Page 112 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

They’d meet for meals or movies. They’d gone away for a couple of weekends together. Shannon had been complaining because she was too big to fit behind the wheel of her car comfortably, so Isaiah had started driving her places when I couldn’t. I’d thought it was nice of him, but it was just another one of their lies.

“He took her to dinner the night of the crash. Had too much to drink and still got behind the wheel. He wasn’t paying attention and ran a stop sign. They got T-boned by a one-ton truck. There was hardly anything left of her side of the car.”

The person who’d hit them hadn’t been injured either. But the incredible force of the collision had sent her compact car through the intersection and partway down the next block.

“Kaine,” Piper whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“He should have fucking protected them.” My hands fisted and I stood from the chair. “They were mine, and he should have taken more care. He should have told me from the beginning. And he should have just made her drive.”

Putting the blame on Shannon was impossible since she’d lost her life. Isaiah got the blame since he was the one to walk away.

It was his fault I’d lost my daughter.

And it was mine too. I’d been so consumed with work that I’d missed the signs. I’d worn rose-colored glasses where Isaiah was concerned.

His whole life he’d been reckless, and I’d been there to clean up his messes.

When he was eight, he spent an hour tossing a football against a window, sure it wouldn’t break. When it shattered, I boarded it up before Mom got home and told her it was just an accident.

When he was fourteen and got in a fight with one of the neighborhood kids that summer, I let him crash on the couch in my apartment to hide his black eye and busted lip for a week.

When he was seventeen and got busted at a party for drinking, I was the one who took him down to the courthouse and paid for his minor-in-possession ticket. Mom never knew.

I was the man who talked to him about sex. I was the man who taught him how to drive. I was the man who tried to make him a man. A good man.

Instead, he’d taken everything I’d had and then some.

I paced the room as the anger seeped into my veins. “He wasn’t just my brother. He was my friend. He was . . . I trusted him. And he betrayed me. In every possible way, after everything I did for him, he betrayed me.”

“And that’s why you didn’t tell me about him?” Piper asked. “Because you were hurt?”

“No. I don’t talk about him because I can’t talk about him. Not without going into a rage. You saw what I did with the chainsaw. What you didn’t see were the holes I punch in walls whenever I think about him. The countless broken dishes I’ve thrown against the floor. I never want to lose my control in front of you. Talking about him, thinking about him . . . it’s just better that I keep it in. Talking about him only brings out the worst in me.”

“Is that why you didn’t talk to your mom for all those years?”

I nodded. “She defended him. She said it was just an accident. She chose him over me. After that . . . I just couldn’t be around her.”

“So you left.”

“I came here. Did my best to shut out everything from that life. Me and Mom, we’re still trying to figure things out. We talk about neutral topics. Her job. You. The boys. But whenever the rest of it comes up, things turn red.”

“And where is your brother?”

“In prison.” Right where he belonged. Where he couldn’t destroy any other lives. Isaiah had been charged with vehicular manslaughter while under the influence and was currently serving a five-year sentence.

I had no idea how I’d deal with his release. I had no desire to see his face again or listen to his excuses. Mom would undoubtedly take his side, meaning I’d lose her again too. Isaiah would take and take and take, just like he always had.

My heart rate spiked as the rage spread through me cell by cell. I took a few deep breaths, wishing it away, but what I really wanted was to smash something. I needed something to crumble, like my world had crumbled all because of my brother.

“Kaine.” Piper’s soothing voice broke through the haze. “You have a right to be mad.”

“I hate him. He took everything from me.”

“I know.” She stood from the couch and crossed the room. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she pressed her ear to my heart. Her embrace chased the anger away. “But it’s not everything anymore.”

She was right. Now that I had Piper and the babies, everything took on a whole new meaning. I hated my brother. And I was still angry at my mother, though we were working on our relationship.

Except without my past, I wouldn’t have Piper. I wouldn’t have come to this mountain. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with my gorgeous neighbor.