I CLIMBED into the backseat of the Mustang and Tobias drove the Jeep behind us all the way home. By the time we pulled up in the driveway, my entire body was shaking and my head was pounding viciously. Nick opened the door and I tried to climb out, but my knees buckled.
He lunged, grabbed me around the waist, and lifted me. “Easy,” he whispered, pulling me against his chest.
I took in his warmth, clutching him, and let him carry me inside. We were through the door and climbing the stairs before I knew it.
“It was for nothing.” My tears fell as I lifted my head. “It was all for nothing.”
“No.” Tobias shook his head. “It wasn’t for nothing. I knew Lazarus wasn’t behind any of this, but at least now we know for sure.”
I lifted my head as Nick carried me into his bedroom and gently placed me on the foot of his bed, bending over to part my hair. I hissed with the sting of his fingers.
“You have a gash,” Nick said, pulling back.
But Tobias peered closer, smoothing my hair down. “No. That’s a goddamn tear.”
“He had me by my hair.”
All three of my brothers froze, then turned their gazes sharply my way.
“He did what?” Tobias asked carefully.
A chill coursed through me as I lifted my gaze to theirs. I swallowed hard at their dangerous gazes. “He…he had me by the hair.”
Tobias glanced at Nick, then Caleb. “Did he.”
But it didn’t matter, not anymore. Gio was gone, exiled from the city by Lazarus. There was no way he’d come back.
“I’ll get some antiseptic,” Caleb said quietly, and left, making his way to the bathroom.
I pressed my fingers to the burning area and winced. “So, it has to be Creed, right? He has to know something.”
“Whatever it is, he’s not telling us,” Tobias muttered.
“I tried to call him before.” Nick turned, pacing the floor. But the moment he turned, I caught the blood on his cheek.
“You’re hurt.” I shoved up from the bed. “Nick, you’re bleeding.”
I crossed the room, forcing my knees to hold me. He touched his cheek and stared at his fingers when they came away bloody. “It’s not mine.” He met my gaze. “It’s okay, Ryth. It’s not mine.”
I grabbed his hand, looking at the mess. He’d lunged, beating them down with unmerciful blows. He’d fought for me…they all had. My heart swelled. “You came for me.”
He stared into my soul. “And will again, princess.”
“Every fucking time,” Tobias added.
“Until the goddamn end,” Caleb finished as he strode into the room. “And beyond. Now, sit. We need to figure this out.”
Nick walked me back to the bed, sitting me back down. But I couldn’t look away from the blood on his cheek, or the unsatisfied danger in his eyes. I shoved thoughts of Gio aside and tried to think. “How do we find out what he knows if he won’t tell us?”
“We make him,” Tobias growled, clenching his fists.
“He’s our dad.” Nick shook his head. “No matter what, we have to trust he has our best interests at heart, and Ryth’s.”
He and mom were married now.
“So, we have no option but to figure this out on our own…and wait for them to return,” I said, wincing as Caleb gently applied the antiseptic cream to my scalp, then touches the deep scratch on my cheek, his dark eyes turned menacing. “Fucking bitch.” He growled. “The next time I see her.”
“I have some guys I know,” Tobias said quietly. “I can get them involved.”
“T, no.” Nick shook his head. “I’m not going down that road, not again.”
I looked from Tobias to Nick. “Going down what road again?”
“Nothing.” Tobias shot a glare at Nick.
But I wasn’t having it. “Uh-uh,” I said, sounding exactly like Lazarus’ bodyguard. “No secrets, remember?”
Tobias clenched his jaw and that same broody expression I’d come to love settled in. “I know them from the Rossis, okay?”
I pushed up from the bed, feeling a little stronger now. “How deep were you in with him?”
“How deep?” Nick let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Tobias was his best fucking friend.”
“Was,” Tobias muttered. “Past tense, brother.”
It all made sense now, the way Lazarus had looked at Tobias, the way he’d come charging in tonight had less to do with me than it had Tobias. Lazarus loved him…like a brother.
Had I had Lazarus all wrong? “He said my father wasn’t killed for a reason. If he’s not the one after him, then it has to be someone else.”
