Page 227 of There's No Us Without You
“Take me where?” Eden whips her head towards me, the crease between her eyebrows growing deeper. “What’s going on?”
Silence hangs in the air for a moment as Tyler and I stare at each other, neither one of us willing to open up.
But our chance at explaining anything evaporates when a dark-coloured van pulls up in front of the house.
Tyler closes his eyes for a moment and swallows hard. “Ah, shit. This isn’t good. Go back inside, Edie girl. I’ll sort this out.”
“What’s happening?” Emerson says, stepping in front of me. “Can someone please tell me why the fuck Tyler is here looking like he just got hit in the face with a bat? And why Brady and Jayden are walking up my front lawn?”
“I’ll explain soon,” I say, grabbing Emerson’s arm and tugging him back behind me.
He draws back, his upper lip curled. “What the hell, Will?”
I pin him with a glare—an order for him not to argue. My heart has lodged itself in my throat, and I can’t seem to swallow it down.
I don’t trust Brady as far as I can throw him, and he very well might blame Emerson as well. He’s unpredictable.
Eden throws herself at Tyler, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Come inside with us. Please.”
“Sorry, Edie girl,” Tyler says, giving her a small smile. “I promise I’ll tell you everything later. Just go back inside.”
Peeling herself away, she steps back and wraps her arms around her waist. “Be careful.”
“Always.” He grins at her, then steps away to face Brady.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” a deep voice says from behind us.
Fucking Brady.
“It’s all good, bro,” Tyler says, holding his hands up as he takes slow steps towards his arsehole mate. “It’s just a misunderstanding. Eden didn’t call the police. She was angry about what happened to Emerson. That’s all. I’ve spoken to her and it’s all good.”
Eden grabs my hand, pressing her cheek to my upper arm. “What’s happening, Will?” she whispers, her voice shaking.
All I can do is give her hand a quick squeeze before planting myself in front of her and Emerson. I’m not sure where this is heading, and I’ll be fucked if I let either of these two get caught in the fight.
“Is that right, Ty?” Brady says as he stalks towards the front of the house, Jayden trailing behind him like a lost little puppy.
Tyler stops abruptly about two metres in front of us, glancing over his shoulder quickly. I want to wrap my hands around Jayden’s fragile little throat and demand to know why the fuck my brother is working for the police. What the hell did he do?
Instead, my feet stay planted in place. “Like Tyler said, it was just a misunderstanding, so fuck off before I drag you away myself.”
Tyler glares at me, but I’ll be fucked if I let a little weed like Brady speak to me, or my brother, like that.
Especially after he threatened my woman.
Does he not remember the beating I gave him back when he and Tyler were scavenging half-smoked cigarettes from the gutter, cutting them open to release the chop, then rolling them up in paper?
“Now, now,” Brady says, smirking. “That’s no way to speak to someone when your little girlfriend has been running her mouth, talking shit. Or maybe it was your boyfriend.” He narrows his eyes on Emerson.
Emerson huffs out a laugh. “Fucking idiot,” he says under his breath. “You really think I’d risk my career for you, Brady? You’re fucking delusional.”
“Like I said”—Tyler steps in front of Brady, blocking his view—“it wasn’t Eden... or Emerson.”
Blowing out a breath, Brady purses his lips and glances up at the night sky. “It’s come to my attention,” he says, now tapping his chin, “that there’s a snitch roaming around here, and so far, the only new person I know of is little Eden Reeves. Seems your girl, Willis, is a lying piece of shit. Now Emerson, he wouldn’t risk everything to get me into trouble... but Eden, well... she did threaten to call the cops on me and Gabby.”
His hard glare is directed at me once again, and I step forward, my fists clenched at my sides.
I swear to god, if Brady keeps running his mouth, it will be for the last time.
