Page 34 of Man of Honor
If Dominic was here, and the sound of splintering furniture was any clue, it had been long enough for my brothers to take notice.
Damn.
The second I hit the living room, I stopped dead and stared.Wyatt had Dominic pinned against the wall, his forearm jammed hard against my brother's throat.An overturned table and shattered lamp lay at their feet.
Wyatt's face was flushed with anger, and a vein was pulsing at his temple.But Dominic? Not so much as a bead of sweat.He looked as calm and collected as ever, but the fire burning in his eyes betrayed him—and so did the blade in his hand, pressed just shy of Wyatt's stomach.One wrong move, and it would break skin.
I staggered forward on shaky, newborn-foal legs, and rasped, "Dominic!Drop the knife."
Both of them froze, heads snapping toward me in unison.Wyatt's expression softened, just a fraction, but Dominic's gaze swept over me, taking in the bruises and medical tape...and the fact that I hadn't even bothered to puton pants.He flicked his wrist, and like a magic trick, the blade vanished into his sleeve.
"Jesus, Gage." He shrugged off Wyatt's hold with a sharp twist and took a step toward me, but Wyatt's hand flashed out, yanking him backward.
"Don't touch him," Wyatt growled."I promised he wouldn't have to deal with you until he's damn good and ready."
Dominic's mouth twitched into a half-smile that never reached his ice-cold eyes."Your promises mean nothing to me," he said."When it comes to my family, you don't call the shots, Deputy."
"Don't blame Wyatt," I muttered, gripping the doorknob with sweaty fingers to keep from toppling."I asked him to keep this quiet."
Wyatt’s gaze shifted to me, and his anger disappeared, replaced with unguarded concern.“You should sit down."
“Fuck that,” Dominic snapped.His horrified gaze kept drifting over the giant smear of bruises my body had become.“You should be in a hospital.”
“Nah.” I gave him a wonky grin and limped toward the couch, hissing when the leather stuck to my naked ass.“It would be a giant waste of time.If I was gonna die, it would’ve happened already.”
The sound Dominic made in the back of his throat didn’t sound convinced, but he sat wordlessly on the coffee table across from me.Wyatt grabbed a blanket and draped it over my lap, covering my nakedness, not that it mattered.Dom had seen it all before.
I caught his fingers and gave them a squeeze of thanks.
Dominic didn’t miss the exchange.His eyes narrowed, shifting between us, but he didn’t comment.Instead, he clasped his hands and leaned forward, close enough to pin me with a hard stare.“I'm not your babysitter.As far as I’m concerned, you can do what you want. But you can't just fuck off and forget you've got family here.Mason found that shitbox Buick of yours abandoned in the Dead End’s parking lot, and he's been going out of his head ever since.We’ve been looking everywhere.I’ve got my men combing the bayou for your body, for fuck’s sake.”
I didn’t like apologizing, especially to Dominic because he never let me forget it.But I owed him one this time.He was trying to hide it, but I saw the pain and hurt in his whiskey-colored eyes.I grabbed him by the wrist, right above his platinum watch band, and held his gaze.“I’m sorry, Dom,” I said sincerely.“I should’ve called. I wasn't thinking clearly.”
“Fuck calling,” he spat angrily.“You’re my brother. You should have come to me.”
“You don’t need my mess on your doorstep, man.” I gave a shaky laugh.“I was cocky, and I paid for it.I’m not about to drag anyone else into it.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. He grabbed the arm of the couch and leaned close, saying furiously, “Gideon filled your head with his righteous bullshit, didn’t he?Told you we’ve all got to behave ourselves ‘tilhedecides the time is right?Fuck him, Gage. You come tomewhen you’ve got a problem.I’ll handle it. You don’t get yourself killed trying to proveshitto him.Understand?”
Damn. Things were worse between them than I thought.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose—before I remembered it was broken."Ow, fuck," I muttered, covering myface with one hand.My other brothers would have laughed, but Dominic didn't even blink.
"I hear you, Dom," I said, sighing, "and I appreciate it.Really. But I can handle my own problems."
The words felt hollow even as I said them.A nice line, sure, but the truth was staring both of us in the face.I hadn't handled shit.
"Right," Dominic drawled, reaching out to hook a finger under the edge of my bandages and tugging lightly."Because you handled this so well.Now, stop wasting my time. Tell me who did it."
"No."
"Don't test my patience, Gage," he warned, tilting his head and staring me down with those reptilian eyes."Who. Did. This."
He didn't raise his voice, but then, it was never necessary.His attitude was a predator's calm, the kind that didn't leave much room for argument.There was something unnerving about how still he could hold: no nervous tics, no shifting, just the unrelenting focus of a hunter.
“I know what you’d do with the information, and I’m not giving it to you,” I said, locking eyes with him.“You’ve played it smart for years.Vanderhoff hasn't been able to pin a thing on you, and I know damn well he tried.I’m not about to watch you throw it all away because I made a stupid call.”
For a long, tense moment, we stared each other down.Dominic was practically gnashing his teeth.He hated not being able to intimidate me.