Embry leaned forward. He’d been quiet while I’d been at the table. Tired, perhaps. Or trying to keep the murder talk to a minimum. “Do you think the Sambinis killed Pavel?”
Alexei gripped Saint a little harder. “It is feasible.”
“And Viktor will take his place?”
“I would imagine so.”
“What arewegoing to do?” Nash cut in. “Viktor said he’d take the blame for the fake Sambinis from last night, but we’re still vulnerable if they decide to fuck with us anyway.”
Rubi snorted. “They’ve always fucked with us. We’re already avoiding Sambini roads in the trucks and letting them shift blow through Porth Luck. What more do they want?”
“Revenge, maybe,” Alexei said. “Regardless of what happened last night, we took Lorenzo from them. And we disrupted their entire operation long before that.”
“The deal with Sidorov would’ve fucked with their egos too,” Rubi mused. “If—”
“Then they should’ve stayed in their lane.” Saint’s growl was sudden and low enough to send a shudder through me. “Their fuckery put a bullet in Cam. And Embry...”
Saint couldn’t finish the sentence. But he didn’t have to. No one had forgotten what had happened to Embry. How could they when the consequences of that shank in his belly were still written all over his face?
I’d heard enough. I caught Nash’s eye across the table.
He nodded.
Alexei agreed. “Soldier, it is time.”
“You’re okay?”
Alexei reached for the cigarettes. Lit one, then handed it to Nash. “There is much to do.”
It was as much of an answer as I was getting. I rose, tipping the table a nod, and left, feeling that pull in my chest again. That wrench. Ivy was my whole world, but I was part of something else too. Something it hurt to turn my back on.
Outside, I saw that sentiment echoed in River and Locke.
In Orla.
“Juana’s moving in with me for a bit,” she told me. “You should bring Ivy over for that sleepover.”
I nodded, trying to force my mind onto something else. The bar. The timber delivery. The haulage run I was leaving for in the morning.
Orla nudged me. “It’s safe at my place. Easy to protect. It’s why she’s moving in. So Locke can look after us both if everyone else is on the road.”
“I can help with that,” I said absently. “When Ivy’s not here.”
“You work twenty-four seven when Ivy’s not here. I’m not giving you another job.”
Orla flicked my ear and moved on.
I crossed the yard to the bar and returned to the mess I’d left behind when Saint had pulled me out. The prospect holding the fort hadn’t bottled up. Hadn’t washed a glass, either as far as I could see, but I forgave him. The bar was busy, and not everyone used their work to hide from their feelings.
The night wore on. I poured pints, diffused fights, and swept up broken glass. At some point, I was aware of Folk leaving the chapel. I didn’t see him. I felt him—felt his gaze on me before his Fat Boy revved and he left the compound.
It bothered me that he was alone. Alexei was clandestine enough that he might’ve joined him without me noticing, but when church finally broke up some time around midnight, Alexei was still here.
A few years ago, I could’ve bet money on the whole council filing into the bar. Rubi turning the music up. Cam lining up rum shots while Saint kept a silent vigil to the side.
Tonight, they all left. They all wenthome. Everyone except Nash.
The vice-president entered the bar. Nash didn’t have Cam’s intimidating presence, but the crowd left quieted in respect all the same.
