Rubi shook his head, his gaze drifting to River, who still stood flanking one side of the table while Cam looked over the other. “Did you know about this?”
“Before it happened? No, Boo. I’d have told you if I did.”
Rubi relaxed a little, sinking into his seat and lighting a joint.
Orla stepped away from the table, her work done, kissing my cheek as she passed. Locke’s too. She was almost at the door when Saint called for her, saving his precious words for a question the rest of us had forced down.
“How did you do it?”
Orla paused, a dangerous half-smile playing on her red lips, a dark smirk I relished but never wanted to see again. “I cut off his favourite toy and choked him with it. You boys have a nice day now.”
She left, letting the door bang shut behind her. A reset that woke me up to the stunned silence in the room. I took my turn on the joint. Passed it to Mateo as I waited for the weed to hit, my gaze searching out Locke with little conscious thought.
His features still hadn’t moved. No relief or distress. Just the same vague bemusement of the men in the room who hadn’t known Orla as long as I had.
Cam came to the head of the table. “Anyone who doesn’t want to hear any more, this is your cue to be somewhere else.”
I expected River to be the first one out. Considering how he’d spent his night, maybe it shouldn’t have surprised me that he stayed, but watching him take a seat beside Rubi was still kind of strange.
Across the table, Decoy rose, shooting me a pointed glance as he squeezed Folk’s shoulder and left.
Folk. I checked in. The dude looked exhausted, and Locke noticed too. He stretched a long arm, swiped Folk’s tea mug, and rose, disappearing into the kitchen.
Alexei got up and claimed Decoy’s seat. “You are tired, Veles.”
Folk hummed. “What gave it away?”
“Everything.” Alexei eyed Locke as he came back with Folk’s topped-up mug and one of the cereal bars we’d collectively stashed everywhere while Locke had been the one who needed prompting to eat. Had that only been a week ago? Two? Fuck, I had no idea. About that or whatever Russian words Alexei muttered that made our wisest brother laugh.
Locke returned to his chair, waving the zoot away.
Cam took a seat and fixed him with a tough stare. “Any questions?”
“Are you fuckin’ serious?”
A dry chuckle breached Cam’s tough exterior. “Be fair, brother. I did ask you if you wanted to end this yourself.”
“You didn’t mention the alternative was Orla cutting his dick off.”
I smothered a laugh with my hand.
Cam fired a glare at me. “Behave.”
The only way that was happening was if the weed buzz fucking with my decorum put me to sleep.
Cam rolled his eyes and swung back to Locke. “I have no defence, except I didn’t know that’s what I’d agreed to until it fucking happened.”
Locke grunted. “Give me your cigarettes.”
Cam tossed the pack across the table. Locke lit up and turned his gaze to the ceiling, dismissing the conversation, but Cam wasn’t done. “In case it isn’t obvious, only I knew about our sister’s intentions leading up to the fact. And I kept it to myself because I knew what would happen tomydick if one of you got to that cunt before she did.”
Rubi huffed out a lungful of herbal smoke. “Remember the days when we didn’t smoke in here? And you banned the sauce too, just to piss off Cracker?”
Cam claimed the blunt. “What’s your point?”
Rubi shrugged. “Just saying I like this way better. If I’d had to raw dog this conversation, I’d have cringed myself into an early fucking grave.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” Cam finished the zoot and ashed it. “Anyway, before we put this shit to bed, there’s a couple more things I need to say. One, to everyone we cut out at the beginning, I’m sorry about that. It was my decision, and in hindsight, it was a bad one. Sometimes, trying to protect people results in the opposite, and that’s on me.”