Page 48 of Shameless

As the meeting comes to an end, we get encouraged to call should we have any questions and we leave with the promise that everything will happen very quickly once the police investigation is completed.

“Hey James,” I call out to Crew, who’s parked in the spot right next to mine. “Are you going to take your mutt back?” I nod down to Napoleon, who must have found the meeting boring and fell asleep in my arms. He’s been sleeping with his head in the crook of my elbow this entire time, not waking even when we walked out of the law firm offices into the warm summer evening.

He comes to take his dog back and I deposit Naps into Crew’s arms being extremely careful not to wake him.

A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. This reminds me of the zillion times I pulled a sleeping Jenna out of her car seat after a day out. Whoever said that having a dog isn’t extremely similar to having a kid is an idiot.

“Thanks,” Crew mutters, obviously annoyed that Napoleon and I are becoming friends. “Don’t look so smug that Naps isn’t trying to maul you anymore. Anyone can buy a dog’s loyalty with treats.”

I don’t know if he really believes that, but I chuckle to piss him off. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, Crew. Your dog has better taste than you when it comes to people obviously.”

He looks ready to punch me in the face, which makes the whole situation more amusing. “Only an asshole would befriend my dog just to annoy me.”

He’s right. “Hey give Napoleon some credit,” I smirk. “He’s really grown on me. It’s you who gets more annoying with every passing day.”

My verbal barb hits the intended target. “You’re such a dipshit.” Crew snarls.

“Takes one to know one,” I chide him the same way I used to chide Stefan when we were kids. Who says that being a father means you have to lose your playful side?

Crew flips me off and that doesn’t surprise me.

What I didn’t expect is Stefan taking Crew’s side.

“Don’t you think we have enough fucking problems without this constant feud between you two?”

Ok maybe he doesn’t exactly take his side, but he doesn’t take mine either.

“What’s crawled up your ass?” I provoke my little brother.

Stefan

Dealing with these two is getting tiring, especially when I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders.

“We need to talk,” I say to both of them.

“Then talk.” Jules shrugs, his tone annoyed.

I bet he’s mad because I didn’t take his side just now. It’s sad to think that Jules and I grew up together but I feel much closer to Crew.

My half-brother and I have the experience of living in Jules’s shadow in common and of course our feelings for Lula.

Maybe that last part is something Jules could relate to, if he got his head out of his own ass long enough to care about anyone other than himself.

I feel immediately guilty for that last thought. Jules might be an insufferable asshole most of the time, but I know he cares about his daughter more than anything in the world; and I would be unfair if I didn’t recognize the fact that he has been there for me a lot more than the average big brother after Eddie skipped town ten years ago.

He did what a pre-teen and teen could, but he had my back whenever it mattered.

This isn’t the time for them to squabble though. We have bigger fish to fry.

“There are some developments you might not know.” I say, looking around to make sure that there isn’t anyone listening. Iknow it’s stupid, we’re in Shell Cove, no one even knows us here. After the last two days however, I can’t help but feel paranoid.

“Get in the car,” I open Mom’s Lexus SUV and climb in the driver’s seat. “Guys, today please.” I bark when they both go for shotgun and scowl at each other rather than getting their asses in the vehicle.

When finally Jules is in the passenger seat and Crew in the back, I scoot sideways so I can look at the both of them.

“There are two situations that you should be aware of. I don’t know what kind of connection there is between the two, but we need to be extremely careful for all of our sakes.”

I explain what transpired this morning on the beach when I bumped into Lula and Mason.

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