KYLE

“Come on, Kyle,” Lo said. “You have to talk to us eventually.”

I dropped my head back against the wall and blew out a long breath. My room was trashed. It hadn’t been my plan to come back and take it out on my furniture, but it was either that, or go looking for a fight. I didn’t fancy my odds against Rick and I didn’t hit girls.

“Stone, you’re starting to piss me the fuck off,” Rick ground out and before today, his condescending alpha tone would have set off some witty comeback, but not today.

Today, I wanted to be left the fuck alone.

“Maybe we should give him some space,” Lo whispered to Rick. Oh, how things had changed. There had been a time when they couldn’t stand to be around one another, and I’d been the guy caught in the middle. Although they’d never fooled me with their love-hate relationship. They wanted each other; plain and simple. They'd just needed a nudge in the right direction.

I wasn’t sure any amount of nudging was going to fix this shit show, though.

Laurie knew. She knew about my mother, my sister.

She knew I’d lied to her.

Jesus. It looked so shady and yet, it hadn’t been. Not really. Until Maria Lessinger decided to screw things up for me, I would have taken my lie to the grave. Because she was dead to me in every sense of the word.

But now she wasn’t. Now she was a living, breathing ghost.

Fuck.

The crack of my fist against the wall ricocheted through the room and Lo and Rick stared at me as if they barely recognized me. I couldn’t stand it—their scrutiny, their misplaced sympathy.

“Yeah, great fucking idea,” Rick said, narrowing his eyes. “You and me, come on, let’s go.”

“Go?” Lo said. “Go where?”

“He needs to let off some steam. If he won’t talk, maybe that will help.”

Lo jumped up. “Maverick, no.”

He pushed off the wall and came toward the bed. “You feel it, right? The anger simmering under your skin, needing a release?” Understanding passed between us and I nodded. “I’ll call Luke, see if he can get you on the roster—”

“No! No way.” Lo spun around to face him. “Have you completely lost your mind? Kyle is not going to the warehouse.”

“I’m in.” I got off the bed and raked a hand down my face. “I’m so in.” My blood was like lava rushing through my veins. I’d already made mincemeat of my room, I needed something—anything—to make it stop.

To drown out the noise.

“Kyle, don’t be so ridiculous, you’ll get—”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cous,” I bit out. “Rick’s right. I need this. I’m going out of my fucking mind.”

“This is... ugh!” She threw up her hands. “You’re both out of your bloody minds.”

“I’ve got his back.”

“And if it backfires and he ends up hurt?”

“He won’t.” Rick levelled her with a sharp glare, but my cousin glared right back. It would have been entertaining if I didn’t feel ready to peel off my own skin.

“Well, then, while you two figure out who wears the pants, I’ll be downstairs trying not to wreck Mom’s best shit.”

That ripped Lo from their little standoff and she marched over to me and got right in my face. “I will never forgive you if you do something stupid, Kyle Stone. This is not you. I don’t know what’s going on, or why you won’t talk to us, but you’re better than this.” Her unwavering gaze almost reached me—almost bitch slapped some sense into me.

But then she was gone, storming out of the room, and I was right back to square one. Stuck in my pity party for one.

“You sure about this, man?” Rick said from behind me and I turned around slowly and met his intense stare.

“Let’s do it.”

~

I FROWNED AS MY EYES drank in the warehouse. “There’s no one here.”

“No shit,” Maverick said giving nothing away. “Come on, I want to show you something.” He got out of the car and waited for me. I joined him, restless energy buzzing through me. I’d come here to fight, to step into the crude human ring and unleash the beast inside me that refused to settle. But as I followed him to the building, something told me that wasn’t going to happen. I’d only been here a handful of times—usually to drag Rick’s sorry ass home—but the place was dead.

No bloodthirsty crowd.

No rumble of hungry yells and cheers.

No crackle of anticipation in the air.

And when Rick reached the side door, yanking hard, and the door swung open, there was no lingering smell of sweat and testosterone.

Nothing.

“Rick, man. I thought—”

“Come on.” He slipped inside, and I followed because what else was there to do? We were in the middle of nowhere in the derelict industrial area just outside of Wicked Bay.

