Shiloh’s chest tightened. “I’m kind of jealous,” he admitted. “I wish I could lie to myself and really believe it.”
Levi kissed Shiloh’s neck. “That’s the thing, though. He always crumbles under the weight of his fantasies. Any time something comes along that challenges his fairytale version of his own reality, he falls apart. He doesn’t do well at night. When it’s too quiet, he starts to unravel. That’s why we still live together.”
“What do you mean?”
Levi shrugged. “Nico can afford to live alone. His mom dumps a lot of guilt money in his account. He could probably live somewhere way nicer if he wanted. But he doesn’t want to live alone. That Nico over there”—he gestured with a nod to the boy currently reenacting something super dramatic—“is not the Nico who exists at three a.m. That other Nico is depressed a lot. He has crazy anxiety. He crawls into his head and doesn’t come out for days.”
Shiloh remembered the night he snuck out of their apartment. Nico sitting on the couch, staring at the television, glassy-eyed and vacant. It was hard to believe they were the same person. “I guess nobody is ever as happy as they seem.”
Shiloh’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He yanked it free with trembling hands, a ragged breath escaping as he saw Micah’s name and photo on the screen. Just seeing his brother’s face scent a shock of panic through him. What if Micah knew about Enzo? Could he have found out so quickly?
Levi snapped at Lake, pointing at Shiloh’s phone, then Jericho’s office. He nodded, jogging to the door. Shiloh didn’t hear what he said to him, but when Lake turned back, he caught Shiloh’s gaze and nodded.
“Answer it before you get in trouble,” Nico said, nodding encouragingly.
Levi’s hands flexed on his waist, grounding him. He brushed his thumb across the screen to answer.
“H-Hello?” Shiloh managed, then audibly swallowed.
Levi pressed his ear to the back of Shiloh’s phone so he could listen without Shiloh having to have it on speakerphone.
“It took you long enough,” Micah said, voice that low dangerous purr that made Shiloh’s belly feel slippery.
“I-I had to find somewhere quiet. You don’t want them to know I’m talking to you, do you?” Shiloh said.
The others nodded encouragingly like Shiloh’s impromptu answer was smart. It strengthened his resolve a little, made his knees a little less weak. They had no idea what was happening on the other side of the phone but it didn’t even matter. They were on Shiloh’s side. Even if it was only for Levi’s sake, Shiloh would take it.
“Where have you been?” Micah asked. “I told you to check in more often.”
Shiloh closed his eyes. “What do you mean? I’m where you told me to be? I talked to you yesterday”
Levi’s hands squeezed his hips reassuringly. Shiloh tried to stay calm, but his fight, flight, or freeze instincts had his mind going blank, his hands already shaking.
“You checked in yesterday morning. It's been more than twenty-four hours. I need an update,” Micah said.
Shiloh didn’t know what to tell him. So, he told him some version of the truth. “I didn’t have anything to report yet. I— There’s nothing going on with Jeric?—”
“Forget Jericho,” Micah snapped, cutting him off. “Nobody cares about him. What have you learned about the Mulvaneys?”
Shiloh’s free hand dropped to cover Levi’s, just needing the warmth of his skin to ground him. He’d learned too much aboutthe Mulvaneys in the last day and a half and he wished theMen in Blackmind-eraser thing was real. Knowing such a huge secret of a powerful family felt like an easy way to get a bullet to the back of the head.
He licked over his lower lip, trying to steady his voice. “The…Mulvaneys? Like Atticus?” Shiloh asked, hoping he sounded confused even if he was just choking on his heart, which was currently lodged in his throat.
“No, not that one. The others. Have you met any of the others?” he snapped, his temper bleeding through his calm persona.
What the fuck was going on? Micah was so erratic lately. First, he wanted Jericho so he could take over gang territory, something he’d never cared about before, and now, he was switching gears to learn about the Mulvaneys? He couldn’t keep up with Micah’s scheming.
“Why would I? I mean, I’ve met Felix,” he hedged. “He’s married to one of them…but none of the actual Mulvaneys are going to talk to…someone like me.”
“You’re less than useless,” Micah growled. “I need you to work faster. If Malachi was out, he would have already infiltrated the Mulvaneys and gotten me the information I need. I’m on a time constraint. There are very powerful people who need this information. You better find a way to start making in-roads with them soon or I’m bringing you home and you won’t like what happens when you get here.”
Shiloh froze. Powerful people? What powerful people? Was Micah unraveling? Was Shiloh? Were the Mulvaneys his target all along? Was Micah smart enough to have started a chess game with Shiloh as his first pawn? There was no way he could have known that Shiloh wouldn’t be able to kill Levi…or that Levi would care enough about Shiloh not to kill him…right? Micahhad known Jericho was a bleeding heart who took in orphans and strays. Was Shiloh always meant to be a mole?
That would be insane. No sane person would ever think a plan like that would work. But was Micah sane, really?
“I can hear you trying to think. Don’t. Just do what I tell you. I need you to find me something—anything—that can help me prove my theory about the Mulvaneys.”
His theory about the Mulvaneys… What theory?
