“What did you do?” Micah asked, his voice so menacing the others around the coffee table shifted closer.
“Nothing,” Shiloh whined, his fear evident to every person in the room. “Only what y-you said to do.”
Micah made a sound of disbelief, then said, “So, you fucked him so well that he just magically brought you right to Jericho’s house just where you needed to be?”
“That’s not?—”
“You’re fucking lying to me, baby brother,” Micah sang. “And you know what happens to liars…don’t you?”
Shiloh made a whiny sound so similar to the noises he made in bed with Levi that it confused something inside Levi. Was Shiloh afraid of him in bed? “Micah, it’s not like th?—”
“I’m starting to think you enjoy our time together on the roof. Is that it? Are you starting to like the pain like Mal?” he taunted. “Do I need to get more…creative in my punishments?”
Levi bolted to his feet, but Jericho caught him around the bicep and pushed him back down with a shake of his head. This was bullshit. He came to Levi for help, and now, they were just letting Micah terrorize him. For what purpose? Levi should have gone in there with him. Held his hand. Something.
“No—No, that’s not it at all,” Shiloh said, voice clicking like his mouth had gone painfully dry. “He—Levi…he saw all the bruises when we were…you know?—”
“And you blamed me, of course,” Micah said, sullen. “You love making me the villain. You never talk about your part.”
Levi was going to gut this motherfucker. He was going to take a potato peeler to his skin so he could listen to his screams as he worked. He truly sounded like he believed he was the victim in all this. He was just as unhinged as Shiloh had implied.
“Itwasyou,” Shiloh wailed, then lowered his voice. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he said again, dragging out the word. “But…But itwasyou and he saw you hit me outside the store that night. Lying would have just made it worse. Then they wouldn’t trust me. Then they’d know I was lying.”
“They shouldn’t trust you. Poor abused little Shiloh,” Micah mocked. “Did you tell them everything? Huh? Did you tell themhow you egg me on? How you never just do what you’re told? How you whine and cry like a little baby to get your way? Did you tell them I spoil you rotten? That I’m the reason you’re even alive? Did you tell them how crazy you are? Hmm? Poor little crazy Shiloh. Always a victim, always looking for someone to take care of you. Did you even remember to take your pills with you? We wouldn’t want you to have an episode.”
“Jesus Christ. We’re going to fucking kill this guy. Right, Coe?” Lake asked.
Jericho raised his hand, letting Lake know to stay quiet.
Levi tore his eyes away from the speaker to look at the others, and he noticed Jericho’s jaw ticking with what he could only assume was anger. Atticus wore his usual stoic expression. He could be mentally adding granola bars to his grocery list, solving some complex formula from the lab, or planning on making a rug out of Micah’s skin. There was no telling with him.
The others were far more transparent. His friends were seething—there was no other word for it. Their jaws were tight, fists clenched, nostrils flaring, chests heaving. They wanted this man dead just as much as Levi did.
“What do you care what they think about you? You’re trying to get rid of them, remember?” Shiloh reminded, sounding so beat down that Levi ached.
“You don’t appreciate me at all,” Micah moaned. “Nobody appreciates the sacrifices I had to make to raise you and Malachi.”
“Micah,” Shiloh said, a noise of frustration leaching out of him, “I don’t have time for this. I’m in his house like you wanted. But I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. It’s just…normal. What is it I’m meant to be looking for?”
There was an exasperated sigh. “I should have thrown you in jail and kept Malachi out. He’s batshit crazy but at least he has two brain cells to rub together. Did you think they were justgoing to keep incriminating evidence lying around? Especially with you there?”
“What do you want me to do?” Shiloh begged.
Once more, there was that long, drawn-out silence. Finally, Micah said, “Observe. Learn who everyone is. I want to know how deeply involved the Mulvaneys are in his operation.”
This time, it was Shiloh who fell silent. Levi could practically hear his mind churning. “The Mulvaneys? I thought this was about Jericho?” Shiloh asked, bewildered.
“Leave the thinking to the adults. Just get as much information as you can about Jericho and his husband. Names, door codes, their kids’ school information?—”
Shiloh gasped. “No way, Micah. You can’t. You didn’t say anything about kids.”
Jericho and Atticus exchanged an indecipherable look between them.
A heavy sigh came through the speaker like static. “Are you telling me what to do now?”
“No. But you—you just can’t. They’re little, Micah. Babies. I’m not helping you hurt babies.”
“The choice is yours,” Micah said in that carefree tone. “Some random stranger’s brats or Malachi dead by the end of the weekend.”
