“I know you don’t need permission, smartass, but it’s polite to wait for guests to arrive before you start eating.”
My heart clenched, realizing this was Adrian’s younger brother that Carlos had threatened me with to keep me in the gang. Lonnie shrugged, going back to his food, completely ignoring my presence. Not that I cared.
“Shiloh, Lonnie. Lonnie, Shiloh. Now come get a plate while it’s still warm.”
It looked like some sort of premade lasagna you’d find in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. I wasn’t hungry and the sight of the cheese being stretched to an ungodly length as Adrian served himself made my stomach churn.
“No thanks. I’m good.”
Adrian shrugged, unbothered, and groaned in discomfort as he took a seat across from his brother. He motioned for me to join them at the table, and I reluctantly took the seat beside Lonnie. Adrian asked Lonnie some questions about his day and his plans for the evening, while I let my gaze wander around the open floor plan.
Adrian’s apartment was lived in. There were photos of him and Lonnie at various ages, a collection of very-detailed Legos in a display case, and some schoolwork hung on the fridge with a magnet.
I didn’t realize they’d finished eating until Lonnie left the table and was at the front door slipping on his shoes. I definitely missed where the hell he was going, but it seemed sports related when he grabbed what looked like a tennis racket bag. When the door shut behind him, I turned to Adrian.
“So, do you have custody of your brother then?”
He must not have been expecting the question because he stared at me for a second. “Uh, yeah. It was part of the reason Carlos had me…you know. My dad had custody up until then and wouldn’t give it up legally. Lonnie’s a great kid, all things considering. I just wish he hadn’t been stuck under the influence of all this fucked-up shit. He doesn’t deserve that.
“Lonnie’s technically my half-brother, and he’s thirteen years younger than me. I was raised mostly by my mom and had only ever met Lonnie a few times. But then Lonnie’s mom was arrested and Marcus, our dad, got sole custody of him. I wasn’t planning to get involved, but Marcus refused to let me intervene. My dad was an awful person, and I didn’t want Lonnie to be raised by him, which meant kidnapping Lonnie and risking getting sent to prison or trying to get CPS involved. That fucking backfired and then the only option was getting involved with Carlos. At least now it means I’m around to take care of him, get him the therapy and school services he needs, and keep him as far away from Carlos as I can.”
I stared at him awkwardly, unsure if I should pat his shoulder or something.
Fuck, I don’t do touchy feely shit.
Unless it’s Enoch.
Shut up.
He suddenly cleared his throat, and I could feel the weight of whatever he was about to say already filling up the space between us.
“When I made the deal, I agreed to one year and then it just went on, there was always something else, something more that I needed to give to help. With this sucesor position, I’ll finally have more than enough power to actually get intel. We have to get all seven of them at once.”
I blinked at him, unsure if I heard him right.
“What?”
He leaned closer to me, studying my expression for something.
“As soon as I’ve got enough shit on them, I can get Lonnie away from here for good.”
My mouth fell open in shock, and I struggled to find something to say.
“If we work together, we—”
“No,” I gasped, standing up so quickly the chair tipped over. “No, shut thefuckup. I’m not playing. If this is some fucking test of my loyalty, let the record show that I am saying N-O. No.”
What the fuck is going on right now? I’ve reached my limit. Officially. I cannot handle anymore bullshit. Max capacity. No more.
“I’m not fucking around Shiloh. This is legit. And I need you to give me the info I need so we can both walk away from this.”
I must be hallucinating. Maybe I smoked something, and I just don’t remember. Because this shit is so far from reality that I’m starting to believe that maybe I’m dead and everything is a simulation.
“You’re serious?”
“Deadass.”
I laughed, nearly tripping over the chair as I made my way down the hallway, opening up all the doors.
