Page 9 of Chaos Kills

I immediately scowl at the printed pages. Ramsey’s voice from behind me sets my already fragile nerves on end.

“What do you want?” I don’t bother to look up or around at him, hoping to fuck he takes off after a few comments.

But when I hear the bottle of whiskey clink against one of the glasses, I know he’s going to be here long enough to make a few.

“Figured I’d play big brother,” Ramsey emits. “It’s been a while, and I’m past due.”

“Save it,” I leer, turning a page so aimlessly I almost rip the damn thing from the binding. “I don’t need your help, nor did I ask for it.”

“That’s the same shit Lennox used to say.”

This motherfucker.

Blood boils in my veins as I clench down on my teeth, but I decide to keep my arguments for later.

Maybe if my brother speaks his peace, he’ll fuck off somewhere and kill something else other than my quiet time.

A glass shows up to my left.

I don’t want it.

However, I mindlessly pluck it from his hand to get this shit over with. If he needs to make himself feel better, good for him.

It’s still not going to give up his spot in hell.

From my peripheral, he sits across from me in the accompanying black leather chair, and nothing.

Not one word.

Not a single inkling as to why the hell he’s in my house, how he got in my house, or of any plans or fucked-up ideas he has in his head.

My patience runs out.

Glancing up, I glower at him.

It does nothing.

Ramsey takes a small sample of the whiskey, ignoring me, and allows whatever it is he wants to do or say to sit on his tongue for a moment before swallowing.

I’m about to ram the whole damn glass down his throat if he doesn’t hurry up and leave me alone.

“History repeats itself,” he begins, rolling the light brown liquid around in his glass to observe it. “Emilio with Bay’s mother. Judah with Bay. You with Bay. It all ends in death, brother. Stop it now.”

It would take an idiot to not be privy to the idea that my oldest sibling would always choose violence. On any other day, with anyone else, I’d maybe listen with open ears.

However, this isn’t any sort of dumb-ass predicament.

“What do you want?” I repeat, resting my arm along the chair and bouncing my leg across my knee.

“To get this shit settled so we can move on like we were always supposed to.” I lift my shoulders in response, accelerating his reason for visiting. “As hard as it may be to swallow, brother, Lennox did everything wrong and should’ve stayed.”

“For what? None of us—besides you—wanted to be here. Especially after Mom left.”

“I never said anything about wanting to stay here,” he retorts flatly. “But someone had to appease Emilio. If not, he would’ve kicked us all out on our asses.”

“So, you’re trying to tell me that you did it out of the kindness of your heart?”

“Who else was going to take care of you and Lennox?”

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