A Whole New Crowd(20)

I grunted. Sometimes jail was worth it, but I kept quiet. That wasn’t good advice. My phone was buzzing in my pocket. Mandy started to say more, but I tuned her out. When I pulled it out, Grayley’s name was on the screen. I held a finger up to her and headed outside. After shutting the door, I said, “Gray?”
“Brian’s on his way to your place.”
“What?” My heart stopped.
“He had a huge fight with Jace. The cops were called, but Brian split. He said something about sorting it out with you. He’s headed your way.” He paused. “Are you safe there?”
I got over my fear and frowned, gripping the phone tighter. “Brian would never hurt me.”
“He’s nuts, Taryn. Make sure you’re safe. If he won’t hurt you, I wouldn’t put it past him to hurt someone else.”
The same heavy weight that I always felt with Brian settled back on my shoulders. Moving to the street, I turned as if expecting him to come around the corner already. I had no idea what to do. Brian was coming here. This was off-limits. When we broke up, when I explained my new adoption, he had agreed not to come to Rawley and now he was breaking that last truce. I nodded to myself, gripping the phone so damn tight. It was pressed against my ear, and I was surprised Grayley couldn’t hear my heart beat through the phone. It was pounding in my eardrums.
“I’ll be fine,” I murmured, not believing myself.
“Call Jace. I think he sent some of his guys after him to make sure, but call him anyways.”
“Okay.” A different terror spread through me.
I peeked through my window-blinds, but didn’t see his car. Great. Just great.
“Okay.” I sighed. “Thanks for giving me the heads-up.”
He hesitated on the other end, but said, “Good luck. Do you want me to come? I can hop in my car real quick.”
“No.” I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see. “I’ll handle it. I’m not alone.” Glancing over my shoulder, I saw more than ten cars parked outside of the house. These weren’t the people I wanted Brian around. They wouldn’t understand he had a heart or how he wanted to be like his father so much, or how he was so envious of Jace who had known their father before he died. They wouldn’t see past his anger to the hurt that was the real fire sparking everything.
They would only judge him.
A hollow ache formed in me as I dialed Jace’s number.
“Hey, Terry.” He was somber.
“I heard.” It’s all I had to say. We both knew this side of Brian. “He’s coming here?”
“Yeah. He was getting fired up again and didn’t take it too well when I told him to stay away from you.”
I closed my eyes. It had been what I wanted, but it had been the wrong person saying that to him. This was on me. “I thought you were the right person to talk to him about this. I didn’t think he would listen to anyone else.”
“He wouldn’t, except our dad, but he’s gone so what do you do?” A static sound came over the phone and he said, “Look.” He had pulled away from the phone, but came back to it, speaking clearly again. “I couldn’t come after him or I would’ve. The cops are here. You know they’re looking for any excuse with me.”
“I know. He’s coming to me. I’ll handle him.”
“Terry,” I heard the same hesitation from him as well, “Brian’s never hurt you, but he’s not handling your break-up well. Are you with people?”
“I am.” They would only see the angry and ugly Brian. “I might have to call the cops, Jace, or someone else will. Mandy has people here. You know these people; they don’t understand.”
“I know. Listen, I sent a few men. Just stall Brian until they get there. They’ll handle him. Brian wants into my organization. Remind him of that. If he acts up, if he gets pinched, he can’t get in.”
A different terror formed alongside that ache. Brian wanted in? That meant… I whispered, “Jace, no.”
“No, I know. I’m not letting him. He’s a hothead, but he’s a good kid. Don’t worry, but if you have to use something to get him to calm down, use it. If he gets pinched, you don’t know what the cops will say to him. They’ll turn him against me and if that happens…”
He didn’t finish the sentence and I didn’t want him to. I didn’t want to hear about that other world. I was trying to leave it. “I’ll take care of him. I gotta go.” Jace said something more, but I hung up and stuffed my phone into my pocket. Hurrying through the house, I went to my room and took out my locked box. I hadn’t unlocked it for months, but this was a moment I had to. Pulling a long-sleeve shirt on, I took out my Taser from the box and put the box back in its hidden spot. As I went back outside to wait, I slipped the Taser inside my sleeve. I used a strap to secure it, but it was within reach if I needed it.