Shiloh made a desperate sound into Levi’s mouth, letting him explore as he gripped his shoulders, hanging on for dear life. Levi didn’t seem to be in any hurry, tongue lazily sliding over Shiloh’s, thumbs stroking his cheekbones. Shiloh wanted more but had no idea how to convey that, or what more even entailed. He wasn’t good at this stuff.
He made another frustrated sound and Levi chuckled against his lips. The hands at his face disappeared. Before Shiloh could even guess his intentions, Levi’s hands were under his ass, hauling him into his lap until he straddled him. Shiloh gasped at the sudden change in position. “Oh,” he breathed against Levi’s mouth.
Levi’s hands stayed on Shiloh’s ass as they continued to kiss. Shiloh had never kissed anyone just for the sake of kissing, but Levi didn’t seem interested in taking it further. That was fine with Shiloh. There was something safe, something soothing, about the soft slide of Levi’s lips against his, the way his tongue teased and explored, his hands rhythmically squeezing his ass.
When Levi finally broke the kiss, he leaned his head against the back of the couch, gazing at Shiloh with a soft expression. Shiloh willed himself to look at him. Why did his chest feel hollow every time his eyes met Levi’s?
“I’m…so sorry,” Shiloh heard himself whisper.
Levi looked a little sad, but mostly…tired? Finally, he asked, “Howare you a spy?”
“What do you mean?” Shiloh asked, frowning.
A smile twitched at Levi’s lips, then he was running a finger along Shiloh’s spit-slick bottom lip. “Like what does that mean in this context? What is it your brother wants from you? From me?”
He opened and closed his mouth several times, each time aborting his explanation as his fear swelled, stealing his voice. Shiloh’s stomach lurched at the thought of another rooftopsession so soon. But it was already too late. He’d blurted out the truth. He might as well just put it all out there. “Micah wants me to get close to you. He wants to find out more about your boss’s operation.”
Levi slow-blinked at him like he was processing his words. Shiloh could only sit there, acutely aware of the way their bodies pressed together. Levi was so warm. Shiloh wanted to burrow into that warmth. Levi felt safe. He felt like…promise. The promise of safety, security, love. Or maybe Shiloh was as crazy as his brother said.
“Jericho doesn’t have an operation,” Levi said. “He’s a mechanic. Sometimes, people around the neighborhood come to him for help when others take advantage. That’s it. He’s not on the take. He’s not some secret criminal mastermind. He’s not a superhero. He’s just a guy.”
Shiloh didn’t care. About any of it. He didn’t care if Jericho was a vigilante planning Micah’s downfall. He didn’t care if he was a literal superhero with a cape and a cave. He hoped Jericho wanted to take Micah down. Shiloh was all for it. His oldest brother could die screaming for all he cared. But not until Mal was safe. He wouldn’t survive much longer in that prison. Not without doing something that guaranteed he’d never walk free again.
Shiloh swallowed the lump of sand in his throat, croaking, “I believe you.” He gave a little cough, then tried again. “I believe you. But it doesn’t matter. None of it matters. Micah wants me to find something on your boss. Something he can use to blackmail him into leaving the city or maybe get him locked up like Mal.”
“Well, you’re not going to find anything.”
Shiloh shook his head. “Micah doesn’t care if it doesn’t exist. If I can’t find something, he’ll just manufacture it, just like he did with Malachi. He’s just fucking with me. He’s fucking with Jericho, too. He likes to play with his food before he eats it.Worst case scenario for Micah, he has to fake some evidence with the added bonus of punishing me for failing. This is what he does.”
Levi shook his head. “But why? What’s his endgame?”
Shiloh scoffed. How did he explain the unexplainable? “Micah is smart. Scary smart. But he’s not sane. He’s not rational. He’s impulsive and violent and mean. And right now, he’s bored without Malachi. So, he’s acting out, making everyone’s life miserable. Creating an enemy so he has someone to have this imaginary battle with.”
“Didn’t he put Malachi in jail?”
Shiloh nodded. “Yeah. He did. That doesn’t mean anything. Not really. When Micah feels slighted, he lashes out…violently. But, sometimes, like this time, he punishes us in different ways. Mal hurt Micah’s feelings, so he threw Mal in jail where he wouldn’t be able to protect me anymore. That way, he could punish us both in the worst way possible.”
“What do you mean?” Levi asked, a crease forming between thick brows.
Levi’s hands slid from Shiloh’s ass to his back, rubbing. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the sensation.
Finally, he said, “Malachi doesn’t care about pain. He likes taking it, he likes giving it. But only with consent. Only in a controlled environment. When Micah realized that, he found a new way to torture him…by hurting me. Mal has spent his whole life playing the buffer between me and Micah, but now, he can’t. He’s stuck in prison and I’m out here. Knowing he can’t protect me is killing him. Micah found the ultimate punishment for us both.”
“But you said he’s bored without Mal?” Levi said, like he was trying to make sense of something nonsensical.
Shiloh nodded. “Without Mal to torment, he’s acting out, looking to make trouble on a larger scale. He misses him. Heprobably even thinks he loves him. He knowswehatehim. Which he thinks makes him the real victim in all this.”
“So, Micah threw Mal in prison so he could hurt you more?” Levi asked, voice thick.
“Yes.”
“And now, Micah wants to use you to get to me so he can get to Jericho?”
Shiloh closed his eyes. “Yes.”
Levi was quiet for a moment, and when he next spoke, his voice was sad again. “Is that why you were so desperate to sleep with me?”
Shiloh’s eyes flew open, and he snapped his head in Levi’s direction. “No!” he cried, then deflated. Wasn’t it? Sort of? But not really. “I wanted to sleep with you. I did. So badly it hurt,” he said, gripping Levi’s hand, letting the warmth bleed into his skin. “But Micah said Ihadto sleep with you. He thinks Ididsleep with you. But that’s not why I panicked. Not entirely, anyway.”
