“Quit flirting with her,” Jensen says.
Brothers raises his palms. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Boldly, I lean forward to pick up my silverware. “I don’t think it’s me he’s flirting with,” I quip.
There’s a second of silence, then Brothers lets his head fall back as he laughs. To my shock, Jensen’s jaw twitches, like deep down, he wants to smile. Innocently, I put a bite of brisket in my mouth. It’s warm, tender, and a little spicy.
“Oh, I forgot how much I like you, Della,” Brothers says. “You are a treat and a half.”
“That why you helped her?” Jensen says.
Brothers’ pleasant eyes narrow. “I helped her because my heartstrings were tugged by the plight of a mother and her child.”
“God, that’s such bullshit.”
“Ease up, Jen. Nobody’s out to get you,” Brothers says, abruptly cold. That chills me to my boots. I’ve never seen him angry, and I have a feeling it’s not something I ever want to witness firsthand.
“You were,” Jensen says, not missing a beat.
Tension crackles. Jensen is chewing slightly. Then, he stops and smiles, but it’s not a nice one. It’s a watch-your-mouth-before-I-fuck-you-up kind of smile.
“You’ve got some bite to you now, Jen,” Brothers says finally.
“Learned from the best.”
“Could have done with some refinement.”
“Sorry, my education got cut short by my entire family being gunned down by the Caudills,” Jensen says. “Speaking of family, where’s your brother?”
My jaw drops. Brothers’ lids flicker as he waves a long-fingered hand.
“Oh, Jem? He got shot in the head.”
The silence is startling. Brothers told me Jensen was no friend to the Caudills, but I didn’t realize they’d killed his family. The admission about Jem Boyd isn’t shocking, because we all saw it on the news when it happened, but Brothers’ casual tone is disarming.
“Jem’s dead?” Jensen says.
Brothers has a sip of his glass, like he’s discussing the weather. “Yeah, Leland shot him behind a building at the racetrack about five years back. He was going for me, but I sent Jem to do my business for the day. Unfortunate.”
I stare. There’s usually a heartlessness around this type of man when they discuss death that I’m used to. Leland would put a bullet in someone and complain about the stain on the rug. But this is different. There’s so much pain behind the forced lack of emotion in Brothers’ face.
Jensen pushes out his chair. “I need the washroom.”
He gets up and leaves, to my surprise. Brothers puts his hands together, releasing a sigh.
“Jem and Jensen weren’t really friends, but they got along well,” he says. “Worked together a lot at one point.”
“I’m sorry about your brother,” I whisper. “I never said that, but I should have.”
He dips his head. “I appreciate that, Della.”
I shift awkwardly and clear my throat. He lifts his eyes, and they’re warm and friendly, sweet like honey.
“You can speak your mind,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. “Are you…you still seeing Kayleigh?”
His lids flicker and his throat bobs. “We do still…meet on occasion.”
