Once she’s curled up in Jude’s lap, her head on his chest, she turns to Vincent. “What happened with the underground fighting, Vinny?”
Vincent sits closer to the center now, opposite Briella and Jude. He leans back, staring somewhere past the firelight, jaw tight like he’s chewing glass.
“I felt like a fuckin’ animal for years,” he mutters, rough-edged like his vocal cords have been scraped against concrete. “I fought for cash. Years of it. Underground, dirty, brutal. Every punch, every cracked rib, put food on the table for the kids still stuck in the system. Even got shoes on the little ones’ feet now and then. I hated the fights. Hated what I became. But I did it anyway.”
He doesn’t look at any of us. Doesn’t have to. We know. We remember.
“Jude…he was always there. Every time I came back bleeding or broken, he fixed me up like I was worth fixing.”
Jude doesn’t speak, but his hand twitches where it rests on his knee. The other is wrapped around Briella.
“I aged out. Thought I was done. But I kept fighting. Kept watching out for the kids. And then one day, the asshole running the fights tells me to throw one. Big payday, he said. Or else.”
Vincent finally glances at us—brief, sharp.
“They threatened the foster home. The kids. Said they’d torch it. Said they knew where you all lived. So, I did. Went down in round three. Let the bastard take me out. Swallowed every ounce of pride I had for those kids.”
A long breath. Bitter. Briella’s lips have parted.
“Turns out, the rival gang leader lost a fortune betting on me. Thought I’d win. Thought I’d stick to my record. He didn’t care why I lost—he just wanted payback.”
I feel the tension coil in my spine. I already know this story, but hearing it from his mouth makes it hit different. Makes it real.
“Jude was on leave. Raphael kept tabs—like he always did. You were living with him then, Seth.” He nods toward me. “Raph got word that something was coming. You all found me whentheydid.” His eyes flick to Rory. Cold. Calm. “They sent a crew to take me out. Rory was one of them.”
The fire pops. No one speaks. Rory just crosses his arms over his chest.
“But he didn’t.” Vincent exhales, and Briella beams at her Red….and mine. “Didn’t even pull the trigger. Hell, he turned on his own boys. Helped cover me. Got beat to shit for it too.” He pauses again, steady. “And turns out? He’s the one who tipped Raphael off in the first place.”
“Why?” Briella asks my partner.
He snorts and jerks his head to me. “Told ye, Lass. Only I get to beat up that punk ass. He was in the fray, on the other side. Didn’t have t’think for a minute. Especially when Vincent was the best of us. And what all five of us have is better than anything I had in that goddamn gang.”
My throat goes tight. I look at Rory. He’s avoiding me, but I see the way his jaw flexes, like he’s bracing for a hit he’s already taken a thousand times.
I make my way to the couch and sit down next to him. Keep it casual for his sake, elbowing his side. “You made a thousand fucked-up choices,” I murmur. “But that? That was the best one.”
Now, his eyes snap to mine. No guilt. No shame for anything. Just a slave to his instincts. But Rory’s gut? It’s always wanted me.
“Ahh, bloody Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” he curses right before gripping the back of my neck and attacking my mouth, kissing me something fierce.
63
Briella
“I BECAME THE THING THEY COULD FEAR MORE THAN MONSTERS. THE MEMORY.”
Citizen Soldier Playlist
(For Rory)
“Madhouse”
“Never Good Enough”
(For Raphael)
“Face to Face” - Citizen Soldier
