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“She says you’re not yourself,” I said quietly. “Which means we both need to put on an act.”
“How am I not myself?”
“I don’t know. She’s your sister. She specifically mentioned the two drinks, though.”
“Oh.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say? I’ve got a lot on my mind. We both do.”
“True enough, but if we’re going to keep this to ourselves until we have more information, we’re going to have to act our parts.”
“Meaning I need to untense myself? How the fuck am I supposed to do that when I’d like to go off on that bastard Ted Morse?”
“Joe, come on,” I said. “I’m freaked too, but for all we know, this deck is bugged somehow. So ease up.”
“Fucker.”
“I know. Go talk to Ryan or something. I’m going to go inside and get a drink.”
I walked back past Marjorie, who was removing the cooked burgers from the grill. They’d no doubt be perfect. Just as well that she’d taken over. I’d have probably turned them into shoe leather. I made my way down to the bar and poured myself some of Talon’s Peach Street bourbon. Good stuff. I took a sip and let the smokiness linger on my tongue before I swallowed its warmth.
I walked back upstairs and ran into Talon, who was returning from Dale’s room.
“He’s not coming out?” I said.
“Not right now, but he’s okay. Just a little scared.”
“Why?”
“Oh, you don
’t know yet, do you? He saw a man on the playground he thought he recognized from when he was in captivity.”
My heart dropped into my gut, but I took a sip of bourbon to hide my surprise. “Oh?”
“It’s probably nothing. I used to see all sorts of shit after my…experience. But he’s scared, and it’s bringing up a bunch of other stuff.”
“Like what?”
“He’s feeling like he’s not really a Steel. That he’s a bother to us.”
“Oh. Jeez.”
“I know. I reassured him that he’s a valuable part of the family and we all love him. He’s okay, but he needs his alone time, and I totally get that. I was his age when…”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. We both knew what he didn’t say.
“That Peach Street?” Talon gestured to my drink.
“The one and only. You want one?”
“Yeah.”
We walked back down to the bar, and I poured Talon two fingers. “More?”
“Nope. That’ll do for starters. What are you doing in here, anyway? Didn’t I leave you in charge of the grill?”
