That seemed to please Shiloh, a small smile at his lips. “Okay. For now.”
“Are you sure he won’t know anyone is listening in?” Shiloh asked for the tenth time.
Levi ached for Shiloh, he really did. He was so afraid of his brother that he shook beside Levi, his eyes glued to where Atticus messed with his phone. How could he make him feel better? He couldn’t. He could only sit and watch, sitting as close as possible, waiting for this phone call to play out.
All his friends from the garage were now there for dinner, scattered around the living room. Nico sat on Shiloh’s other side, gaze flicking from him to Levi and back again, like if he watched them long enough he might receive the answer to whatever question currently plagued him. Felix was the only person who had canceled on family dinner. He was still trying to dazzle someone into playing surrogate for him and Avi.
Levi wasn’t sure what the point of this exercise was, except Jericho testing Shiloh or maybe getting some idea of what Micah had in store for all of them. The others were just there to eavesdrop and freeload. Jericho was always generous when it came to his food and his time.
Atticus put a large hand on Shiloh’s shoulder. “You just go into the bedroom and talk normally. We’ll hear it out here. There won’t be any echo or feedback. He’ll never know that we can hear him.”
“What do I say if he asks where I am?” Shiloh asked.
“Tell him you’re at our place,” Jericho said. “Try to get him to tell you what he wants you to do.”
Shiloh’s leg began to bounce triple time. He was vibrating like he’d had too much caffeine. “D-Do I tell him the truth? Do I tell him you know I’m a spy? He won’t just believe you let me into your home after I tried to kill Levi,” Shiloh said, picking at his fingernail. “He’s going to kill me, either way. He’s going to know if I’m lying. He always knows.”
“What was it he told you to do? How were you supposed to get us to trust you?” Atticus asked, his voice soft and low like when he talked to his little boys.
Shiloh darted startled eyes to Levi, his expression imploring him to do something, say something so he didn’t have to speak the truth out loud. “He was supposed to seduce me. Micah told him to fuck me and make me think I’m rescuing him.”
Shiloh’s shoulders dropped, as if relieved he didn’t have to say it out loud. Levi wished there was something he could do or say to make Shiloh feel better, to make him feel safe. Micah’s reach spanned miles. He could somehow terrorize Shiloh all from the comfort of his home. He would probably always be the voice in Shiloh’s head.
“Then tell him that,” Jericho said. “Tell him you went to Levi for help and Levi brought you here to me. That’s all you have to say.”
“He’s gonna kill me,” Shiloh whispered again.
“Nobody is going to let that happen,” Atticus assured him. “You’re just going to have to trust us a little, like we’re trusting you.”
Before Levi could think of something to say, Nico put a hand on Shiloh’s back, rubbing comforting circles. “We won’t let anyone hurt you,” Nico said. “Promise.”
Shiloh looked like he might cry, but then he gave a stilted nod. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” To Jericho, he said, “Now?”
Jericho nodded. Shiloh bolted to his feet, taking his phone back, walking on rubbery legs to the boys’ room. Jett and Jaggerwere with their grandfather. Jericho still tried to shield them from all the bad stuff. They were so little. Even though they would be raised like all the other Mulvaneys, Jericho didn’t want them in any real danger. They had a lifetime to learn what a shit place the world was.
Levi jolted as a sharp ring cut through the silence of the large living space.
Once.
Twice.
“Where have you been?” Micah said by way of greeting. His voice was deceptively chipper.
Levi shivered. He knew that tone. That nauseatingly sweet voice narcissists used when they wanted something from you, when they were gaslighting you. Despite the casual cadence of Micah’s voice, everyone in that room could sense that underlying thread of warning in his greeting.
“D-Doing what you asked me to do,” Shiloh mumbled.
“Where are you, baby brother?”
“I—” Shiloh lowered his voice. “I’m in his house.”
Silence stretched like a wire pulled taut.
“Whose house?” Micah finally asked. “Your boyfriend’s?”
Boyfriend. It seemed such a sad word for what Shiloh meant to him. Maybe he was just picking up on his friends’ habits of imprinting on their soulmates like baby ducklings, but Shiloh was it for him. Levi wanted to look at that face for the rest of his life.
“Jericho’s.” Shiloh swallowed audibly. “Levi brought me here.”
