“No, hermano… no.” Val shakes his head slowly, and he looks so… dejected. “I need to come with you.”
My scowl drops, eyes darting over his face.
“If I don’t...” He swallows. “No sé qué hacer, hermano. I don’t know what to do with this feeling.” He leans his forehead against my shoulder.
I try to think of the times in my life that Val has been like this with me. Maybe twice. Normally when someone close to us dies. Because when bad things happen in our lives, something in us switches. I become the angry, bitter twin; he becomes... this.
And I fucking hate it.
“It’s okay, brother.” I keep my voice low as I pull him into a hug. “I’ve got you. You know that, right? I’vealwaysgot you.” I keep nodding, urging him to believe it, maybe myself too. “We could all go… yeah? Like a pack trip. When was the last time we did that?”
He murmurs some type of half-assed answer.
I know a trip is the last thing on all our minds, but maybe that’s exactly why we need it. To remind ourselves that we come together when life gets fucked.
My phone buzzes in my vest pocket. The notification flashes across my watch.
My heart pounds.
Gently, I ease Val back by his shoulder. “Vamos…” I nod to my watch. “Go on, tell the guys the plan. I need to take this.”
If Val is sceptical of my dismissal, he doesn’t show it.
I’ve actually never seen him look so... lost. He simply walks away.
I lean against the wall, slamming my head back with a sharp curse, then answer. “Yeah?”
“Hey, man. I know you’re my boss, and this might be crossing a line I don’t really want to cross, but I just need to know something.” Rue sounds... odd. “Is Revea with you?”
Fuck, why does hearing her name make my chest ache? I grit my jaw. “Nah, man. Not at all.” I huff through my nose. “Why?”
“Really?Fuck.”
I finally realise why he sounds so strange. It’s his tone, it’s pitched higher, there’s a tremble like he’s… distressed.
My instincts kick in as I push off the wall. “What’s wrong, Rue?”
He lets out a long breath. “Revea was meant to be coming to Rowan’s today, straight after her flight. Instead, she sends us some cryptic fucking message about being ill. I tell her I’ll come over and bring some stuff. She says no, that she needs to rest. But then she’s not answering messages,and her phone’s turned off. I go over anyway because I know she’s a stubborn ass and I’m imagining her suffocating in her own vomit, when I stumble upon fucking Steve—”
“Who thefuckis Steve?” I snarl, fists clenching.
“Right?! That’s what I said! Then he tells me he’s been renting the house off some website for the last two months.”
I frown. “A house?”
“Yeah, Revea’s house, and I’m like,what the fuck do you mean renting my sister’s—”
“She doesn’t live in a house.”
He pauses. “Erm, I think I know where my fucking sister lives, Luc.”
“Rue, clearly, you don’t.” I run a hand over my stubble. “I know where she’s living, and it isn’t in a house. I’ll send you the address.”
I text it out quickly.
“What the fuck? She’s been livingthere? In that shit hole?Why? Why didn’t she tell us...”
“Listen, I don’t know all the details. But that’s the address Syl has. And before you storm over there, you should know she sent us a message too.” I clench my teeth, body tensing at even the thought of repeating it. “Said she wanted time away, needed some space...”
