Edge of Midnight by Shannon McKenna Page A

become a famous scientist, published papers, won prizes, patented amazing inventions, fallen in love, gotten married, had kids. The whole sequence of Kev’s hypothetical life played through his head in a blinding flash, whoosh.
    And man, it hurt when reality came crashing back to displace it.
    The sinkhole in his gut widened into a crater. He had to haul ass. Bursting into tears in downtown Endicott Falls was his idea of hell.
    He’d always sucked at hiding his feelings. Macho stoicism was Davy’s specialty. Kev’s, too, in a lighter way. Davy’s stoicism had a steely weight to it, like Dad’s. Kev’s had been more like a zen monk’s calm. Like a reflecting lake. So mellow.
    Christ, he missed Kev so bad. His throat felt like a burning coal.
    He clenched his jaw, loping toward where his truck was parked. He was history. Miles was a grown-up. He could fend for himself.
    You’ve got to do something about Liv’s car.
    He wished he hadn’t interrupted Kev in the dream before he’d finished that sentence. Something was eluding him. Tickling his mind.
    Our union will be explosive.
    He wished he could look at T-Rex’s letter. The e-mails, too.
    Stay away. The cops were all over it. Her folks had mountains of money. If anybody ever had her ass covered, it was Princess Liv.
    The something’s-not-right feeling was swelling, bigger and badder. Fire ants in his head. Itching and twitching. What had T-Rex said? Burning in the fire of his passion? Our union will be explosive.
    He’d stared at the twisted wreckage at the bottom of Hagen’s Canyon for hours, before they’d climbed down and hauled him away.
    Our union will be explosive. Repeated in his head, pounding like a jackhammer. His brother’s body had been charred black. Carbonized.
    “Hey! How’d it go?”
    Sean jerked as if he’d been stung by a bee, but it was just Miles, coming out of the computer store, his eyes big with curiosity. “Did you see that girl? What did she say? Was she surprised to see you?”
    Sean couldn’t speak for the pressure building inside him. He doubled over, pressed his hand against the sucking crater in his torso.
    “Jeez. Are you OK?” Miles grabbed his shoulder. “Are you sick?”
    He was going to hurl his coffee and sweet roll, right into the potted geraniums in front of Endicott Falls Fine Antiques and Collectibles. Oh, man, what a way to repair his social image.
    Our union will be explosive.
    He peered back through the haze of smoke. His eye fastened onto Liv’s graceful form. Blair Madden marched beside her, chest flung out.
    Liv’s car. Burning. Explosive.
    They split to walk around the battered pickup. That wasn’t a trophy vehicle a pompous dick like Madden would drive. Must be Liv’s.
    Click. It fell into place. His panic released, like a coiled spring.
    He took off towards that pickup like he had rocket launchers under his feet. He barely recognized that howling voice as his own. Time warped, like in combat. People flinched away as he pounded by. Madden goggled at him behind the windshield. Liv’s eyes were huge.
    “Get away from that car!” he bellowed. “Get back!”
    Liv froze, one foot already inside
    Madden locked his door, lunged across the seat, grabbed Liv’s wrist to yank her in, the cretin. Fuck. Sean shattered the driver’s side window with a flying kick. He unlocked the door, wrenched Madden out.
    The guy grunted as he hit the hot asphalt. Liv backed away ’til she hit the glass display window of Trinket Trove Gift Emporium.
    “Get away!” he yelled, waving his arms at her and everyone else he could see. “Back! Farther! Now, goddamnit!”
    Everyone obeyed. Nobody wanted to be near the howling psycho.
    The keys were in the ignition. He popped the hood. Any movement could trip the bomb, but he had to take that risk upon himself. Nobody was going to believe him. He knew that from bitter experience.
    He wasn’t even sure he believed it himself, but hell. He had no choice but to trust an impulse