Chapter 243

The room felt straight out of a horror flick—who cared what was going on outside at that point? Claire Richards finally got how crazy things had been earlier. She felt bad… for about two seconds, then turned to Michael Reed and said, “Okay, my bad. I misjudged. Looks like Brandon’s not totally heartless after all.” “…” Michael looked dead inside. Brandon Harris didn’t let that slide. “Claire, c’mon, it’s not about being heartless or not. I mean, me and Mike are both guys. Could you ever lay a hand on Olivia?” Claire paused for a beat. “...Nope. Couldn’t do it.” “Exactly!” Brandon pointed out. “That’s why I couldn’t do anything to Mike either. We dudes rely on our own two hands, y’know…” Before he could finish that sentence, Julian Archer flicked a sharp smack to the back of his head. Brandon clutched his skull, looking all kinds of wronged. Claire stared, speechless. Do it yourself. Sure. Great idea. A bit further off, Evelyn and Vance exchanged a look before turning their heads away.