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“Gentlemen and lady,” Jeremy greeted. “Join us.”
Jeremy, Micah, Asher, Gael, Bentley, and Zeke moved down the booth, making room for the rest of us. The beer and bowls of chicken wings on the table said they made use of their time while waiting.
“What do you want?” Cairo dropped.
“Wait,” Micah said. His eyes were on Roan. “Before we get down to business, let’s order more food and drinks. Hang out. Relax. Get to know each other like we should’ve from the start.”
“You stalling, Ellis?” He dumped a bowl of wings on the floor. “Got a reason you don’t want to get to the fucking point?”
“What? No.”
“Then, get on with it.”
“Fine. Whatever you want.”
Gael leaned over. “It’s like this. I know I’m not the guy on the security tape, and you know I’m not the guy on the security tape.” He stuck a glance through Jacques. “We’re not all rich. Some of us got families depending on us getting a degree and good jobs. This ain’t about no vote or frickin’ Crystal Canyon. I need these stolen tests off my record. That’s the beginning of a mutually beneficial agreement between us.”
“Interesting,” Legend said. “But that does bring up a question for me. What was in it for you before? You say now getting Crystal Canyon isn’t important, but you were willing to come up here and fuck with us in the first place. Did the Ellises provide incentive, or were you taking orders till the water got too hot?”
There was nothing to read on the Crows’ faces, and I was paying attention. That was all I was doing. Jeremy accused me every chance he got of not being on his side. Saying too much against or for the Crows in this situation wouldn’t get me anywhere good.
“What does it matter?” Gael flung. “The point is we’re willing to give it up.”
“It matters.” Legend stroked my thigh under the table. “Let’s say you were offered shares in Foundry and a cut of their profits for carving up our town. That’s a potentially lucrative deal.”
If they dig up diamonds, hell yes, it is.
“Thousands in the bank would turn your life around just as well as a good job. Let’s say we clear your name, and you drag your feet leaving town for another six months. Six months is the earliest the vote can be called for Crystal Canyon. You get everything you want, and we’re left with no guarantees.”
“We’ll leave,” Jeremy said. “We swear.”
Cairo shone those eerie green pools on him. Jeremy was first to look away.
“Just like you swore you didn’t beat on my sister or our girl?”
No response.
“Your word is shit,” Arsenio confirmed. “After we give you an alibi, you’ll have gotten what you want and therefore no reason to hold up your end.”
“Alright, we get it,” Jeremy forced through clenched teeth. “Promising to leave isn’t enough. What do you want?”
Roan’s phone chimed.
He read the text, then stood up.
“I’ve got to go,” he said, climbing over me and Legend.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“All good. My carrier needs to speak to me.” Roan kissed me. “Call me if you wrap this up first.”
Micah saw the kiss. He trailed Roan till he was gone, then he flicked back to me, staring till it got uncomfortable for both of us.
Legend may have had a point when he said people love and loathe Roan in equal measure. The man could rip your chest open and eat your heart with a spoon, and the next day you’re crying because he didn’t call you back.
“—it’s going to go,” Cairo said. “We’ll stick to the original terms. Rain discovers the time this went down and swears Gael was with her. In exchange, you transfer out and we never see your faces in Bedlam again. If you’re slow packing your bags”—Cairo plucked a photo from his pocket and slid it across the table—“we pay this woman a visit.”
Jeremy looked at it and paled. He snatched the photo off the table as the others leaned in.
“Where did you get this? How?!”
Cairo heaved a sigh. “You still don’t understand who you’re dealing with, do you? My father’s the sheriff, dumbass. I can look up the background of just about anyone, just about any time. Should I tell everyone about Miss—?”
“That’s enough,” he barked. “We get it.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” Cairo flung photos at all of them. “Because now that the winds shifted, Mercury’s in retrograde, or maybe because I fucking feel like it, I just changed the terms. You leave my town and convince your father and his company to go with you, or everything that happened to Paris, Arsenio, and Judge Stone will happen to the people in those photographs. Twice.”
Asher and Zeke jumped out of their seats. Micah and Gael had to wrestle them down.
“You won’t do it,” Jeremy cried. “They’re innocent.”
