“Fuck. It’s such a shame. They’re so good.”
“They are, but Charlie’s lost it. I mean, Archer is a shell of himself these days after Ionee went missing, and not even he behaved this badly when he was at his worst.”
“I’ll get them to meet me at the office and give them the bad news. You want to be there?”
“I’m already here. Couldn’t sleep. This time of year always stirs up bad memories. I got an Uber while it was still dark.”
“Shit. I can deal with this. Go home. Spend some time with Aaron.”
“He’s on a job. I don’t want to make a big deal of it. He went through enough when the plane crashed. He will be living his own form of hell, too.”
“And Addi?” I checked.
“Her and Mav. All of them.”
“Did you ever ask them? The boys… what happened in Miami?”
Neo mumbled something I couldn’t make out before he replied. “Steve told us. They got drunk and the hotel manager went up to ask them to keep the noise down. Charlie punched him and then smashed a bottle, threatening him with it. It’s why Steve and the rest of their team quit.”
“Jesus.”
“And then they seemed to calm down. Or so I thought, but this… it’s too much. They’re out of control.”
“Charlieis out of control,” I reminded him.
“I’ll leave you to call him and get him down here. Text me and let me know what time then I’ll take you out for lunch so you can give me the lowdown on your family and we can hatch a plan to get out of there as quickly as possible, or at least find a way to protect you from your douchebag brother-in-law.”
“My ex,” I whispered, deciding it would be better to tell him over the phone rather than face to face.
“Who’s ex?”
“The douchebag brother-in-law, Neo. He’s my ex.”
“Your sister’s husband is your ex?” he hissed. “How old is he?”
“Thirty four. We got together the day I turned seventeen. He made us keep what we had a secret, telling me that no one would understand. He promised me that if I kept quiet, I could expect a ring on my finger and a future with him as soon as he made partner in his law firm. The day he made partner he proposed alright, but to my sister and not me. Apparently, he’d been fucking her the whole year and a half we were together. The sleazy fucker told me no one would believe me because I was only good for sex and not to be a lawyer’s wife and then he asked if I wanted to be his bit on the side.” I paused. “The last time Isaw him was at their wedding, he made some threats… it scared me. He scared me.”
For a moment, there was only silence, and then the sound of something breaking. “Fern, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine. You weren’t to know.”
“Let me fix it. I’m sending a car to pick you up. Call the boys and get them down here, but don’t mention anything about what we’re going to say to them. Although feel free to make them very aware of how pissed we are. I have an idea.”
“Am I going to like it?”
“Probably not, but it will get you out of your current sticky situation and reassure me that you’re safe in Scotland.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready in forty-five minutes. I need a shower and at least two more coffees before I’m ready for this.”
Neo chuckled, saying goodbye before he hung up.
I sighed, rolling my neck as I typed out a group message to Charlie, Fox, and Archer.
Me: Meet me at the label at 12.30. Don’t be late.
Archer: Charlie is unconscious. I don’t even think he’ll remember last night.
Me: Not my problem. Drag him there by the balls if you have to, but get him there. This isn’t good, boys.