[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
could sniff out a lie at a hundred paces, even a white one.
Grabbing his keys from the ignition, Kaleb opened the door and jumped down
to the ground. His boots echoed on the steps when he climbed the porch and
peered into the living-room window, cupping his hand against the glass.
Wouldn t it be easier to knock?
Kaleb spun on his heel, cursing loudly, Christ, City Boy, you scared the shit
out of me! He padded across the porch to the cane love seat under the study
window. What the fuck are you doing sitting out here in the dark? Kaleb
caught a glimpse of moonlight reflecting off the bottle of whiskey Ash raised
to his lips. Are you wasted?
Nearly. Wanna join me?
Ash
Stop being an asshole for five minutes and sit the fuck down, Ash hissed,
holding out the bottle. Have a drink.
Kaleb ignored the voice in his head telling him this was a really bad idea and
tossed his keys onto the small cane coffee table, then took the bottle from
Ash s outstretched hand. He lifted the liquor to his lips and took a healthy
draw, his breath hissing from between his clenched teeth as the alcohol burned
its way down his throat and expanded in his chest. Make some room, City
Boy, he said, nudging Ash s ankle with the toe of his boot. The other man
shuffled along on the love seat and Kaleb flopped down on the cushions beside
him. He took another healthy gulp of whiskey before handing the bottle back
to Ash and propping his feet on the small, circular table.
The sound of Nickelback s Burn it to the Ground broke the silence from the
vibrating cell on the table. Kaleb turned his head to look at Ash, who was
swigging from the bottle and ignoring Chad Kroeger. Don t you wanna
answer that?
Nope.
Could be important.
Could be.
Kaleb raised an eyebrow and accepted the bottle held out to him, Right, I
forgot, you don t do phone calls. He cursed as the bottle was grabbed from
his hand en route to his lips. What the fuck?
Seriously? Ash ground out, his words slurring very slightly. You wanna do
this now? We buried Annie today. She s gone. Nothing I do is going to make
any difference. Kaleb grabbed the bottle back and took several swallows
before half-turning in the love seat and glaring at Ash, who was obviously
only getting started. Do you think I didn t mean to call her back? Do you
think I haven t called myself all kinds of asshole for not picking up the phone?
What gives you the right to be so sanctimonious, so fucking righteous?
She was my friend, Kaleb growled. I loved her. He moved back when Ash
twisted on the love seat and rose to his knees before ripping the bottle from
Kaleb s hands and chugging it back.
She was my sister, Ash spat. I loved her more!
Then where were you? Kaleb yelled into the other man s face, getting to his
own knees on the cushions. He d be damned if he was going to have City Boy
looking down on him, literally or metaphorically. Huh? Where were you? She
asked for you, did you know that? Kaleb wanted to stop the words, but they
tumbled over each other in their haste to get out. When they were cutting her
out she asked for you.
What?
Kaleb slapped his hand to Ash s forehead in irritation. Who do you think was
holding her hand? Who do you think told her everything was going to be
okay? They were going to get her out? That it wasn t that bad? That she was
going to be fine? Who do you think lied to her? Told her you were coming,
that you were on your way? That I would take care of He bit the inside of
his lip and ran his fingers through his hair, the lump in his throat so big he
could barely breathe. They kept looking at me while they were cutting her
out, shaking their heads, and I had to tell her it was all going fine, it was all
good. But she knew. She knew I was lying, I could see it in her eyes.
You were there? At the accident?
Of course I was, who else did you think they d call, you? Kaleb snapped,
grabbing and downing the remainder of the whiskey in the bottle. Then
slamming it onto the table, surprised that the force didn t shatter the glass.
I m not sure you would ve considered your sister bleeding to death a good
enough reason to return the call!
You bastard!
Kaleb was unprepared for the sloppy punch Ash threw at him. The fact that
he d not eaten today meant the neat whiskey had slowed his reflexes. The
blow caught him on the shoulder and he almost toppled backwards, throwing
his hands out to grab Ash s arms to steady himself.
I m a bastard? I m not the one who ignored her when she needed me! I m not
the one who sat on my ass, too tied up in my own life to support her.
I m gonna kill you, you asshole!
Kaleb grabbed hold of Ash s hands and his breath huffed out of his body when
the other man lost his balance and fell on top of him, forcing him flat on his
back on the love seat. He pinned Ash s hands behind his back and tightened
his grip until Ash stopped struggling, his green gaze heated and angry as they
glared at each other. Are you finished, City Boy? Don t mess with the bull,
you ll always get the horns.
God, you re such a cliche.
And you re not? What do you call this? If you wanted to get me horizontal,
all you had to do was ask. Kaleb snapped his head to the side when Ash
attempted a very miss-aimed headbutt, ending up with his face against Kaleb s
throat. What? Kaleb could feel Ash s lips against his skin as the other man
mumbled an angry retort, and his irritation was heightened by the fact that his
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]