I knew one thing for sure: Austin was out for blood.
* * *
“Stop!” Brandy screamed as she ran out after them. Her eyes widened, meeting mine before she focused on her brother.
My feet could not move fast enough as I pushed through the glass doors and followed them to the parking lot. James ran, but he was no competition for Austin, the professional athlete, who caught up with him. “She’s my sister!” Austin roared. “How could you do this to me?” Austin’s nostrils flared. He held James by his collar, almost lifting m. “How could you? I’ll kill you for touching her.”
The full blast of winter hit me in the face, the wind pushing my hair back. All of our winter jackets were on, but there was no way anyone felt the cold. Not now. Not when there was fire in Austin’s eyes.
Austin’s lips pulled back, baring his teeth.
“You weren’t supposed to find out like this,” James choked out weakly.
“She’s getting married, fucker. You didn’t want me to find out at all, did you? That was the plan, wasn’t it?”
Anxiety spiked within me as Austin held James by his collar. James was clawing at his neck for a breath.
“Austin … stop.” Tears poured down Brandy’s face. “Please.”
“Austin,” I called out.
He couldn’t see anyone or hear anyone beyond the rage.
“I fucking took you in when you were broke. Loved your ass like a brother, and you … you did this? You betrayed me! Like this?”
“Austin! Stop! He can’t breathe!” Brandy clawed at his arms. “Austin, I love him.”
Those words were like a jab to Austin’s stomach because he wilted and loosened his grip, which caused James to fall to his knees. I felt the jab, too, in the center of my chest. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, holding myself together as the warmth formed behind my eyes.
“You what? Love him?” Austin spat out. His mouth slackened. “What the fuck, Brandy?! You’re getting married intwo weeks. To another fucking man.”
She swiped at her eyes, her mascara running with her tears like tracks on a wet dirt road. “I love them both.”
“Fucking A! You can’t do that, Brandy.” He shoved a finger in her direction. “You shouldn’t have said yes then. You can’t promise yourself to one man and be with another.”
There was a small crowd of people surrounding us, as though Austin and James were in a boxing ring. Onlookers, walking to their cars, paused and looked our way.
“Stop yelling at her.” The wrong flipping words fell from James’ mouth because I heard the impact of Austin’s punch as though it’d echoed through a megaphone.
In the next second, they were both down on the pavement, rolling around in the freezing snow.
The crowd had multiplied, causing a commotion as Austin shoved at James’ chest and cracked him in the jaw.
“Stop! Omigod. Please stop!” Brandy screamed.
I tried to think of something, anything to get them to stop, short of jumping on them. “Stop!” I yelled, but I knew it was all for nothing.
I took my purse and threw it in the ring of fire, but it landed weakly next to them, as though it were a speck of dust to be ignored. When James got on top and tried to hold Austin down, he was bucked off a second later. I threw one boot. But nothing helped. My toes were going to freeze, but who the hell cared? Someone was about to get seriously hurt. I threw my gloves at them, as though that would help.
I was starting to panic. James’ eyes were both swollen now, and Austin’s lip was bleeding. This was ridiculous. Nothing was going to get solved like this.
I threw my last boot in, and they didn’t even budge. “Austin! Stop!”
Desperation ate at me. It was like when I’d watched Alec get into a fight that one time after someone made an unwanted pass at Addison. I had thrown myself right in the middle of the fight, getting a bruise on my upper cheek. I wasn’t doing that this time. I knew better, but the energy was still there.
One idea popped into my head. A horrible, horrible,horribleidea. But they were guys. And it might work.
Swallowing hard, I began to unzip my down jacket. It was like an out-of-body experience as I chucked off my sweater and undershirt and was standing there, only in a bra.