Silence greeted us as Rick pulled out his cell phone and hit the flashlight option, illuminating the vast high-ceilinged room.

“So what, Prince, we going to throw down? You and me? Because for as much as I want to beat the shit out of something, that’s not why I came here.”

He let out a heavy sigh and turned to meet my confused gaze. “You know, I don’t remember much about that night.”

“What night, Rick? What is this?”

“The night you and Lo had to drag me out of this place.”

Oh. That night. Yeah, that had been a hoot-and-a-half. Lo and I had arrived just in time to see Rick get KO’d by some scary-ass looking meathead. He’d looked broken: bloody and bruised, and barely breathing. It had knocked the wind right out of Lo, and I’d found it no picnic either. Knowing Rick fought was one thing, seeing it with your own eyes was another.

“I was so angry I wanted to kill something,” he went on, his voice echoing off the walls. “All I could think about was ramming my fist into someone’s face, feeling their knuckles smash against my ribs, my bone. Do you know, I couldn’t even tell you what the guy looked like from that night? I didn’t see him. All I saw was a release. A target. Something to make it all stop.”

“Your point?” I snapped, betrayal coursing through me. He hadn’t brought me here to fight, he’d brought me here to Dr. Phil my ass.

Yeah, no thanks.

“Kyle, man, come on. You know how much it affected Lo seeing me like that, and don’t try to pretend it didn’t do the same to you.”

I swallowed... hard.

“So what? You thought you’d bring me here for a trip down memory lane and hope it’d what, magically cure me?”

Rick rolled his eyes. “No, jackass, I thought it would make you see sense. I fought because I had no choice. The crap with my dad, the shit with Caitlin, Lo, and my mom; I didn’t know how to deal with it. But you’re better than this. Fuck, you’re the glue, man. You hold our family together, with your special brand of humor and asshattery. We’re all better, because of you. Don’t flake out now, just because shit got a little hard. Talk to me, talk to Lo, hell, go down to the church and talk to Father McCreedy if that’s what it’ll take. Just find a way to deal with it. Because I don’t want to have to drag your sorry ass from this place, ever.” He paused for a beat, and then added, “Besides, you’re far too pretty to get a busted nose.”

That earned him the faintest of smiles.

Was I pissed he’d played me, yes, but his words cut deep.

Which was no doubt his plan all along.

“So, are we good?”

“If you mean do I forgive you for dragging me out here, then yeah, we’re good.”

“And the other stuff?”

“Honestly?” My eyes darted to the ground and that night flashed through my mind. I didn’t really want to end up like that, or worse. And I didn’t know the first thing about fighting, but I needed something... something to make it all stop. Just long enough that I could catch my breath and figure out my next move. “I don’t know.”

“This wasn’t my only place, you know.”

My head snapped up to Rick’s and he nodded slowly. “When I couldn’t come out here, there was another place I’d go.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, come on, Stone. Let’s go.”

And like the dutiful brother, I followed. Because while I had changed, some things never would.

~

RICK BROUGHT ME TO The Bay. When we climbed out of his car, I looked at him and said, “You brought me to the beach? Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Nice to see you’re still in there somewhere.” He smirked.

“It’s peaceful out here.” And it was. Nothing but the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, the gentle breeze howling around the sand embankment.

“It’s always been one of my favorite places, but I don’t mind sharing.” Rick leaned against the hood of his car and waited.

“So, what do we do now? Pray? Sing a verse of kum-ba-yah or something?”

“Whatever you want. I just like to watch the ocean. Take it all in.”

Who’d have known Maverick Prince was into some quiet time on the beach? But as I looked out on the horizon, something in me settled. And before I knew it, I was moving toward the sand.

“Call me when you need a ride,” he shouted after me, and I glanced back at him. He tipped his chin before climbing into his car. And I realized he knew.

Rick got it.

What it was like to feel pulled in two. Torn between head and heart, rational thinking and impulsive action. But out here, breathing in the sea air, feeling the pinch of salt in my lungs, I felt lighter somehow.

I heard the distant sound of Rick’s car pulling out of the parking lot. The faint echo of kids leaving The Shack. But it was all background noise. Until I heard the crunch of sand underneath boots. Call it a sixth sense or some sibling telepathic-vibe but I knew it was her.

