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things I could think of that a woman would find worse—and I was fine, which left…
    Oh my God!
    I rushed toward them, pulling my mother out of the way before I swung my fist at Tyler’s face. It landed squarely against his nose, and a spray of blood gushed forth as he stumbled backwards.
    “Conner!” Mom screamed then ran to Ty’s side. She removed her apron and pressed it to his nose and mouth. “Oh my God, Ty, are you all right?”
    I stood there, staring at them, stunned that I had reacted so violently. I took a step in their direction, my hand outstretched. “Shit, Ty, I’m sorry. Really, I didn’t mean to—”
    Mom twirled around and pointed a bloody finger at me. “Get out! Go home!” she ordered. “I can’t even look at you right now.” She spun back around and tended to Tyler.
    “But…this is my ho—”
    “Go back to school, Conner,” she said without even turning around. “You’re not welcome here at the moment.”
    I sucked in a shocked breath and my eyes narrowed. So it was going to be like that, was it? She wasn’t even going to let me apologize?
    Fine . I walked past Ty’s white pickup truck and gave it a good kick in the rear quarter panel. But all I managed to do was scuff the muddy buildup near the rear bumper. I looked back toward the house, at my mom fussing over Ty. I turned my back and flipped them off then jumped into my car. I stared Ty down as the car roared to life. The tires spun against the asphalt driveway as I peeled out in reverse, back onto the street.
    Mom took a step in my direction, but Tyler pulled her back against his chest.
    I shook my head and sped away.

CHAPTER 5

    Conner

    I raced back through the quiet neighborhood, out to the busier city streets and onto I-90, westbound, back to Seattle. I pounded my fist against the dash and screamed.
    “Goddamn motherfucker!”
    I swiped at my eyes, angry I was so upset, that I had allowed Tyler to get that far under my skin. But she was my mother, for God’s sake. My mother! Yet she didn’t want me involved, didn’t want me to know the truth, to protect her, even though it was my right, way more than it was his . We were blood. They were not. But she had chosen him over me. And God only knows what he’d gotten her involved in, the danger he’d exposed her to, what he’d done to her.
    Russian mobsters? Worse than death? What the fuck!
    I had to calm down. My hands shook, and my eyes were blurry with tears and rage. I backed off the accelerator and slowed to seventy-five. I took several deep breaths, shook my head, and slapped my hand to my cheek to help me focus. But that only brought back the pain of my mother’s assault, how she’d smacked me across the face for insulting her husband.
    The speedometer edged close to ninety. I sucked in a lungful of air and exhaled through my nose, again and again, until the shaking eased and my eyes cleared. I laid my head back and looked down. The car was cruising at sixty-five, but I didn’t trust myself to remain calm, so I fished my cell from the glove box and speed-dialed. She answered after only one ring.
    “Conner?” Katy’s voice was rough and strained, like maybe she’d been screaming, too.
    “Yeah, K, it’s me. How’re you?” Stupid question. I grimaced for even asking.
    She sighed. “Where’ve you been? I’ve been calling and calling. Didn’t you get any of my messages?”
    I pulled the phone back and pressed the button to view my home screen. Six missed calls, six messages. Shit! I returned the phone to my ear.
    “Sorry, K. I had a really rough night. I went to my mom’s after I walked you home. Huge mistake.”
    She didn’t even bother to ask why. “Are you coming back now? I need to see you. I know I told you I wanted to be alone, but…” She started to sob into the phone.
    “I know. I’ll be there in twenty. Meet me at Hansee? I need to change.”
    “Okay. Thanks, Conner.” She clicked off, and I threw my phone onto the passenger seat.
    I