Chapter Forty-One
Keller
Keller’s whole body tensed. Was this guy stupid? He grabbed the door and swung it wide, making sure the jackass came into the wolves’ den. The room remained silent. But Keller could feel his brothers’ tension. They were waiting for something to go down and were ready to pounce if they needed to.
Brooks spoke up so everyone could hear him. “Grimes and I are heading out first thing in the morning. The shifter investigation is closed.” He caught Corey’s eye and gave her another small smile, which Keller longed to wipe off his face. “We’re looking further into Mr. Franklin and his possible involvement in everything that has happened here. I promise you, all of you, that you as well as the kids will be kept out of this. We found a few of Franklin’s employees who are rather chatty.”
Baze nodded. “That’s great. Thank you for coming to let us know.”
“Please keep us informed if anything changes, especially if it looks like Franklin suspects the kids.” Coop had stood to address Brooks, but she sat back down when Dom pulled at her arm.
“We will keep a close eye on Mr. Franklin, Ms. Cooper. We will let you know immediately if there are any changes.”
Keller pushed Molly behind him, not wanting Brooks to think he could hug her goodbye. “All right. Well. Bye.”
Brooks turned to face Keller fully. “There is more one thing.” And then he sucker punched him.
Keller’s head snapped back, and he saw red. Suddenly the room erupted in wolf testosterone. Linc and Dom got on either side of Keller while Riley and Baze grabbed Brooks and held him back. Keller was surprised at how quickly Brooks had executed that punch, and hadn’t seen it coming—none of them had. And the crazy son of a bitch was trying to come at Keller again.
“Are you fucking mental?” Holy hell, if Keller wasn’t so pissed, he’d be impressed by the size of Brooks’s balls. “Look shithead, I don’t know what I did to make you hate me, but I am seconds away from tearing your fucking head off. So you better start talking.” Keller saw Brook’s eyes dart to Molly. Before Keller could think too hard about it he punched Brooks in the gut. “Don’t you dare fucking look at her. You look at me. Answer me.”
Brooks glared at him. “You know what you did, you son of a bitch.”
Keller let out a humorless laugh. “That’s just it, man. I really don’t. Is this about Molly? Did you think you ever had a chance with her? Let me tell you, you didn’t. She’s been mine her whole life.”
“You are a homewrecking bastard. You deserved that punch.” Brooks struggled against the arms binding him.
“What the hell are you talking about? She’s my girlfriend.” Keller gestured dramatically in Molly’s direction. Was this guy literally insane?
“Not Molly, you moron. You screwed around with the love of my life. You ripped her away from me. She was my whole world and you ruined it. You knew she was engaged. She told me you knew!”
Keller was confused. “Wait. All this was because you think I banged your fiancée? Are you even actually assigned to this fucking case? Are you really a FBI agent?”
“Not think. I fucking know it. And of course I’m a real agent. I’m a fucking FBI agent. It was just a nice twist of fate that I was sent here.” Brooks struggled again.
Keller leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. “How do you know it was me?”
“I asked around about you. You are notorious with the ladies here. Man, they all despise you. I don’t blame them. I’ve seen firsthand what kind of devastation you cause. You lured her away from me and into your bed. You convinced her to leave me, and then you kicked her to the curb. You ruined both of our lives. And for what?” Brooks turned to Molly. “Don’t you see? He is not a nice man. You deserve better than him, Molly.”
Keller reached up and flicked Brooks’s forehead as hard as he could. He didn’t want to hit the guy again; he had started to cry and it was embarrassing. “I don’t do married chicks, man. Engaged either. And why the hell was your fiancée all the way in Haxton while you were living in Boulder?”
Brooks slumped, some of the fight leaving him. “Work. She got a job here on campus. It was only for the school year and it paid really well. Her uncle lives here.”
Keller closed his eyes and took a deep, irritated breath. “Was she the dean’s niece by any chance? A nurse?” Keller opened his eyes to see Brooks nodding. Then Keller turned and trained a death stare on Linc. “You man-whoring motherfucker. She was engaged, you knew it and you still did her?”
Corey mumbled under her breath. “Too bad Jasper isn’t still here. This would be a good lesson for him to see.”
Linc managed to look sheepish. “Uh well, I…yeah, I did. But she told me she was unhappy and thinking of leaving him anyway.” Linc looked over to Brooks. “Dude, I got the impression that I wasn’t the first guy she’d cheated with. If you think about it, I did you a favor.”
Brooks turned red, his anger coming back full force. “Did me a favor? The wedding was a week away. I had to call all my relatives. I had to return gifts. I bought her a house as a wedding present. I live in a fucking five-bedroom house, alone!”
Linc pursed his lips. “Well at least you don’t live in a five-bedroom house with a cheating slut of a wife.”
Keller grabbed Linc by the neck. “That’s it. I’ve heard enough. Dom, you want to help me out here?”
“Sure do.” Dom stood behind Linc and grabbed both of his arms, pinning them to his sides.
“Hit him. Go ahead, he deserves it. We’ll hold him. You hit him. He won’t hit you back, I promise.”
Brooks looked at Keller warily, like he was wondering if it was a trap. The two men on either side of him let go and stood back, smiling. Brooks walked up to Linc, narrowed his eyes and popped him right in the nose. Blood started pouring out immediately.
Corey got to her feet and grabbed a dishcloth off the counter, handing it to Dom to catch the blood streaming down Linc’s face.
Linc wrinkled his nose, which was going to look pretty bad tomorrow. “Yeah, I’m a dick. Sorry, man.” He tipped his head back and applied pressure.
Brooks turned to Keller and held out his hand. “I’m sorry too. I wish I would have known. I just…man, those women hate you. They all tell the same sob story, you fucked them and left.” He pointed at Linc. “They love that guy. Him and some redhead.”
Molly kicked Riley in the shin when she saw him grinning.