Josh steered his boyfriend away into a separate hallway who was still muttering obscenities under his breath. Once they were a far enough distance not to be heard, he turned to Tyler, fuming with rage himself.

"What the hell was that?" He hissed. "We talked about this. You can't pull stunts like that around my family. We're here to be civil, not to make them feel threatened. We need to warn them so they don't die, remember?"

Tyler huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to let them treat you like that. And was I wrong?"

"No, and that's exactly why you need to calm the hell down. My dad doesn't like to be proven wrong, that's just how he is. And my sister- you didn't have to humiliate her like that."

"What, with the glasses? I was just proving my theory right, I wasn't completely sure if she also had OCD tendencies. Obsessional compulsions aren't typically hereditary."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Just don't do anything like that again, okay? I don't think my heart can take it."

"Yessir," Tyler said, his demeanor changing from angry to flirtatious in the blink of an eye. "Will you reward me if I'm a good boy?"

Despite Josh still being mad, he couldn't help but crack a smile when Tyler pouted, looking pathetically and playfully sorry. "Be good first, then we'll talk about rewards."

Tyler's eyes lit up in amusement and Josh could hear Ryan shout, "Shut the hell up!"

Ashley poked her head around the corner. "You guys want coffee?" She offered. "It's a peace offering."

"Sure, thanks, Ash," Josh replied, glad she wasn't that upset with him. "I take mine with creamer, Ty takes his black with sugar. Lots of sugar."

He didn't know what happened at first. All he saw was Tyler's face scrunch up with discomfort then go completely blank. His posture changed instantly, his shoulders hiking up like a startled cat.

"I think we should leave," he said, his lips barely moving as he spoke.

Josh raised an eyebrow. "What, why? Is it because of my father?"

"No. There's something wrong."

"Dun, we've got a problem," Ryan said.

Without breaking eye contact with Tyler, Josh pressed his finger against the earpiece. "What is it?"

"There's a group of men disguised as police officers two houses down asking for us. They're describing us to a T. We need to leave now or else your family's going to be in more danger than they already are."

"Damn it. I thought we'd have more time."

Tyler suddenly dropped to the ground, yowling in pain and scratching at his neck. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he gasped and thrashed like he'd been shocked with a taser. Josh grabbed him and pulled Tyler's hands away from his neck, holding them away from him. Blood already stained the tips of his fingers.

He could see a small blinking light just under the skin on the nape of his neck. "Shit, shit, shit, shit. Ashley!"

His little ran in with two cups of coffee, stopping abruptly when Josh put a finger up to his lips.

"Do you have a friend's house you can stay at?" He asked, putting his arm under Tyler's armpits and lifting him up. "Some place safe where you guys can stay at?"

Fear and confusion fluttered across her face. "I- I could check with Dodie, she lives a couple minutes from here."

"Okay, good. There's going to be a group of men approach the door. Answer it and if they ask for us, act confused and say you don't know who we are, but that you saw our van go towards the highway. Once they leave, get the hell out of here and stay gone until I call you to let you know it's safe. Do you understand?"

"But-"

"Do you understand?"

At the harsh tone of his voice, Ashley nodded and backed up into the kitchen, yelling for Abigail to get a suitcase.

Josh held most of Tyler's weight up as they walked into the living room. Hayley stood at the back door with her gun drawn, staring intensely out of the window. Ryan was talking quietly with Jordan, no doubt giving him the same spiel Josh just gave to his sister.

"How close are they?" Josh asked.

"They're next door," Hayley replied, clicking the safety off of her gun. "If we leave now, they won't know we were here."

He nodded, gesturing to Ryan to leave. Ryan patted Jordan's shoulder and said, "remember what I said, big guy. Don't fuck it up or you're all dead."

The four made their way through the glass door and into the backyard just as someone knocked on the front. Jordan answered, his voice shaky but calm.

Josh sat under the backyard window with a half-conscious Tyler draped over him, listening intently just to make sure nothing happened. Hayley glances through the window then sat back down, sighing.

"They're leaving," she said, motioning for Josh to go it the van.

"Wait." Ryan raised his head, eyes widening. "They didn't believe her. They're coming back."

Before any of them could move, the ear splitting sound of bullets exploded around them, shattering the window they sat under. Josh jumped to his feet, running back into the house without a second thought just to see his father crumble to the ground with a hole blasted through his forehead. Jordan was on the ground, writhing and gurgling as blood pooled around him.

Josh lifted his gun and started shooting blindly, catching the two men who'd knocked down the front door. Ashley cowered on the kitchen floors. Abigail, who was tucked safely into her older sister's side, sobbed with Ashley's hands over her ears.

"Ash-"

A clink and the sound of something metal rolling directed Josh's attention to a grenade that was making its way to his sisters.