Chapter 54

Aaron squeezed his stinging eyes shut. He held Quinn tightly, running a hand up and down his spine, feeling every knot under the smooth slide of his soft T-shirt. “I know,” he said. “I’m sorry. I know.”

It felt like a long time passed. Before Quinn lifted his face. He made no move to step away. “This is what it feels like, huh? When some asshole shoots your father?”

Aaron nodded, his throat tight.

“He was my uncle,” Quinn said, “but he was more of a father to me than my piece-of-shit dad ever was.”

“I know.”

“Jesus.” Quinn rubbed a hand over his face. “I gotta call my handler again. And I gotta figure out how to keep Jimmy on a leash before he hands this town over to the Burned Skulls. And I gotta somehow do that without him putting a bullet in my skull.”

“Put one in his first,” Aaron said.

Quinn laughed and the sound was harsh. “What?”

Aaron held his face between his hands. “Put a bullet in his skull first, Quinn, if that’s what it takes.”