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Jericho shrugged. “Sure,” he said, standing up. “You went shopping yesterday, right? Did you get—”
“Above the fridge.”
Jericho shuffled around the treats and snacks they kept out of Olivia’s reach and grabbed two of the Werther’s Soft Caramel Candies from the packet. He dropped them in the mug with the red stripes.
“So?”
“He found a place for the family of four that’s reasonable rent—witha working fire alarm on the floor; he wanted you to know?”
Jericho shook his head. “Don’t ask.” He was glad Six had thought to check, though.
“Right. Anyway, six months’ rent has been paid up front. It’s getting professionally cleaned, fully paid for, and they can move in by Friday at the earliest.”
Everyone else in the apartment complex had received help from family and friends, except for Sarah and her kids and Trevor. Sarah had no family or close friends, and Trevor’s children and grandchildren were conspicuously absent. Trevor might love them enough to keep pictures of them, but Jericho had no interest in a family that didn’t care where their ailing father or grandfather was and the kind of conditions that he was living in.
After Six had convinced himself that Jericho was fine, they had set them all up at a hotel for indefinite stays until they’d found something for them. He hadn’t expected something in less than twenty-four hours, but Six was nothing if not tenacious. Probably hadn’t even slept last night. Jericho made a note not to talk to Greer, or even glance in his general direction, just in case he’d been made to stay up with him. It was touch-and-go at the best of times.
“What about a job?” Jericho asked.
“Moira is looking for places,” Hunter replied as he fiddled with the coffee maker and then put Jericho’s mug under it. “She has contacts with a few places that she’s confident will be willing to give Sarah a chance. What happens after that is up to her.”
They could only do so much before it was up to the individual to make the most of the opportunity that they presented them. They’d done this song and dance a few times.
“What about Trevor?”
Hunter let out a breath and shrugged as he switched the mugs and handed Jericho his. “He’s going to be harder to place. He has no means of income other than the pension, which we know doesn’t go far.”
“I don’t care,” Jericho said. “I’ll pay for him.”
“Out of your own pocket?” Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
“Yes.”
“He has family.”
“Well, where are they?” Jericho challenged.
“We could try to contact them.”
“If they cared, they would already be here.”
Hunter was silent as he studied Jericho, and Jericho refused to back down. Hunter was hislittlebrother, and this was his choice. Trevor deserved more than what had been given to him.
Hunter put his mug down and curled his hand around the back of Jericho’s head, pulling him close. “Okay,” he breathed against Jericho’s temple. “We’ll work it out.”
“We could have been him,” Jericho said quietly.
“Married with grandchildren?” Hunter asked with a light laugh.
“Alone.”
Hunter’s fingers tightened. “We were never alone.”
Only because they’d had each other. Jericho hadn’t been what they’d needed him to be, and it was a miracle they’d made it far enough in life to become what they were now. He wasn’t fit to lead, and he never had been. He’d made peace with that and the fact that he was better in the shadows, protecting the one who was fit to lead. He would protect Trevor the same way.
“We need to talk about George,” Jericho said, pulling away.
They grabbed their mugs and settled at the kitchen table instead of the couch, sitting side by side.
