She was dancing.

Her hips shook as she put on a show for the guys at the bar, and I glanced across the table nervously, imagining how Asa would feel if I were shaking my ass in the middle of a bar.

Echo was relaxed back in his chair, a little smirk on his lips as he took a sip of his beer. He must have felt my eyes on him, because his eyes shot to mine for a moment, winking, before going back to Farrah.

“Holy shit,” Cody sighed next to me, making me laugh.

“Close your mouth, little brother,” I teased him as Farrah bent at the waist so her hair was brushing the floor.

His chair screeched across the floor as he ignored me and tried to stand, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“That one’s mine, son,” Echo told him with a smile, standing up from his own chair. “Get your own.”

My eyes had moved back to Farrah as Echo sauntered up to her, and I couldn’t drag them away as she started dancing on him while he stood relaxed, still drinking his beer. He wanted her; I could see his struggle to let her dance instead of dragging her off. But the pride in his gaze was apparent as he let her do her thing.

“Why are you crying?” Cody asked, perplexed. “That’s hot as hell.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled back, never taking my eyes off the couple on the dance floor as I smiled. “She’s back.”

Chapter 51

Callie

I loved it when Cody stayed with me. He not only did things around the house like take out the garbage, but it was nice to come home to someone—even if it was my stinky brother with his feet on the coffee table. Our shared history was like a security blanket for both of us, and we understood each other in a way that no one else ever would.

We were packing up my apartment, laughing over kitchen gadgets that looked like torture devices, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so happy. I was giddy with excitement to be moving to Oregon after so long, one of my favorite people in the world was sitting on the floor of my kitchen, and my best friend was on her way over. It was bliss.

Some people go their entire lives without facing tragedy. They live every day as if nothing bad would ever happen to them, because they have no experience to draw from and no reason to be weary. Others are always waiting for the other shoe to drop. They don’t assume that nothing bad was going to happen, but wonder when it would.

I forgot for a moment that I was one of the latter.

When I heard a bike pull up, I ran to the door and flung it open, racing down the stairs so I could walk Farrah up. I didn’t need to do it, it’s not like she needed the direction, but I wanted to say hi to Echo before he took off to take care of some club crap. Farrah smiled at me, pulling off her bright pink helmet, and I waved as I jumped down the last two steps of the stairs.

I didn’t notice the car at first. I wasn’t paying attention to the road, because even though it was a quiet street, cars passed by all the time.

It wasn’t until Echo shoved Farrah at me that I realized something wasn’t right. I caught her and we went stumbling into the stairwell, barely catching our balance before hitting the stairs. I watched over Farrah’s shoulder, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist as Echo glanced over to where we were hidden by the wall of the stairwell and met my eyes.

Then his eyes shifted to Farrah’s and he winked.

“Hey, Ace!” someone called out.

It’s funny how the human brain works. Or is it the speed of sound that makes memories seem just a bit off?

Echo’s body started jerking before I heard the gunshots.

Or maybe it was after.

I can’t remember, because the minute he winked, I had to tighten my arms around Farrah and use all of my body weight to keep her from running to him.

I held back a scream and wrapped my legs around her hips, my back digging into the cement stairs as I fought her.

I managed to get one hand over her eyes as she gouged my arms with her nails, making me the only one who witnessed Echo turn his eyes to Farrah as he dropped to his knees and fell forward onto the pavement.

Neither of us made a sound.

And then, with squealing tires, it was over.

Chapter 52

Callie

I lost my grip on Farrah as Cody came barreling down the stairs.

“What the fuck?” he asked me, pulling me up as Farrah started scrambling toward Echo’s body, not even taking the time to stand.

“I don’t know,” I whispered back, watching as he ran toward the couple only a few feet away.

I should’ve been screaming. I should’ve been running for Echo the way Farrah and Cody were.

But I wasn’t. I was back in my crawlspace, and I knew not to make a sound.  Instead, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Asa as I walked slowly to where my brother and Farrah were rolling Echo onto his back.

I wanted to scream at them that there was nothing they could do—that he deserved to keep a little of his dignity.

“Hey, Sugar,” Asa answered lazily, completely unaware of the scene unfolding before me.

“Asa,” I rasped, “I’m scared.”

“Talk to me, Callie!” he ordered, all complacency gone.

“There was a car,” I looked up the quiet street, but nothing was there. “Echo brought Farrah over.”

“You have to tell me what happened, sweetheart,” he prodded urgently.

“I don’t know,” I told him vaguely, the world becoming hazy as I watched Farrah push Cody’s hands away so she could kiss Echo sweetly on the lips.