Bas stood, his chair squealing against the hardwood floor, and stared down at Drew so their gazes locked. His eyes were glazed over with a molten combination of anger and pain, and Drew was horrified to realize that he was the cause. “Isn’t that right,Drew?”
“No,” Drew whispered, his stomach churning. “I neversaid…”
“That’s right. You never saidanything.” Bas pushed his chair in roughly, jostling the table, and the others sat back, silent. “For years, you saidnothing. Your choice. Your terms. You always had to be in control… until that one time youweren’t.”
“Bas,” Damon said, a warning note in his rough voice, but Drew barely registered it. His throat was clogged with anger and tears, and he couldn’t think of a fucking thing to say. Bas was wrong, so wrong. Everything he’d ever done, every action and every conscious choice not to act, had been designed to preserve their friendship, for God’ssake.
He wet his lips. “And what happened then, Sebastian? I lost control one time… and then I lostyou. For weeks you ignored me. Turned your back on me, easy as that. And I’m supposed to forget it just because you sayso?”
“I was confused!” Basyelled.
“Uh huh. And you had to solve your problem by yourself, didn’t you?” Drew stood, smacking his palm on the table. “You could have talkedto me. I begged you to talk to me. Spiraling and spiraling, never letting anyone in.It’s all my fault,”Drew mocked, pressing the back of his wrist to his forehead. “I’m responsible for everything, and only my great genius can save us.But what did it solve, Sebastian? All that time in your little cave, searching for answers alone, and Alexei is still after us. All that time spiraling about Halloween, and you still don’t even know what you want! Notreally.”
“It’s not me who’s scared, Drew. It’s not mewho—”
“Whoa!” Cam interrupted. “Guys, seriously. If you’re talking about what I think you’re talkingabout…”
“Shut up, Camden,” Bas and Drew said in unison, their gazes still locked like duelingwands.
“Hey now,” Cort interjected. “This isn’t the time or the place. If you wanna flay the skin off each other, do it in private. And for Christ’s sake, don’t do it when we already have a fucking psychopath crime boss gunning forus!”
A muscle in Bas’s jaw flexed and finally, finally he looked away. “You’re right, Cortland. I don’t think I have anything more to say to Counselor McMann at all.” He grabbed his phone from the table and slid it back into his pocket, while Drew watched wordlessly, chest heaving. “You want company when you meet with Sean Cook? I can give him the names of the companies I got from Alexei’s server. Might do some good to someone, even if it’s not admissibleevidence.”
Cort and Cam exchanged a glance. “Yeah,” Cort said. “That’d be good. You can drive us and Cam can take hiscar.”
“Actually, Cam, I have a gift card and I need to buy some…ah, video games?” Cain said, after a wordless communication with Damon. “Why don’t you come back to our place and you can help me teach Damon to play?” He shrugged. “Safer thatway?”
Damon rolled his eyes, but stood and rounded the table to extend a hand to Cam. “Right. I just love me some video games. We can call it brother-in-lawbonding.”
“Perfect.” Cam stood and kissed Cort soundly before following Cain and Damon to thehall.
Damon turned back before he’d gone two steps and walked back to the table to snatch up his tin of cookies. “Shame to waste them,” he told Drew with a wink and a one-shouldered shrug. “Take care,McMann.”
Drew nodded, the only response he was capableof.
“Cam, phone on at all times!” Cort called afterthem.
Cam turned to give his man a brilliant smile and a lazy salute. “Yes, sir.” He gave Drew an apologetic half-smile. “Thanks for the brunch,Drew!”
“Yeah, thanks for the brunch, Drew,” Bas said roughly, stalking his way around the table without a backwards glance. “Enjoy yourdate.”
Drew gripped the back of his chair so hard he wondered if he could crack the polishedhardwood.
“Listen,” Cort began hesitantly when everyone else had left. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on with youtwo…”
“Join the club.” Drew huffed out a laugh. But then he shook his head. “That’s a lie. I know, I just don’t know what to say or do aboutit.”
“You’re a lawyer, McMann. You know how to talk your way out of a million scenarios.” Cort folded his arms over his chest and watched Drewsteadily.
“Yeah? Well, not thisone.”
“Then maybe…” Cort cleared his throat and winced. “Christ, I hate giving advice, but… If you don’t have anything to say, maybe you should start listeninginstead.”
Drew’s eyes met Cort’s green ones, surprised at the amount of sympathy that shonethere.
“You love him,” Cort said. It wasn’t a question, and Drew didn’t pretend to misunderstand the context. Cort meantinlove, far beyond friendship. Drew only hesitated a second before henodded.
“Foryears.”
