apologize for that?” Right now, at that moment, it was incredibly hard to remember why I loved Brian. And why so much had been covered up with Jace.
Because right now, at that moment, I was blistering furious.
And Jace knew it.
Handing Mandy to Sasha, I stalked towards him. “I’m thinking you know some stuff because there’s a whole lot going on that doesn’t add up.”
“Taryn,” he said warily, “I don’t have time for this right now.”
I grabbed his arm and whirled him back to me. “What’s been going on since I left? Nothing’s making sense, Jace. Brian never used to be this psychotic. Geezer’s dad is back in town. Grayley’s—shit—Grayley looks like he’s aged ten years.” Then remembering Ben’s words, I continued, “And what meeting were you in that you wouldn’t leave? Who’s Galverson?”
“Taryn,” he said sternly, “leave it alone. I mean it.”
It stung a little hearing him call me Taryn. Jace never called me Taryn, I’ve been Terry to him.
“But—”
“You. Will. Leave. This. Alone,” he bit out through clenched teeth, his eyes fierce.
“Hey, Jace, we got him. His sister took him outside, Ben’s waiting by the back door for Taryn and the rest,” Krein called out, walking back in.
Jace whirled and briskly ordered, “Get ‘em out.”
Pausing, hearing Jace’s voice, Krein glanced to me, then back to Jace. His eyebrows arched as he waited. When nothing more was said, he commanded softly, “Alright, Tartar. Let’s go.”
I stared at his back as he walked away, slamming the side door behind him. The sound echoed.
“Dick,” Sasha mumbled from behind me.
Breaking out of my reverie, I turned and saw her helping Mandy.
“Come on,” I murmured, leading the way out.
Krein stood uncertainly at the door, holding it open for us.
“Taryn—” he started, but stopped and looked away.
Krein was the joker; he was the badass who played pranks, the guy everyone loved at first sight, but that façade was gone and in its place was the reason why he was Jace’s second in command—it was cold and ruthless mixed with regret.
And it hit me. Right then, right there…so much had happened that didn’t make sense. My life had been irreversibly changed. And I knew—it didn’t make sense.
Nothing made sense anymore.
As I turned and started to walk across the street, I knew. They’d done something. It involved me. It involved Brian. It involved Geezer and Grayley. And it was Jace who had done it.
As the realization started to come clear, I felt the fury build inside. My hands started shaking with each step that took me farther away. Each dull thud my feet made on the pavement.
And I glanced back. Once. I saw Krein still standing there, an arm hanging on the door.
Jace had done something.