Edge of Midnight Read Free

fast. Couldn’t bear it, couldn’t share it. He had no comfort to offer, and he was too raw to accept any from them.
    He just wanted to hide, alone. In a culvert somewhere.
    It was easier to look Seth and Miles in the face than his brothers. He directed his glare there. “Who invited you guys to this freak show?”
    Miles shrugged, his face worried. Seth’s mouth twisted into a humorless smile. “I had a brother once. I don’t need an invitation.”
    Ouch. True enough. Seth’s younger brother had died too. Very badly, and only a couple of years ago. His loss was fresher than Sean’s.
    Great. Another thing to feel like shit about. Thanks, guys.
    Sean’s gaze slid away, leaving him with no place at all to rest it except for Seth’s black Chevy. “How’d you guys find me? X-Ray Specs?”
    “We monitored you this time,” Con said. “From a safe distance. Bailing you out of jail for a drunk and disorderly is embarrassing.”
    “So don’t bother, next time,” Sean suggested. “Leave me to rot.” He fished his cell out of his pocket. A transmitter inside sucked off the phone’s battery. Usually, it gave him the warm fuzzies that his family cared enough to plant spyware on him. Aw, how cute, and all that.
    Connor, Davy, and Seth had all had freaky wild adventures that had convinced them that beacons were a great idea for the whole family.
    Most of the time, he agreed. Maybe if Kev had carried one on his person, Sean might have found him in time to stop him from—
    No. Don’t go there, he told himself. Just don’t.
    Impotent fury welled up inside him. He hurled the thing over a chain-link fence. It exploded against asphalt with a tinkling smash.
    “That was stupid and wasteful,” was Davy’s dour observation.
    Sean kept on walking. His brothers, Miles, and Seth kept pace behind him. Like dogs hanging onto a bone. The only way to get rid of them would be to beat them into unconsciousness, but each of the three older men was more or less a match for him. Even Miles wasn’t half bad these days, with all the training he’d been putting in at the dojo. The four of them together…nah. Pain sucked. He’d pass.
    “He was our brother too,” Davy said quietly.
    Sean sucked in a sharp breath. “I had no intention of inflicting my tantrum on anyone. Still don’t. I love you guys, but kindly fuck off.”
    There was a brief pause. “Nope,” Connor said simply.
    “Don’t bother asking again,” Davy said.
    There was a brief pause. “Uh, ditto,” Seth added belatedly.
    Sean sagged down onto a low stone wall that bordered a flower bed, and rested his hot face against his hands. “Where am I?”
    “Auburn,” Davy replied. “We followed you around last night.”
    “I’ll get the truck,” Seth said. “You guys keep an eye on him.”
    Sean grunted his disgust. Like they expected him to start twitching and frothing.
    “Whose house did you just come out of?” Connor asked.
    He shrugged. “Couple of girls,” he mumbled. “A blonde, a brunette. Nice bodies. Met them at the Hole, I think.”
    “You filthy slut.” Davy’s voice had a superior note, which bugged the shit out of Sean.
    “Don’t judge me,” he growled. “You’ve got the love of your life in your bed every night. So do Connor and Seth. So fuck you all, OK? The rest of us assholes have to get through the night somehow.”
    “Poor lovelorn baby,” Davy said. Miles made a choked, snorting sound. Connor covered his mouth and looked away. The Avalanche pulled up. Davy and Connor seized his elbows.
    Sean wrenched out of their grip and got to his feet unassisted. “May I ask what is the point of busting my balls today?”
    “You may ask, if you like, but we don’t need a point,” Davy replied. “We bust your balls out of sheer habit. Mouthy little punk.”
    Hardly little. He was as tall as either of his brothers, and bulkier than Connor, but he didn’t have the energy to argue. He heaved himself into the back of the Avalanche. Connor got