Page 187 of Broken Pieces
He expected better. He hoped I’d learned something from all the times he told me to think before I swing.
“Zane,” he mutters, voice low and strained. “Tell me you fucking didn’t.”
I hold his stare. My chest is still heaving, but my voice comes out calm.
“He had his fucking hands on her.”
Cassie kneels in front of Skylar, offering her the mug.
Rainer lets out a long, exhausted sigh and scrubs a hand down his face.
“You should’ve called the cops.”
Cassie stands, her arms folded across her chest, her chin lifted in a challenge.
“Which is exactly why I called Zane.”
“Yeah,” he mutters finally, rubbing the back of his neck, “and now the cops are gonna do what they have to.”
Silence stretches.
The workshop hums faintly with the buzz of overhead lights, the tick of the clock on the far wall the only thing keeping time.
Everything else feels suspended, caught in the aftermath.
And I want to burn the whole fucking town to the ground.
For letting this happen, for raising boys like Bryce and letting them grow into monsters.
Rainer’s voice finally cuts through the silence. “You need to clean your hands.”
I glance down to see that the blood is already drying. Proof of what I did and what I’d do again in a heartbeat.
Then there’s a sound.
Faint at first, like a whisper.
A siren.
It slices through the stillness, building fast, shrieking louder with every breath.
The high-pitched whine ricochets off the steel beams and oil-stained walls until it feels like the workshop itself is holding its breath, waiting for impact.
Cassie’s head snaps up. Her mouth opens, but no words come—just the fire in her eyes. The weight of the moment etched across her face.
Beside me, Skylar stiffens. Her fingers clamp around the mug.
The red and blue lights creep through the windows, washing the walls in short, pulsing flashes.
Rainer rushes to the window, his boots heavy against the floor. He doesn’t look at me when he speaks.
“They’re here for you, Zane.”
And fuck, if that doesn’t feel like the end of something.
I glance down at Skylar. I reach out, slow and careful, and tilt her chin up with two fingers.
“Are you okay?” I ask, even though I know the answer.
