Page 19

The soft glow of my wet bar illuminates the corner of my kitchen as I walk over to it. Glancing up, I scan the bottles of amber liquid in search of the perfect poison to dull my senses. I grab a glass from the cabinet and the bottle of Brother’s Bond from inside, pouring myself a shot and knocking it back in a single sip. Pouring another, I do the same before returning to the living room and taking a seat on the sofa.

Tires crunch on the driveway, Riven’s engine cutting off moments later. Raithe’s unmistakable laughter breaks the silence, effortless and wrong for the current situation.

My jaw tightens, my posture tense as I imagine all of the worst ways this conversation might go. The warmth of the whiskey begins to dull the emotions warring inside of me and just in time for the door to swing open. Riven and Raithe walk in, their playful expressions transpiring into worry as soon as they spot me. I adjust my posture, aiming for one that’s less assuming.

“Hey, guys,” I say. “Take a seat.”

They exchange a quizzical look as they hesitantly move toward the end of the sofa opposite me. They move in an unrehearsed tandem, both leaning forward and bracing their elbows on their knees as they face me. I glance between them, forgetting how identical the two brothers are despite their opposing personalities.

“What’s this about, Cal? And what the fuck happened to your hand?” Riven starts. Raithe relaxes back against the sofa, but the expression on his face remains wary.

“I punched a wall, it’s fine,” I say, brushing it off. I need to get to the point before I lose my nerve.

“We’ll have to postpone our next show,” Riven says, more to himself.

“Next show?” I ask. This is news to me, or maybe I fucking forgot. It’s hard to say with the way my mind has been lately.

“Yeah.” Riven sighs. “I was planning to share the news with all of you over lunch one day. I scheduled a show over in Sonora Falls. I figured we could keep it closer for the first few shows, reclaim our footing now that Sabel is out of the picture. I don’t want to rush into a tour. I want to slow down and be present with it all.”

Riven’s words give me pause, realizing how much he’s changed for the better with Sloane by his side. The old Riv would have jumped straight into the deep end without looking back.

“I’m sure I could play through the pain. Wouldn’t be the first time,” I say.

Memories of Sabel breaking a finger or two come rushing to the forefront of my mind. I wince at the reminder, swallowing down the rage that surfaces. God, I hope she’s miserable as fuck in the afterlife.

“Nah, man,” Riven starts, interrupting my thoughts. “It’s fine. Like I said, we don’t need to rush anything. Rest, get better. The news wasn’t out yet, so it’s no big deal.”

“When are we gonna reschedule?” Raithe asks, bouncing his knee up and down. “You know my itinerary is pretty busy. I can’t just take off without notice.”

Of course, all pretty boy Raithe cares about is his stupid little bartender job and his stupid little social media account.

“I’ll give you notice,” Riven says, glaring his brother into submission. Raithe rolls his eyes, bringing his attention back to me. Oh, goody. I crack my neck on an arch, eyeing him up and down.

“So, what’s this about Callum? I have things to do,” Raithe says, his impatience radiating off him like a disgusting odor.

Can he not read the goddamn room? I resist the urge to throat punch him straight into the sofa cushion. I don’t need two hands to wreck his pretty face, but that wouldn’t help the situation. I’ve already done enough. I consider softening the blow, but then think better of it. This situation calls for more of a rip it the fuck off approach.

“It’s Dorian.” I sigh. The brothers exchange confused glances before giving me their full attention.

“What about him?” Riven asks, flexing his jaw. His posture is tense as Raithe fidgets nervously beside him.

Fuck me. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to call the Reilly brothers here together. I run a hand over the back of my neck to ease the tension brewing there.

“What did you do, Callum?” Raithe taunts, smirking as he studies me. I narrow my eyes. What the fuck is he playing at?

“I killed him.” I deadpan. No need to soften the blow. That’s what happened.

“You what?” Raithe asks, sitting forward and training his gaze on me.

Raithe’s hands are balled into tight fists, and I can see his pathetic emotions begging to rip me apart. He’s such a fucking hothead, even more so lately. He’s actually fucking trembling. Five seconds ago, he looked like he hoped I’d fucked up. Now that he knows I have, he’s mad?

Riven places a hand on his brother’s shoulder, gripping just enough to tell him to back off without saying a single word. Raithe thankfully decides to heed his brother’s warning as he pushes back into the cushion, running a hand through his unruly dark hair.

“What happened?” Riven asks, jaw flexing slightly as he remains calm.

Riven knows there’s more to the story. He knows that I’d never betray him outright. My eyes flick between the two of them, asking myself for the millionth time how the fuck they can be related.

“I-I don’t know. I lost control. Something inside of me snapped, and … memories resurfaced,” I say, not elaborating.