lent jolt of adrenaline straight into

he cold wooden floorboards. The room spun wildly, but she ig

s handle and stumbl

as flushed dark red with pure rage. In his massive hands,

ther three brothers crowded the narrow space, Ean gripping a heavy iron pitchfork, while the youngest t

physically block her massive sons from going down the stairs. The men si

me to keep from collapsing. She f

med, her voice crack

. Five pairs of eyes snapped t

flash of deep pain crossed his eyes when he saw how

ed, his teeth grinding together. "I'm go

ed forward and grabbed Gonzalo's thick fore

lled, her chest heaving. "Bart

onfused, doubtful glance

ie said gently. "You don't know wha

ling fingers off his arm. He stepped around Bla

od feud would escalate. It would trigger the exact chain of events

She lunged forward and wrapped both her arms

. He didn't dare move forward and

her face agains

tened, her voice dropping to a dead, serious whisper, "

hilling silence through the stairwell. The brother

he deafening roar of a faili

onto the gravel just outside the Thornton

e plastic medical kit. He had driven halfway down the road before the image of Delois's pale, trembling fingers coated in dark red blood

He saw Bart standing on their property. T

shotgun on the floor and charged down the rest of the stairs

right on

and sprinted after them, her bar

his sprinting momentum to throw a devastat

de. The fist grazed his ear. The medical kit slipped from his finger

hree large men crashed into the wet, slippery

nected solidly with Bart's stomach. Bart let out a sharp grunt of

m back for a finishin

into the center of the violence. She spread her a

ll the punch, but the momentum was already carry

shot out. He grabbed Delois roughly by the

using his own broad b

ulder blade. The massive impact knocked Bart o

ght on top of Bart's solid chest. The sudd

rectly, perfectly,