A heavy line forms between his brows and he licks at his lips.

“Mike… baby, look at me...” I glide my thumbs back and forth in slow sweeps. “Please, look at me,” I whisper.

His jaw flexes and then his eyes briefly cut to mine.

I smile, gliding my hand down. “Hi.”

His nostrils flare, his eyes bouncing between mine and over my shoulder in rapid, constant motions.

“Let’s go, let’s leave this place,” I tell him. “You were right, there’s nothing for me here. I saw what you wanted. I saw him with Mallory. He doesn’t want me, and I don’t need him.”

“But the girl, she’s still in there.”

“We don’t need her,” I rush out. “We can, we can have our own.”

He swallows, and his head tips to the side with a slight nod. He lowers his mouth to my ear.

“You will love me,” he murmurs, kissing my hair and I squeeze my eyes shut. “I swear you will.”

I nod, dropping my hands to his chest, my heart seizing in mine when the sound of the barrel clicking rings in my ear. “But only if you can’t love him.”

I gasp, shoving at him. “Mike, no!”

But it’s too late, the gun has already gone off.

I fly around, screaming as Captain’s body falls to the ground with a crash, Connor Perkins on top of him.

Everything happens quickly from there.

Royce tackles Mike to the ground as Maddoc picks up the gun, points it right at his head, and without so much as a blink, he pulls the fucking trigger.

I dart toward Perkins and Captain, screaming when I see blood running down Captain’s head.

I grab Perkins, and he groans.

“I’m sorry,” I cry as I roll him off, scrambling closer to Captain.

Royce falls right beside me as my hands fly to my mouth.

“No, no, no...” he panics. “Brother, no!”

“Oh my god,” I croak, my eyes falling to his soiled shirt, blood dripping down his side.

Raven runs out the door as Maddoc spins and drops with us.

“Cap.” Maddoc smacks his face lightly. “Captain!” he shouts.

I cry, pushing up his shirt to apply pressure to the wound, but freeze, my hands flying along his stomach, smearing in the blood in search of the bullet hole, but I don’t find one.

I quickly move to his head, shaking as I inspect the gash there.

Not a gunshot wound.

“He hit his head...” I whisper. “He hit his head,” I say louder.

They look to his stomach and then his head.

Maddoc quickly feels for a pulse, nodding with a glare. “He’s knocked out.”

“Thank fuck,” Royce croaks.

“Guys,” Raven whispers.

All eyes fly to her and slowly she lowers to her knees, kneeling beside Perkins who holds a hand over his gut, blood pouring from him, the color having drained from his face.

Oh my god.

Maddoc and Royce glance at each other, whipping around when footsteps sound behind them.

Rolland drags himself closer, falling beside Raven and Perkins.

He looks to his sons and then slides behind the man.

Raven helps him push his upper body from the grass, and Perkins hisses, his head falling back on Rolland’s chest right as he settles himself there.

He grips his hand.

“I’ve got ya’, old friend,” he says.

Perkins’ face tightens and he blows a hard breath from his nose. “He’s...” He tenses in pain. “He’s okay?” he asks, his eyes on mine.

I look to Captain, whose eyes begin to flutter behind closed lids.

I nod and he nods back.

“Good.” He swallows, his blinks slowing.

“It, uh...” He stretches his leg out. “It’s cold out here, huh?”

I look to Maddoc when he drops beside him. He nods lightly, hanging his head as he props his arms on his knees. “Yeah, man. It’s cold.”

It’s not cold.

Royce lowers next, sitting at my side, but nobody says a word.

Perkins gives a small laugh, but it turns into a wheeze and then a small cry and I force my eyes to the grass.

“It might...” Our stares fly to Perkins. He tries to swallow, tears falling from his eyes, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. “It might mean... mean nothing to you but I… I’m proud” —his voice cracks— “so proud of who you are.”

We follow his line of sight straight to Captain.

Captain, whose eyes are open and cloudy, locked directly with Connor Perkins, the man who just gave his life to save his, a boy who vowed to never claim the existence of the man before him.

They hold each other’s gazes, father and son, as Perkins takes his last and final breath.

He dies in Rolland’s arms.

Chapter 37

Captain

Raven pulls the sweater from over her shoulders and drapes it over Perkins’ body as my dad lays him flat on the ground.

My eyes fly to the pool house entryway, and Royce pops up, jogging inside to check on Zoey.

My head falls back into Victoria’s lap and she offers a broken smile.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.

I shake my head, lifting my hand and her forehead comes down to meet mine. “This isn’t on you, baby.”

Her eyes fall.

“Maddoc,” I call, lifting my hand.

She pulls back, pushing to her feet as Maddoc yanks me to mine, holding me there a moment until I’m steady.

“You good, man?” He eyes me. “He knocked your ass out with the gun and then you hit your head on a rock when you went down.”

My eyes slide to Perkins’ lifeless legs beneath the thin cotton and I swallow, looking away. “Yeah.”

I let go of him, walking over to Mike’s body, my eyes zoning in on the gunshot right between his eyes.

I look to Maddoc and he nods.

He pulled the trigger.

Tires squeal around the front of the house and Maddoc’s face falls, but Royce rushes out, shouting, “It’s Maybell!”

He jogs over to us, his eyes moving between the bodies. “She’s coming to play with Zoey, keep her busy inside while we… clean up.”

Dad pulls his phone out. “I’ll call James, he has men for this.”

“No,” Victoria says, and our eyes swing to her. “James isn’t in charge anymore.” She looks to Royce. “They have someone to call.”

Royce frowns, but then a nod follows, and his cell is in his hands. “Hey, Siri, call Mac,” he says as he walks away.

It takes less than twenty minutes for Mac to roll up, Andre and a couple others just behind him.

They wait at the edge of the grass as he walks over, but he doesn’t look to us.

He walks right up to Mike’s dead body and slips an all-black ski mask over his head.

Mac stands and moves to Perkins to do the same, but I find myself sliding in front of him, and his eyes fly to mine.

“I, uh.” I swallow. “Him, we’ll bury.”

Mac gives a curt nod. “I’ll make sure he gets where he needs.”

I nod and slowly move away, watching as he pulls the jacket from his face and slips the mask over.

Only when he stands, having hidden the proof of who these men are, do the others come forward.