“What I’m saying is, I’m pretty sure I’d have honey on my balls and be eaten slowly by rats, starting with my nuts, if she ever believed I thought I could have a say in her love life.”
“That sounds like her,” I agreed.
“What I saw tonight when you showed up at my place was a man in love. So as long as that’s what it is, I’m happy for both of you.”
“But you’re keeping a meat hook for me in your playroom if I fuck up.”
“I got a dull knife with your name on it,” he agreed. “She’s soft with you,” he observed. “She’s never soft. It’s good for her. You and the kids, you’re good for her.”
“Yeah, doing a real bang-up job,” I said, thinking about how sick or hurt everyone was. Except me.
“Look, we both know shit happens. If any of us thought there was reason to think someone would show up here, there wouldhave been a guard. We all blew this. But everyone is okay. Hurt. But they’ll heal. What matters is you’re here for them now.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You guys should be getting home. You’ve got kids to worry about too. And this isn’t fully over yet.”
“I’ll send one of my associates over to be out front just in case.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“You’ll have your own crew eventually. Don’t mind sharing mine until then.”
With that, he slapped a hand on my shoulder and went to fetch Ezmeray.
Then just like that, we were alone in the apartment.
I did my rounds, checking on Charlotte—still asleep, fever down—then Liam, who had passed back out. And finally, Alara.
She was sitting up in bed, her leg jacked up on four pillows, staring blankly at the wall.
“You okay?” I asked, sliding into bed with her.
“A little in shock, I think,” she admitted, leaning into me. “Is Liam okay? Really?”
“He’s asleep. I’m sure he’s gonna be hurting when he gets up, but he’s alright.”
“But mentally?”
“He’s surprisingly calm about it.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. And it’s not like he can talk to his therapist about this. There was a double murder involved.”
“He’s got us. And the whole family.”
“Yeah. We have to make sure we keep a close eye on him.”
“We will. And you have me too, you know. And your sister. Brio. Zeno.”
“God, Zeno was so cool and calculated tonight,” she said. “When we showed up, he just casually turned in his chair, seeming completely unbothered by everything. But then when Liam came in, the two seemed to be communicating silently.And… and then Zeno attacked the one guy. And after Liam shot the other guy… he just… stuck the metal into the guy’s throat…”
“Think we all can do what needs to be done in that kind of situation. Zeno… he was trying to make sure that Liam didn’t kill someone. He didn’t want that on his conscience.”
“It’s not over, though, is it? Those guys probably weren’t working alone…”
“We don’t know that yet. Or maybe we do,” I said when my phone started ringing in my pocket.
I reached for it while staying put. It wasn’t like Alara could be any more implicated in this than she already was.
“Hey, Lorenzo,” I said, pulling Alara closer. “What’s up?”
