Scarlet was trying to break free from Dallas. She was screaming, “Stop! Please stop!” She was begging Asher to stop.
He was going to kill Bray. Or it looked that way, at least. Bray couldn’t seem to get his head clear enough after each hit to do anything. None of the others were stopping Asher. He’d regret this. I knew him too well. If he truly hurt Bray, he’d never forgive himself. Dallas was so busy holding Scarlet, so I was able to go to Asher. I grabbed his arm before he swung again.
“Asher, don’t,” I said hoping he could hear me over Scarlet’s screaming. He did. He stilled. Bray began wiping the blood running from his nose.
“Back up, Dixie,” Asher said, not looking at me. His glare remained fixed on Bray.
Bray moved then. But not toward Asher. He moved toward Scarlet. “Let. Her. Go.”
Dallas shook his head. “Seriously, Bray, you got some shit to work out. She needs to leave with Dixie.”
Asher finally looked at me. “Step away from this. If you’re hurt, I’ll end up killing him.” He wasn’t exaggerating. That wasn’t a threat. He was serious. I moved back then. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Knowing he’d physically hurt his brother over me.
“You need to leave with Dixie. And Dallas needs to take you both home,” Asher told Scarlet. I looked at her pleadingly. She needed to listen to him. This was only getting worse with her being there.
“Okay,” Scarlet agreed, “but don’t hurt him again. I did this. It was all me. I played games and caused this. I just wanted him . . .” She didn’t finish. She’d said enough right there. Enough to cause damage. Was this what Asher didn’t want to happen between him and Steel?
Asher swore again and shook his head, then pointed to Dallas’s truck. “Take ’em home. Then you need to come back.”
Dallas nodded. No one was arguing with Asher. “Let’s go,” he said to both of us and I walked over to stand beside Scarlet. Dallas let her go and put a hand on both our shoulders. “My truck,” he said in a low voice.
Scarlet looked at me then. She was scared and she was sorry. I could read the regret in her eyes. But she also was worried about me. Because of Asher’s actions. He hadn’t hit Bray over Scarlet. He’d hit him because of how he spoke to me. But what did I do with that? I couldn’t hope. After tonight, after this, he’d never do the same to his brother. But then, I wouldn’t either. I’d end things before that ever happened. It was what Scarlet should have done in the first place. I turned back to see all of them squared off, bodies tense, and blue lights coming down the road. The cops had been called. Wouldn’t be the first time the Sutton boys were greeted by the police. It was a good thing. Otherwise none of them might survive the night.
Bray Sutton
BRENT’S TRUCK WAS parked out by the barn when I finally came home. So was Asher’s and Steele’s. Only the old rusted farm truck was missing. I headed for the barn, not sure what I was about to face. There was a good chance they would all take turns beating the shit out of me.
When Brent would be ready to listen, I would find a way to explain it to him. But if he needed to hit me until his hand was bruised, I’d let him. I owed him that much. I handled this wrong. I wouldn’t apologize for needing Scarlet. That was something I wasn’t going to do. Because I needed her. I hadn’t been sure that I could ever feel any real emotion until Scarlet managed to get under my skin and wedge herself firmly in my heart. It was like I had walked through life without understanding passion, jealousy or even love . . . before her. I’d only known anger. It was a numbness I never wanted to live with again.
Scarlet changed all that for me. Maybe I was obsessed. Fuck, maybe I needed a new medication. But I needed to touch Scarlet and feel her to experience real pleasure. She gave me something I didn’t know existed and now I wasn’t willing to let that go. Not even for my brother.
I opened the barn door and Asher turned to look at me. He was the only one in there. And he was going to hand my ass to me now that I was home. I was prepared for that. As long as I had Scarlet. As long as she was mine, I would happily take whatever they wanted to give me.
“He’s out helping Steel,” Asher informed me.
I nodded. I wasn’t sure what he thought I should do. Go find him? He’d be back soon enough. I turned to walk back out of the barn. I needed a shower. Sleeping outside in the back of my truck all night hadn’t left me smelling good. I could still smell Scarlet and sex on my hands, too. I didn’t want to wash her off, but I also knew the sex smell would have told my brothers more than any of them needed or wanted to know.
“She came by to see him,” Asher said just before I walked out the door.
I froze. I didn’t want Scarlet coming to see Brent or anyone else for that matter. I had unleashed some kind of fucking monster last night when I’d allowed myself to lay claim to her. My hands clenched tightly into fists at my side at the thought of her apologizing to Brent.
“When,” I bit out through my teeth.
“About three hours ago,” Asher replied.
I took a deep breath through my nose and tried like hell to calm the fuck down. “What did she say?”
“She said she’d been selfish and she was sorry,” Asher informed me.
My heart slammed against my chest and I grabbed the doorframe to keep from putting my fist through a wall. “Did he touch her?” If he had, I wouldn’t be able to control myself.
“No. She didn’t get within ten feet of him when she spoke to him,” he said slowly. “Bray, what the hell is wrong with you? You’re acting like someone fucked your girlfriend. Not the other way around.”
I ripped off the door facing and tossed it aside, before glaring back at Asher. “She’s mine.”
Asher raised his eyebrows. “She was Brent’s. You didn’t respect that.”
“No,” I roared, taking a step toward him. “She was always mine.”
Asher studied me, but he didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. “What’s happened to you?”
How would I explain to him, to any of them, how Scarlet made me feel? What she gave me. I felt my body begin to shake.
“You okay . . . what’s wrong? Look at me, Bray,” the concern in Asher’s voice snapped me out of the panic that was starting to squeeze my lungs. I had to find Scarlet. I needed her to touch me. To ease this.
“I gotta go,” I said before turning and stalking back to my truck. Getting to Scarlet was all what I needed first. Everything else could wait. She’d been here and she’d talked to Brent. I had to know what he said to her. I needed her to tell me it was still me she wanted.
The slamming of a car door caught my attention and I turned to see Dixie standing beside her car with tears streaming down her face.
“What’s wrong?” Asher called out as he walked past me hell bent on getting to Dixie.
“Careful, bro. She belongs to Steel,” I said causing him to stop and swing a warning glare toward me.
Didn’t feel so good when someone told you your woman was someone else’s, did it? Maybe he’d remember that next time.
“She’s gone,” Dixie said looking at me instead of Asher.
My lungs ceased up and my pulse sped up. The world around me faded away. “No,” was all I could get out.