Page 47 of Caught in the Axe
“Why is she here?” he spat, eyes narrowed on Lila.
“Owen and I were on our way home from a meeting,” she said calmly, keeping her attention set on him.
He swayed on his feet, clearly blitzed out of his mind. “Moving in on my girl, Owen? Figures you’d find another way to stab me in the back.”
That pain was quickly morphing into fury. I clenched my fists at my sides and bit back a retort.
“You’re drunk,” Lila said, crossing her arms. “And I’m working with Owen.”
“Sure you are,” he slurred. “Just remember, he’s a pathetic old man who’s probably trying to get in your pants.”
He turned toward me wearing a cruel smirk. “She’ll let you too. Gold-digging bitch.”
I lunged at him, intent on punching his smug face. I didn’t care that he was my brother and in handcuffs. The way he spoke about Lila sent me over the edge.
Gus grabbed my shoulders and yanked me back before I could make contact. “Do not do this, Owen,” he said. “He’s spiraling and trying to drag you down with him.”
My body shook with rage and confusion. How was this my family? What had happened to us?
Lila walked past me and straight up to Cole.
He towered over her, but she popped up on her tiptoes and slapped him in the face.
The sound carried across the dark parking lot, stunning the rest of us into silence.
“Get your shit together, Cole,” she said, her voice strained. “This isn’t you.”
The slap hadn’t fazed him, but he winced in response to her words. His face was etched with pain and his shoulders were slumped.
Despite being livid with him, I couldn’t help but pity him too. He was a mess. But he wasn’t the only one hurting. All our lives had been upended by our dad and his bullshit,yet Cole was the only one using it as an excuse to behave poorly.
Lila turned toward Chief Souza and affected her best pageant smile. “He should probably sleep this off.”
The chief nodded. “A night in a holding cell might help him realize what a fool he’s making of himself.” When he turned to Gus and me, his expression soured. “You all can come bail him out tomorrow morning and talk to the county prosecutor then.”
With that, he waved at his deputies, who led Cole toward the cruisers.
Cole’s head was bowed and he dragged his feet. For an instant, I was hit with a flash of him as a little boy, on one of the many occasions he’d been scolded for God knew what. We’d all gotten into our fair share of trouble. I shook off the image and turned back to Gus and Lila.
Gus ran his hands through his chin-length hair. “Fuck.” With a frustrated sigh, he kicked a large rock with his boot. “I’ll go take photos, see how much damage he did. We can’t afford this shit.”
I was frozen to the spot, because as I’d turned my focus from Cole to myself and this situation, rage ignited in me and sang through every one of my nerve endings. I was an idiot for thinking I could swoop in, save the day, sell the company, and make my family whole again. Hell, I even thought I could get the girl.
But this family, this life, was too damn broken and fucked up for any of it. This company was a cancer in all of our lives. And it needed to be removed.
Once I’d done that, I’d go. I’d get far away from all the pain and dysfunction and back to my real life.
Chapter 16
Owen
And the hits just kept coming.
I’d woken up to a text from my mother. She’d included Jude and Finn and Gus as well.
Family meeting, the message had said.9am.
More than anything, I wanted to lie in bed and obsess about Lila. Or sit on the porch with a cup of coffee, stare out at the mountains, and obsess about Lila.
