She draped herself across the arm of the couch, all easy curves and painted lips. “C’mon, Reaper,” she said sweetly, nails tracing up his arm. “It’s late. Let’s go to bed.”
Jay didn’t even look at her. “Not now, Gabby.”
Her smile faltered enough for me to notice. “You’ve been running yourself ragged?—”
“I said not now,” he repeated, voice harder.
Silence stretched until she let out a small huff and straightened. Her eyes slid to me, quick and sharp, before she sauntered off towards the back rooms. I watched her go then turned back to him.
“Don’t worry, Jay. If you’re sick of me being underfoot, I’ll take Link home with me instead. At least he doesn’t look like he wants to crawl out of his own skin every time I’m near.”
His head snapped towards me, eyes flashing, the storm back in full force. He leaned in, close enough that his breath brushed my cheek.
“You so much as touch Link, I’ll put him in the ground myself.”
I smiled. “Sounds a lot like jealousy.”
His jaw flexed, knuckles whitening against his knees.
“Don’t flatter yourself. This isn’t jealousy.” His voice dropped, low and dangerous. “It’s my job to look after you.”
“Fuck you, Jay, you asshole. I can look after myself. I didn’t need you back then, and I certainly don’t need your protection now.”
Jay stayed crouched in front of me. Up close, he looked rough, older, and as exhausted as I felt. I noticed a small cut near his temple that I hadn’t seen earlier.
“You don’t have a clue what you’re doing, do you?”
“I know how to listen.” I sat upright.
He smiled, but it was bitter. “You know how to look like a spirit in your brother’s clothes. That’s not the same thing.”
I hesitated. “You knew him better than I did.”
It was true. Growing up, Caleb and I had been really close, but as soon as he got in with the club, he became more distant, barely showing up at home and eventually not answering my calls.
Jay’s jaw tightened. “No, I just knew the version of him that stayed long enough to bleed.” He moved to sit next to me on the sofa.
We sat in silence. I had no idea how to reply to his last sentence. Was it true that nobody ever got to know the realCaleb? Not the man who was supposedly his best friend and not even me?
“I tried to get him out,” Jay said eventually. “Before he left. Before it got bad.”
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. “Is that why you voted no for him coming back?”
His eyes bored into mine, his brows raised.
“Gabby told me. She couldn’t wait to tell me, actually.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, because I thought loyalty equalled silence, but it turns out, silence gets people killed.” He looked at me then, fully turning to face me. “You should go,” he said. “Come back when the sun’s up. Or don’t.”
I stood and walked to the door. “You said I wouldn’t last a week,” I said, hand on the knob.
“I meant it,” he replied but didn’t turn to look at me.
“Then you’d better start betting against me.” I didn’t wait for him to reply, I opened the door and stepped out into the cool, fresh night air.It hit my face like a slap. I let the door swing shut behind me, breathing deep, trying to shake Jay’s voice out of my head.
You won’t last a week.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
