Dylan opened his mouth, but I spoke over him. “I’m in love with your daughter.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ, not again,” Craig groaned.
“He can’t—”
“No,” I cut Dylan off, and kept talking. “Whatever that ass**le told you last night, don’t listen to him. Maci doesn’t want to be with him, I’ve seen the way he treats her, all he does is order her around and belittle her.”
“Like that’s much better than what you would do to her?” Dakota sneered.
“I won’t hurt Maci!” I yelled at him, and turned back to his dad. “I’ve been seeing your daughter all month. I know that’s not a long time, but I also know that there isn’t another girl for me out there.”
“Connor, I swear to God you better stop talking.”
“Dakota Price! Shut your mouth and let him talk!”
I looked over to Mrs. Price, and sent her a grateful smile.
“If you’re so in love with Maci, tell me why my little sister looks like she wants to die?” Craig asked before I could say anything else.
Mr. Price raised a graying eyebrow at me, and I shrugged lamely. “Because I listened to Dakota and Dylan when I shouldn’t have.”
“Wait.” Craig released Dakota and pointed at his brothers. “You both already knew about this and didn’t say anything?”
“He came to talk to us about their relationship the night before we came,” Dylan started, and his dad cut him off.
“What I’m not understanding is what I’m seeing right now. You three have been inseparable since you were kids, and now this?”
“They forced me to break up with Maci! Do you understand how much it killed me to do that, how much it killed me to have to lie to her so she would believe me, and then listen to her cry for the rest of the night? I feel like I’ve been suffocating ever since I left the goddamn bar after talking to you three!”
“Wait, three?”
“Sam was there,” I answered Craig.
“Why the f**k did everyone know except for me?”
“I hadn’t planned on Sam being there, I wanted to talk to Dakota and Dylan first.”
“Yeah,” Dylan started, “and we already told you our answer. You can’t date or marry Maci!”
“That’s not your f**king decision! You’re my best friend, but I never should have listened to you in the first place!”
“You know why we can’t let you be with her!” Dakota yelled back.
“Why can’t he be with her?” Mr. Price asked, the only calm male left in the room.
“Dakota, I swear to God I will die before I hurt your sister.”
“You don’t f**king know that!” He started toward me again, and Craig grabbed him to stop him.
“You told us—”
“I know what I said, Dylan. But I will do everything to make sure I never hurt her!”
“You already have.”
All of the men froze, and some of the women gasped from where they’d been whispering to each other. Forcing myself to turn to the left, it took all my willpower not to run up to her and grab her in my arms.
“Maci,” I breathed. And when I saw her face covered in tears, I automatically started toward her, stopping when she held up a hand.
“Sam told me they made you do it, and for the record, I will not forgive either of you for that,” she looked at her brothers, and wiped at her face when she turned back to me. “But, Connor, you told me there was always a choice. You made yours.”
“Maci, no, you don’t understand. You have to let me explain.”
Sam bent down to whisper something in her ear, but she shook her head at him and spoke loud enough for us to hear. “I already told you, he let them tell him what to do.” Looking back up at me, my heart broke when she choked out, “That told me all I need to know. Just go home, Connor.”
My mind flashed back to Cassidy for the first time in a month. Having her tell me to leave the way Maci just had . . . but at the time, I’d listened to her and had left. Maci was different, I couldn’t leave her . . . not again. “I can’t.”
She turned toward the door, before looking back at me, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. “Why?”
“Because you’re mine, Maci! You’re. Mine.”
“You said—”
“I know what I said . . . I was lying. I was scared of what your brothers knew about me, scared of what I could do to you . . . and so I did what I thought would be best for you. But I’m miserable, and I know you are too.” I had taken a few steps toward her, but was afraid of pushing her back, so I stopped halfway between her, Sam, and her family.
Maci shook her head, clearly confused. “What you could do to me . . . ? I don’t . . . what do they know?”
Turning to look at Dakota and Dylan, I shook my head when I realized and understood what I had to do. I threw my arms out at my sides helplessly when I looked back at Maci.
“I was abused as a child. That’s why I’m so protective of Amy. Because she was older, she took my half of the beatings until I was old enough to understand, and made sure that she took as little of them as possible. The guy wasn’t even my biological father, but it was my mom’s husband, and he was the one who raised us. He almost killed us one night, that’s how we met our adoptive parents. My dad was one of the detectives on scene, and he and my mom fought to adopt both Amy and me.”