Edge of Anarchy (Edge of Collapse, #4)

by Kyla Stone

He saw his brother’s face in his mind’s eye. That cruel, thin-lipped smile. An approximation of a smile. A facsimile. All the more chilling for how similar it was to the real thing.

He met Hannah’s gaze and saw recognition in her eyes. She knew that he believed it. Her chin lifted a little.

Dizziness washed through him. Gavin’s death was more shocking to him than what had come before. His half-brother. His mother’s precious, favorite son. Dead.

His older brother had cast a large and ominous shadow. He’d always seemed larger than life. Too evil to die.

A cruel and cunning bully. Brutal enough to torture his own flesh and blood and enjoy it. And smart enough to get away with it.

Julian inhaled a steadying breath. His mother would be devastated, furious, beside herself. He would have to deal with her, figure out the fallout and get ahead of it.

His brother would never taunt or ridicule Julian again. He would never be their mother’s golden boy again. Julian was free of him for good.

“You’re under arrest,” Julian said, already pulling out his cuffs. “No,” Noah said. “He isn’t.” “It’s protocol—” “You heard them,” Reynoso said. “It was self-defense.”

“Even so. We need to take him into custody and conduct an investigation.”

Noah took a step forward. “We...

“We’ll get it done, but I don’t see how we can make it a priority right now,” Noah said. “As chief, I decide. We’re not taking anyone into custody or pressing any charges. Michigan is a Stand Your Ground state. By law, Liam Coleman had the right to use lethal force to protect himself—and my wife—from the imminent threat of great bodily harm and death.”

He’d needed to tell his mother that he’d tried, at least.

He felt no personal animosity toward Coleman. He wasn’t the one Coleman needed to worry about.

Even now, Noah still thought the best of him. Guilt stuck a knife in his gut and twisted.

And then he remembered the look on Noah’s face when he’d accepted his new role as chief of police. He remembered how his mother idolized Noah for no good reason, just like she had Gavin. The pain of betrayal still stung like it was fresh.

Noah was living in a dream world if he thought Rosamond Sinclair would ever accept that her precious golden boy was a monster.

Didn’t matter how true it was. No one wanted to hear it, least of all his mother.

“You should keep your wife quiet. You don’t want her making enemies when she’s just gotten back.”

“I’ll talk to Hannah. I’ll get her to see. It helps no one to keep dwelling on it. If Gavin were here, I’d kill him myself. Honestly, I would. But he’s dead. It’s over. What’s done is done.”

Noah was as naïve and stupid as he’d always been. Julian couldn’t believe he’d felt anything for him, that for half a second, he’d even considered forgiving this moron. “The past stays in the past, is that it?”

Julian had to turn away to hide his sneer. The past never died. That was the painful lesson Noah Sheridan still hadn’t learned.

Julian had instructed them to wait an hour before reporting to the superintendent. Instead of telling his mother immediately, as he’d promised Noah, he’d decided to let the two officers do it.

She took it with shaking hands. Her whole body was trembling, quivering with grief. She looked like she’d aged a decade in five minutes. Her eyes were red and wide, but she did not weep.

Reynoso and Perez watched her like she was a bomb about to explode. Probably because she was.

“Is this true?” Sutter asked.

Rosamond leapt to her feet. Rage and grief flashed in her eyes. “Then she’s insane! She must be on drugs. Or out for revenge. She always was jealous of Noah’s close relationship with us. She was always an ungrateful little slut.” She paused, breathing hard. “How do you even know it’s Hannah Sheridan?”

“She’s playing you!” Rosamond nearly shouted. “Don’t you see? She ran off five years ago to abandon her family and live the good life, free of responsibility. Then the world goes to pot, and she needs security and shelter. Who better to offer it than her former husband? What better place than Fall Creek, with its self-sustaining community of Winter Haven? You’re crazy if you believe that drivel!”

“Lies! Complete rubbish! Bitter, manipulative lies intended to smear my family’s good name! That’s all this is. That child has nothing to do with us. Nothing! You can’t prove it! You can’t prove any of it!”

Reynoso glanced at Julian. Julian kept his expression neutral. Gone were the days of DNA tests. At least, for now. Maybe forever. Julian had no doubts, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“This woman’s…accusations remain in this room. If I hear a word of this breathed by either of you two, you’re off the force. You’ll be out of a job and packing your things, because you won’t be welcome anywhere in Fall Creek ever again. Neither will your families. Have I made myself understood?”

Julian knew they’d fall into line. Just like everyone else under his mother’s thumb.

“This Liam Coleman is an outsider. A criminal and a murderer. Such a man of violence does not belong within the borders of this community.”

“I agree,” Desoto said. “We are at your command,” Sutter said evenly. His face betrayed no emotion. “Simply tell us what you wish to have done.”

“Are you that stupid? Do you really think that is a sufficient consequence for the murder of your brother?”

Gavin hadn’t been murdered. He’d deserved every gunshot and stab wound and then some. Julian was certain of it. Whoever this soldier was, he’d done the world a favor.

Julian knew better than to speak his thoughts aloud. His mother wouldn’t change her mind. He had little inclination to try.

This was his chance to get back on her good side. To prove his worth to her. To prove that he was better than his brother. She didn’t need Gavin anymore. And she certainly didn’t need the likes of Noah Sheridan. Neither did Julian.

He hated her for it. He hated himself even more. But he couldn’t stop it, even now.

“Can you handle it like a man, this time?”

That was what mattered. He would tell himself that until he believed it.

He’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop since the day Bishop brought Hannah back, only to discover the Crossway food pantry had been emptied out in his absence. Noah had meant to talk to him, but he’d been more than a little distracted by the miraculous return of his wife.

Guilt pricked him. He ignored it. He and Julian were still barely speaking, especially after their confrontation a few days ago. He should’ve just let Julian take Liam into custody like he’d wanted to.

Bitter acid rose in the back of his throat. In the three days since Hannah’s return, Noah’s instinctive dislike toward Liam had only grown.

He knew it was petty and spiteful. He knew it and couldn’t help it. Maybe he was a lesser man than he’d always believed himself to be.

Jealousy ate away at him every time he saw Liam and Hannah together. Since Liam was still staying in their downstairs guest room, that was a lot. How she looked at him with trust and respect. How she ...

He knew where he stood. He wasn’t so sure about Hannah.

Maybe he’d walk right out of Fall Creek and never come back. In his opinion, the gruff soldier couldn’t leave soon enough.

Bishop looked at him like he’d suddenly grown three heads. “Don’t tell me you okayed this. Don’t tell me you’re on board.”

Noah hesitated. If he admitted that Julian and Sutter had done this without bothering to ask his opinion or consent, it would undermine his authority.

“They’re out of control,” Dave said. “You know it. I know you do.”