Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom, #2)(53)

His heart protested in his chest like a muffled bell. Marcus is different. This is not the same. But staring down at his own blood, Jamie was incapable of listening.

“Look, I-I didn’t mean to hit you man. I just…how’d I miss something like this about my own brother? He’s been lying to me and—”

The sound of tires screeching brought Jamie’s head up and denial reverberated through his veins. How could he have forgotten he’d called his brother to come pick him up?

“Oh God. No, no, no.” A vision of Rory being loaded into the back of a police car rocked Jamie and he staggered to his feet. At the very same time, Rory climbed out of his car where he’d left it haphazardly parked at the curb. “Rory, wait. Rory, stop.”

“Who the fuck is this?” Murder blazed in Rory’s eyes, but Jamie managed to intercept him with both arms around his waist. “Did this piece of shit hit you?”

Jamie’s greatest fear was coming true. He’d done it again. He was going to lose his brother a second time because of his own stupidity. They’d warned him, hadn’t they? He didn’t listen and now the hereditary curse of anger was taking hold inside Rory and when that happened, nothing could block its path. It raged like a wildfire.

Jamie almost flatlined with relief when Andrew climbed out of the car’s passenger side—until Jamie saw his older brother was equally as pissed off as the younger one trying to get free of his grip so he could commit homicide. Olive sat inside the car, too, her eyes wide on Rory’s back. Jiya was also in the backseat, and before Jamie could communicate with the women to stay in the safe car, both of them sprang into action, exiting opposite doors in a scramble of limbs. God, no. No. Everything was spiraling out of Jamie’s control, like a plane crash happening in slow motion.

“Olive, get back in the car, please,” Jamie said through his teeth, holding a struggling Rory around the waist. “I won’t be able to hold him back if that guy says something out of line to you.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got this,” the blonde said breathlessly, taking hold of Rory’s arm and wedging herself in between Jamie and his brother. Without wasting any time, she wrapped herself around Rory, climbing him like a tree and pressing their heads together. “Come back to me,” she whispered against his panting mouth. “Your brother is okay. He’s fine. We’re all fine. Please, you can’t get taken away from me.”

Rory shook his head, the worst of the blaze dying in his eyes. “Olive,” he said on an exhale a shudder passing through him. “Olive.”

“I know. You can control the anger. I believe in you.”

Rory buried his face in Olive’s throat and let her continue to whisper private words into his ear. Jamie was watching with a mixture of gratitude and fascination as Olive brought Rory back from the brink of violence when a door opened behind him and slapped shut.

“What’s…what’s going on?”

Marcus’s voice burst something wide open in Jamie’s chest. More than anything in the world, he wanted to save Marcus from the horrible, jarring effect of this moment, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t save either one of them. Their path had always been leading here and Jamie had been an idiot to even wish for a different one.

Jamie turned to face Marcus, momentarily forgetting his face was covered in blood.

But he remembered right away when Marcus—wearing only his sweatpants—stumbled back a step, a choked sound leaving his mouth. “Jamie?” He started to come in Jamie’s direction, but Andrew stepped into his path, holding him off with a hand to his chest. “What happened to your face? Jamie, what…?”

Until that moment, Marcus hadn’t noticed Joey standing off to the side, arms lifeless at his sides, complexion chalky. He did now. And Jamie watched helplessly as horror dawned in Marcus’s expression.

“Did you do this?” Marcus took a rattling breath. “Did you touch him?”

Joey looked down at the ground.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Marcus growled, lunging for his brother. He was in mid-air when Andrew managed to catch him around the trunk of his torso, but Marcus was fucking huge and angry and Jamie’s brother might be as strong as a bull, but he wouldn’t be able to hold Marcus for long.

Jamie acted. No way. No way he was going to let this happen. Everyone involved here had arrived at this moment because of his actions. He’d known better. And he wouldn’t let an act of violence take place in his name. Not again. Already he was moving to stand in front of Joey, acting as a shield in case Marcus got free of Andrew.

The fight went out of Marcus almost immediately, tension pouring from him in a rush. “Look at him!” he shouted, plowing a hand through his hair, a sheen forming in his wild eyes. “Standing in front of your sorry ass. After what you did to him. Look at him.”

“My sorry ass?” Joey seethed, though he sounded less confident than before. “You’ve been sneaking around. Lying to your own family. I have to find out like this?”

“You’re right. I’m the sorry one.” Marcus’s voice was hollow. “I can’t even apologize anymore, can I? I’ve used them all up. I’ve used him all up.”

I have to get out of here.

If Jamie’s heart twisted one more degree, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk away. And he had to. He thought this time could be different, but there he stood on the street, people coming out of their houses in robes to watch the drama unfold. Drama centered on him and who he loved. Who he chose to be with. His fucking face ached. Blood soaked the front of his shirt molding it to his chest, and in that moment, he was stripped of everything he’d worked so hard to build after Chris. After that long-ago evening on the beach, Jamie was back to being the hidden shame, a thing to be revealed and apologized for.