Page 145 of Cohesion

Riley went to step forward and stopped, dropping his hand where he’d lifted it.

“You can touch him,” Quinn said quietly. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells and act like I’m going to jump out at you from the shadows every time you move.”

“I’m being respectful,” Riley said. “I would prefer we not repeat the past. For both your sakes. And my brother’s.”

“You lied to me about still being in contact with Sebastian all these years, andnowyou want to be respectful?”

“I never lied to you. That would require you to askme about it.”

Quinn rubbed his beard. “Omission is still lying, Riley. You know better than that.” He dropped his hands and shrugged helplessly. Sebastian wanted to reach for him. “Look, I don’t—I’m not the same person I was back then. I know myself better, Itrustmyselfbetter. I fucked up, and I said things that are unforgiveable to you both. You and I maintained our friendship despite everything that happened, and I can’t be mad or upset that the two of you did too. I know nothing happened. And I don’t for a second believe that anything would happen now. So can we please just—try to navigate this together?”

Riley nodded slightly. “Thank you. I don’t have designs on your man. I can barely stand him.”

“Hey, fuck off.”

Quinn burst out laughing. It was a beautiful sound, and Sebastian’s heart seized up. If he’d died in that place, he would never have heard it again.

He pulled Quinn into his arms, holding him tightly. “You, Will, Jericho, and Peyton are it for me,” Sebastian said, cupping Quinn’s cheeks. “I’m not interested in Riley’s ugly mug. Then, or now. No matter what weird position you find us in.”

“How fortuitous for me, considering you’re sleeping with my brother. I’m not touching the Jericho part of that equation. I think you’re all making a mistake.”

“You don’t know him like we do,” was all Sebastian said. Quinn smiled warmly at him and kissed him softly.

“Another fortuitous statement,” Riley drawled. “I would counter that with, ‘You don’t know him likeIdo.’”

“We know him enough to love him. Everyone has negatives,” Quinn said. “Even you.”

Riley almost smiled, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Sit down, I need to speak to you both.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Sebastian said, dropping into the chair. Too hard. He winced as a tiny jolt of pain ran up hisspine. Maybe he needed another bath. It wouldn’t take much to convince everyone to get in with him again. He was turning into a bath person, and he was okay with that.

“We’re keeping both Mulhall and Sweeney separated in prison, and watching their communications, both inside and out, very carefully. If they so much as speak to someone they shouldn’t, we’ll know about it.”

“How? They managed to get people in there killed,” Quinn said. “What guarantee do you have that they can’t do it again?”

“We have someone on the inside that’s helping us.”

“Not Rohan,” Sebastian said, leaning forward. “No fucking way. He is not someone you can barter with. He won’t survive that.”

“No one is going to hurt him.”

“I’m not talking about his physical state.” Rohan wasn’t built for prison. He might have had a few misdemeanours and done stupid shit as a kid, but he was a good person with a big heart that had been thrust into the darkness of the world with zero preparation. Prison was changing him, and the longer that Sebastian took to get him out, the more of the real Rohan would be lost under the cement he was using to build a wall around himself. He talked a lot of shit and acted like he was a big fish in a small pond, but the truth was that he never should have been there. He wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t even a particularly strong-willed person. It was breaking him, bit by bit, until there’d be nothing left.

If Riley was getting him to watch people in prison, Sebastian would use everything at his disposal to stop it. He drew the line at using innocents to do their dirty work.

“Oh,fuck,” Quinn said, blanching. “Rohan.”

Sebastian frowned. “What?”

“We—we talked to him. He helped us find you. I need to contact him.Youneed to contact him.”

They’d spoken to Rohan? “Is he okay?”

“He was worried about you, but he himself is fine. We just need to speak to him and let him know that you’re okay. He must be beside himself.”

“I’ve already spoken to him,” Riley interjected. “I made an appointment for you to visit him, in two days’ time, Seb. You needed to recover first. He doesn’t need to see you like this, and you don’t need him to. Whether you think it or not, you’ve been through quite an ordeal. That doesn’t go away overnight. Even when the bruises are healed, not everything will be. I highly recommend that you also see someone. Talk to them and let them help you deal with it.”

“I don’t need—”

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