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“Yeah, I hear you on that one.” I agree, raising the tiny glass in my hand and focusing really hard to keep it upright. “It sucks not to be able to be on the move.”
“Wouldn’t know,” he says dismissively, then frowns. “Why aren’t you able to be on the move?”
I clink the glass against his when he raises it. Then I chug the shot and shake my head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Let’s just say my life is a mess right now.”
“Is that what was getting you down when I first got here?” he asks, then shows me his palms. “It’s fine if you still don’t want to talk about it, but we’ve talked about pretty much everything else.”
As I put the glass back on the counter, I squint when I catch sight of my watch. “Fuck, is that the time?”
“Uh, yeah.” He closes one eye before glancing down at his own wrist. “It’s just after three, I think.”
“Ah shit. I’ve been out much longer than I thought I would be.” I rub my eyes, signaling to the bartender for my check. “It’s been fun, though, man. We should do it again. Better yet, we should do a trip together sometime.”
“Where are you running off to?” he asks, seemingly taken aback that I need to. “If you’re having fun, you should stay.”
“Can’t,” I reply sadly, trying to blink away the cobwebs in my head. “I need to get back to my gilded cage. My golden prison cell and the tease who lives within it await my return.”
His expression darkens. “If you’re in some kind of trouble or someone is giving you shit—”
I wave him off, stumbling to my feet as Justin takes my check from the bartender. “Relax, bro,” he says. “It’s on me. Why don’t you stay, and we can have another?”
“I wish I could, but Olivia is already going to kill me. Dead,” I add mournfully, but then the haunted look on Maxim’s face when we were talking about my uncle pops into my head, and I wince from the force of the guilt that rolls through me. “My brother is probably going to disown me because of this.”
“I’ll adopt you,” he says jokingly. “Seriously, though, why are you talking about prison cells and teases?”
“It’s a really long story, but I can’t tell you right now. I’ve really got to get going, but hey, you can always come back with me if you want. I’m not sure what we’re going to be walking into, but I don’t have to stop drinking. I just have to stop drinking here. Wanna come?”
“You could come back to the backpackers with me instead,” he offers, getting up after smacking a wad of cash down on the counter.
I nod toward it. “Thanks for all the drinks, but I really do need to get back.”
“I’ll walk with you,” he says, looking about as unsteady on his feet as I feel on mine. “Tying one on in the afternoon is always a shit idea anyway.”
“True.” I agree. “If I could’ve gone back with you, I would’ve done it, though. Seriously, I needed this today. You saved me from doing something pretty fucking stupid when you decided to come sit next to me.”
“Everybody needs a friend every once in a while,” he says, then points up the street as we stumble out of the bar. “Let’s go this way around. There’s a shortcut up ahead.”
“Right—”
“Vincent!” a voice that’s much too familiar hollers from behind me. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Dread sinks into me as I turn toward Maxim, my hands already going up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I just meant to go for a walk, but then I met Justin and we got to talking. We hit it off. Hey, you’ll love him. He’s really cool. Justin, meet Max—”
I glance at the spot where he was standing just a second ago, but my new friend is already gone.
“You scared him away when you shouted my name like that.”
I pout, but that’s only until I actually look and realize he’s not alone. Mike and Dad are behind him, and none of them look happy. “I’m sorry, okay? I just wanted to go for a walk, and then I got sidetracked. I swear I’ll be good from now on.”
They’re all glowering at me, but then my brother’s jaw tightens. “He’s fucking slaughtered. There’s absolutely no point in trying to talk to him right now.”
Mike sighs, tapping at his ear before mumbling something I can’t hear, but a few seconds later, a fleet of the blacked-out SUVs that usually cart us between airports and hotels squeals to a stop next to me. They come barreling around the corner, and I duck instinctively, jumping out of the way even though I know they’ll never hit me.
“These guys are precision fucking drivers,” I mumble to myself, and Maxim swipes his hands over his face.
“Let him come with me,” he says to Mike and our father. “You guys will want to kill him when he’s like this. Trust me.”
Dad brings his hard gaze to mine, his expression stonier than I’ve ever seen it. He’s wearing a baseball cap, but he’s taken his sunglasses off for the sole purpose of glaring daggers at me. “When we get back to the hotel, you’re with me and Mom. I’ve had a cot brought in for you.”