“And it all comes back to the missing drugs,” Nick said.
“And the money,” Caleb added. “Always the goddamn money.”
“But who?” I asked.
No one had an answer for that. We stood there, those words heavy in the air, then I moved forward, opening my arms. They held me for a while, until someone’s stomach howled.
“Food,” Caleb muttered. “Is in the kitchen.”
We went downstairs, to where the discarded food still sat in the carryout bags. It was still warm and delicious. After we ate, I showered under the watchful gaze of Caleb, who helped dry my hair and applied fresh antiseptic to my stinging scalp and clawed face.
I hurt all over.
My arms, my head, my thighs.
My heart, more than anything. I climbed into bed with Nick. But this time we were alone. Caleb had gone to his room, Tobias to his.
“Are they okay?” I lay down against the pillow next to his.
“Yeah.” He pulled off his boxers and climbed into bed naked. “They’ll work through it in their own ways.”
So much had happened tonight. Too much.
“Roll over and press against me. I’ll hold you.”
I did as he said, shifting my ass back in the bed until it rested against his cock. His arms went around me, one hand clasped my breast. Even when he grew hard, he never went any further, content to embrace me.
I closed my eyes. I didn’t think I could sleep, but then exhaustion moved in, taking me into the darkness.
“I thought I’d lost you tonight,” Nick’s voice drifted to me. “We would’ve killed them. Natalie, too, if it came to that. They hurt you again and it’ll be done.”
“I’m going.” I stood my ground. “I’m not missing out on passing my final year because of them.”
“It’s too dangerous.” Tobias braced his arm across the doorway, blocking my way out of the bathroom as he eyed me up and down. “But you can keep the uniform on. I can relive my high school days.”
“And fuck anything with a skirt?” I snapped, then froze at the outburst.
“Ouch.” Tobias gripped his chest. “That fucking hurt.”
“Sorry,” I muttered as a pain stabbed through my abdomen. “I think I’m getting my period.”
“Heat pack and chocolate, yeah? Or what do you normally go for?”
I froze. “What do I go for?”
“Yeah, little mouse.” He stepped closer, grazing the back of his fingers down my cheek. “What’s gonna make you feel better? You want to fuck? That might help. I know some women get more…needy.”
Heat drove through my body.
“You needy, little sister? You can ride us all damn day if that’ll help with the cramps.”
“What cramps?” Nick muttered as he walked by, yanking on his shirt.
“Ryth’s getting her period,” Tobias explained, but never looked away from me.
Nick met my gaze. “Oh. You want to fuck, or do you want to be left alone?”
“What is it with you guys?” I grumbled, stepping back. “What I want is to go to school and pass my final year.”
“So you can leave us?” Tobias’ gaze narrowed, that thunderous look taking over.
“No, you idiot.” I gave him a playful slap. “So I can get a damn job and actually be, you know, worthwhile in society.”
“Fuck society,” Tobias growled.
“On that, I tend to agree,” Nick added. “Fuck society.”
I gave a deep sigh and crossed my arms. “That’s fine for you to say. Now, are you going to drive me to school, Nick, or do I have to drive your Jeep again, Tobias?”
“Christ, no,” he snapped, then winced and corrected himself. “If you’re determined to go, then Nick will take you. But one fucking glimpse of Gio or any of those fuckers, and I want you to call me instantly. You got that?”
I nodded.
“I mean it, Ryth. No more fucking stunts.”
“I got it,” I muttered as a cramp clenched once more.
Nick drove me in silence, pulled up at the drop-off zone, and scanned the nearby cars before nodding. “I’m going to be close anyway,” he said. “So, anyone gives you a hard time, I want you to message me.”
“I understand.” I gripped my laptop and yanked the door handle.
“And Ryth,” he added as I climbed out. “I’m proud of you, princess. You handled yourself well last night and now today.”
I gave him a small smile and nodded, closed the door behind me, and turned to the school’s entrance. I wouldn’t buckle and I sure as hell wouldn’t fall. The deep throb of the Mustang’s engine echoed behind me as I strode to the front doors. The students hanging around outside stared as I walked, like I knew they would.
But this time, I held my head up.
After all…I was now a Banks.
