Page 40 of Finding Peace
Victor snarls and headbutts Jasper square in the face.
Blood instantly pours from Jasper’s nose.
Lawson fires toward the ground near them—likely not able to get a clean shot—and forces them to separate.
But Victor uses the split second to his advantage by reaching out, grabbing Jasper by the throat, and shoving him hard against the SUV, before his forearm presses into Jasper’s windpipe.
“Fuck!” Beau shouts as one of Caleb’s rogue shots shoots up snow near his feet.
Meanwhile, Jasper’s boots scrape against the snow as he fights for leverage. Victor punches him again. First, the ribs. Then the stomach. Followed by a quick strike to his jaw.
Jasper lands one solid hit back, splitting Victor’s lip.
But Victor smiles through the blood.
Realizing his brother isn’t going to help him, Caleb scrambles through the snow and bolts.
Not toward the SUV.
Toward the trees.
Toward Abigail.
Everything narrows as Beau, Lawson, and I take off, knowing Jasper will do what he can to handle himself. That he would want us to go to her.
I manage to intercept Caleb before he reaches the tree line. Hitting him low and hard, I tackle him into the snow. We roll once, twice. All the while, he claws at my face, my jacket, at anything he can reach. He’s wild and untrained, and it shows.
“Caleb,” I seethe. “Just. Stop.”
He reaches for something at his ankle—
A knife.
I manage to trap his wrist and slam it against the frozen ground until the blade falls from his fingers.
Behind me, Grayson yells, “Victor! Get in the fucking car!”
He doesn’t plead for him to get his brother. He doesn’t beg Victor to help Caleb. He just yells at him to move.
Victor releases Jasper and backs toward the sedan. Jasper tries to follow but stumbles, one hand bracing against the SUV. Before Victor climbs all the way inside, he looks back toward where I have Caleb pinned to the ground.
“Leave him!” Grayson snaps, and Victor doesn’t hesitate.
Victor slams the door, and Caleb’s head whips toward the sound. “Gray!” he calls.
The sedan fishtails as Victor guns it, and Jasper falls to the ground as it tears down the logging road without looking back.
Caleb goes still beneath me. He stares at the empty road like he’s waiting for the Escalade to turn around.
“He’ll come back,” Caleb whispers.
No one answers.
“He always comes back.”
The lie hangs in the air between us.
“He just left you,” I say evenly.
