Of course, his dad informed his mother, which was only fair. She had been beside herself with grief and sorrow over what had been done to Ethan. And with her anonymous help, Sawyer had managed to nurse Ethan back to health. He was pretty sure Ethan still didn’t know that their parents had found out. And he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.
Sawyer had kept the events of that night all bottled up inside, and since that day, he’d kept his eyes on his brother. Ethan was tough, could handle himself now that he knew what to expect, but Sawyer hated the fact that he had to be on the lookout for dickheads like Jimmy everywhere he turned.
Sawyer paced back and forth in front of Travis, his mind going ninety miles a minute as he tried to calm himself down.
“You good now?” Travis asked.
No, he wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
Sawyer looked up to see Travis leaning casually against one of the wood posts that supported the small covered area in front of Moonshiners.
“Go home,” Gage instructed Sawyer when he joined them a second later.
What the fuck did the guy think he was going to do? He fumbled with his key fob in his pocket, making his way over to his car. Trying to unlock his car, Sawyer could hardly hit the button on the remote because his hands were still shaking.
“That’s where I’m headed,” Sawyer assured him.
“Don’t make me come bail you out of jail,” Travis threatened.
Sawyer hoped it didn’t come to that, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep everything inside. He hated the bullshit that people spouted. He fucking hated that he lived in a town where so many people were closed-minded assholes who didn’t have the decency to keep their opinions to themselves.
He fucking hated it.
“Hey.”
The sound of Ethan’s voice broke through the red haze that was quickly creeping back in. Sawyer turned to face him. “Hey.”
It took a moment to realize that Travis and Gage were now gone, but Ethan wasn’t the only person standing close by. He glanced over and noticed Beau Bennett, his hands in his pockets as he stared back at him.
“Thanks,” Ethan said quietly, his arms crossed over his chest.
“For what? Making an ass of myself? Letting that fucker get to me?”
Ethan grinned, it was barely visible, but Sawyer saw it. “No, for giving a shit.”
“We all give a shit,” Sawyer assured him. “If they knew, they’d have done the same thing.”
“I know. That’s what I worry about.”
Sawyer nodded, understanding. He glanced over at Beau and then back at Ethan. Was that the reason Reardon had mouthed off? Was there something going on with these two that Sawyer hadn’t noticed?
As though Ethan knew what he was thinking, his younger brother glanced over at Beau and then back to Sawyer.
“It’s all good,” Ethan said softly. “Don’t let them get to you.”
“Easy for you to say,” Sawyer said snidely, noticing the anger that pierced Ethan’s face. “Shit. Sorry.”
A moment of silence lingered between them before Ethan finally turned and walked away, Beau not far behind. Both men went to their separate vehicles, but Sawyer knew that when he passed Ethan’s house in a bit, they’d both be parked out front.
For some reason, that eased some of the tension in his chest. Sawyer liked Beau, although… Beau was gay? He’d had no idea. And how the hell had he missed that?
“Beau,” Sawyer called out as the big man passed by the front of his car. When Beau turned back, Sawyer met his gaze, “Keep an eye on him for me, would ya?”
“Absolutely.”
Sawyer nodded his appreciation and then climbed into his car. When he reached for the steering wheel, pain shot through his hand. He glanced down and noticed the knuckles on his right hand were bleeding. Yep, it’d been a while since he’d thrown a punch, but damn it had felt good. Shit, if it hadn’t been for Travis and Gage, he’d have managed to release years’ worth of frustration on Jimmy’s fucked up face.
Strange. A part of him wished for the opportunity to present itself again. But a stronger part prayed that it didn’t. Sawyer knew without a doubt if Jimmy did anything to hurt Ethan again, the loser would prefer the wrath of God over what Sawyer would do to him.
Chapter Twenty Two
Had it required more than fifteen minutes to get home from Moonshiners, Ethan wasn’t sure he would’ve made it. He was a jumble of emotions. Anger and hate were amongst the most prevalent that slid through his veins like sludge.
Add that to the mixture of adrenaline and lust, and he was a complete fucking mess. Between Sawyer standing up for him and Beau gearing up to do battle, he was hardly able to contain all of the fury that raged war inside of him.