I guess I should have known the past was never far behind.

“What do you want?” I clutched the wooden fence tighter until my knuckles turned white, anger rippling through me.

“Excuse me for breathing.”

“Kiera, look, I’m really not in the mood and this stalking gig you’ve got going on is starting to get lame.”

“You think I’m stalking you? Please, don’t flatter yourself.” There wasn’t even a hint of shame in her voice and it bothered me far more than it should have.

“Laurie, my girl—” I corrected myself. “Laurie said—”

“Trouble in paradise?” She bit out. “Must suck being you right now.”

“Don’t.” It was a low growl in my throat.

“Geez, you really are a hoot tonight.”

“Do you want something or are you just here to kill me? Death by a hundred pointless questions?”

She ignored my dig. “You never called.”

“You really thought I would?” It seemed like a lifetime ago since she slipped me the letter from my mother. The one I’d burned after reading it twice. She could go to hell for all I cared.

They both could.

“I didn’t, no, but she hoped—”

“So why are you here again?”

“Because she can’t let it go. She just wants half an hour, Kyle. Is that too much to ask after everything?”

“Everything?” My head snapped up to meet hers. “What part of my junkie mother abandoning me don’t you get? It’s been sixteen years. Sixteen years and nothing. I didn’t move. I’m right where I’ve always been. She could have looked me up, she could have tried to contact me.”

Kiera’s hardened mask slipped, and she gasped. “You don’t know.”

“Know? What the hell are you talking about?” My stomach dropped. There was something about her expression I didn’t like. And some part of me knew things were about to go from shitstorm to apocalyptic.

“She tried to contact you, Kyle.”

I barked a wry laugh because no she hadn’t.

Not once.

In sixteen damn years.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not. I was almost eleven, so you would have been twelve. She was sober, holding down a job. We were in a good place. But my dad had died, and it hit her hard. Ridden with guilt and grief, she got it into her head it was time to make amends. I think she thought it would fix her. Fix things.”

I dragged a hand down my face barely able to believe what she was saying. But Kiera had no reason to lie. She wasn’t here for personal gain—she hated me, that much was obvious.

“Assuming I believe what you’re saying is true, and I don’t,” I added. “What happened? I can remember being twelve just fine and I don’t ever remember her trying to contact me.”

“She didn’t want to just barge into your life, Kyle, so she contacted your dad.”

My world tilted sideways, and I choked out, “My dad?”

“Yeah, she looked up his business and went to see him. I didn’t think it was a good idea. Tried to talk her out of it but she insisted. She came back so devastated. I don’t know what went down between them, but I’d never seen her like that and I’d seen her in a bad way enough times. She got butt drunk and got high. Sevens month sober and she ruined it just like that. All because of you and your dad.”

I felt sick.

The need to hurt something exploded through me. Boiling in my blood, violent and overwhelming.

“You really didn’t know?” her voice was softer this time, and I thought how odd it sounded coming from her. She was all harsh angles and don’t-fuck-with-me vibes, but she was looking at me the way Lo or Summer did. Full of understanding and sympathy. Only her gaze felt intrusive. Like a million ants crawling underneath my skin.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” I rushed out, staggering back from the railing. Kiera stared at me as if I’d grown an extra head.

“Stay, we can tal—”

“Go, I’ve got to go.”

I didn’t know where I needed to be, but anywhere away from her and her searching eyes was a start.

“Kyle,” she called after me, but I was gone, sprinting toward the parking lot with no destination in mind. I couldn’t go home, Mom would want answers and Rick would want to continue his Dr. Phil routine. And I couldn’t go to Laurie’s, not after how I’d left things.

She contacted your dad.

She contacted your dad.

She contacted your dad.

The words vibrated around my head like a bad hangover. It might have been funny if it wasn’t so tragic. I’d lied to protect him, to keep the past buried where it belonged and all along he’d kept this from me. We were Stones. That name meant something in Wicked Bay.

It meant a helluva lot.

But as my feet pounded the asphalt and my body vibrated with so many emotions I couldn’t name them, all I could think was oh, how the mighty had fallen.