2. William

2

WILLIAM

W hat the hell just happened?

I stare at the tire marks left in the dirt, trying to piece together how things went from somewhat chaotic to utterly unhinged in a split second. Someone made a mistake. Only…I’m not sure who.

What have we done?

I glance around. Max and Griffin look as stunned as I feel. Undeniably blindsided. Then there’s Nathan, grinning into the dying light of the direction Emily sped off, like he’s hit the jackpot. My fists clench inside my jacket pockets, and I stalk toward him. My body shakes and I struggle to keep my voice steady. “What’s got you so damn pleased with yourself?”

The others turn, catching the sternness in my voice. Their attention shifts to me, but I don’t care. I keep my eyes pinned on Nathan as my blood hardens into something cold and unyielding, a feeling I’ve never experienced before. “I said. What are you so happy about?”

Nathan throws up his hands into the air like he’s innocent. “Hey, I mean no harm. Seems to me she hurt us all. It’s better this way. Bros before hoes, right? ”

Max snaps out of his daze and grinds his teeth. “Says the guy who’d leave his own brother to be ripped apart by rotters to save himself.”

I flick my eyes to Griffin. He’s staring at the empty road again like a lost puppy. I need him to snap out of it before I snap something—or someone.

Rage burns hotter in my chest, and I spit out the words. “Why the hell did we trust this piece of trash?”

“Because I’m right,” Nathan sneers, too smug for someone in his position.

“Good to know you’re not denying you’re a piece of shit,” I snap back with a bite to my voice.

Finally, Griffin’s eyes meet mine, and the silence between us thickens, suffocating. I’m not usually the one calling people out, but Emily’s abrupt departure gnaws at me in a way that’s all-consuming. I can’t ignore it. She shouldn’t have left like that, not without an explanation. The bitter truth is she might not come back. We might have lost her forever. I want to punch this fucker’s lights out over it, but that still wouldn’t be enough. All it took was a moment of doubt and now everything’s fucked.

“What do we do, Griffin?” I ask. Come on, give me a reason. Give me a reason. A nod. Something. Anything.

Nathan laughs.

Something dark stirs within Max, the change almost instant. It’s scary, but that’s only because I’ve witnessed this change once before. He barely survived it the last time.

If Max’s eyes could shoot daggers, Nathan would be riddled with them. “I should have killed you before you could open that stupid mouth of yours.”

“Oh, come on, Max,” Nathan sneers. “If you’d done that, then you’d never have learned what a traitorous whore your girl is.”

There it is .

My fist slams into Nathan’s jaw, a satisfying crack breaking the tension around us.

“Snap out of it, Griffin,” Max barks out with a snarl. “I’m supposed to be the unhinged one here. Now snap out of it and reel me in before I kill him.” Max grabs his morning star and swings it through the air toward Nathan, who almost doesn’t duck in time. What a shame. That was close. “On second thought, keep doing nothing. Debbie is a thirsty girl. Move aside, Willie-boy.”

That jolts Griffin out of his stupor. He steps between Max and Nathan, shoving Max aside while he’s mid-swing. Griffin’s hands snap to Nathan’s throat, fingers digging in until Nathan’s face flushes with color. He lifts the large man so his feet dangle, kicking uselessly in the air. Griffin’s jaw clenches tight, and he grinds the words out. “Where is it?”

Nathan’s filthy, overgrown nails claw at Griffin’s forearm, drawing blood, but Griffin doesn’t flinch. If anything, he tightens his grip, waiting ever so patiently for an answer. “Where’s what?” Nathan rasps.

Griffin drops him, but as soon as Nathan’s feet hit the ground, he makes a break for it. I lunge, catching him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him back, spinning him around until he slams into a nearby car. An ancient alarm blares, and I realize we’ve just announced our location to every rotter in the vicinity. That’s not what’s important now, though. “Answer the damn question,” I snarl, shoving him against the car again.

“What question?” Nathan wheezes, a smirk playing at the corner of his cracked and bleeding lip. “A weapon? A car? Maybe a donut?”

I press my forearm against his windpipe and reel back with my other fist, feeling the satisfying crunch when my knuckles meet bone, a crack that punctuates the air. He lets out a sharp gasp, but I don’t relent. I hit him again once more before I glance back at the surprised look on Griffin’s face. “What is it you’re looking for?”

Max’s grin is feral, his knuckles white around his morning star. “Punch first and ask questions later. That’s why you’re my brother, Willie-boy, not this piece of shit whose jaw I hope you broke. Now let me have my turn. Debbie’s just itching to meet him.”

“Enough.” Griffin’s voice cuts through, the command sharp.

“Why are you punishing me, when you’re the ones who told her to go?” Nathan’s sneer twists through the blood dripping from his split lip, his words slurred and thick with agony. “All I did was reveal the truth. A simple ‘thanks’ would have sufficed.”

Max shifts, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Let him go, Willie-boy,” he taunts, his dark gaze flashing. “I’ll finish him myself if you’re too busy going soft on your toy.”

“You were the one who told me to hold you back,” Griffin says to Max.

“Damn it Griffin, answer the questions,” I snap at him.

Griffin steps in close to Nathan, close enough that even I can feel the heat of his anger rolling off him. “The colony,” he growls out. “Tell us where it is.”

Nathan remains silent, his eyes gleaming with a smug defiance. I press my arm harder against his throat until he chokes, then I let up on the pressure. “Talk, damn you,” I snarl, giving him a fraction of air so he can speak.

A twisted smile crawls onto Nathan’s bloodied face. “If it’s still standing after the mess I left it behind in, then you’ll have one hell of a journey to get there. Good luck with that,” he sneers.

The smirk falls when the blade of a dagger embeds itself into his shoulder and his head falls back in a deafening scream. I glance behind me to see Max lowering his arms. He meets my gaze and shrugs .

“You’re psychotic,” Nathan seethes in between grunts and heavy breathing.

“Oh, dear brother. I’m so much more than that thanks to you.” Max pulls out another dagger, his dead eyes sullen.

“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you.” Nathan groans, writhing under my grip, trying to ease some pressure—but I don’t give up. His eyes flicker with resignation, and he spills out the location of her colony.

Satisfied, I shove him hard against the car, feeling a grim satisfaction when he slumps to the ground, blood dripping out from around the dagger. Nathan’s hand raises, but Max grabs the handle before he can touch it, and yanks it out of his brother’s shoulder, spraying blood through the air with the force of the retrieval.

“Let’s move.” Griffin yanks open the driver’s side door. He rummages around inside, then slams his fists against the horn when he doesn’t find the key.

A rotter stumbles toward us, the flashing lights from the car with the alarm sounding. Griffin runs straight after it, his dagger gleaming before he drives it through the rotter’s skull. When it collapses, he crouches down, checking its pockets. A small, victorious grin forms when he pulls out a set of keys and presses a button. A car a few yards away beeps in response. “We’re in luck. Get in or be left behind.”

I open my mouth to ask about what to do with Nathan when I realize he’s vanished. I decide he’s not worth the trouble and follow Griffin.