Page 52 of Shameless

I hate to admit it, but Stefan is right.

“Fuck,” I mutter. “That’s true. Last night I walked into her room just as she was about to spiral back into using. It was the last of her stash and I took it from her. But with Morelli in town, she knows where to get more and that fucker will take advantage of it.”

This time Cutler doesn’t argue. “So what do you propose we do?”

“We need to protect her from both Evan and Mason. Until they’re dealt with, we need to put our differences aside and work together.”

Jules looks even less excited than I feel at the idea. “I don’t know if I can do that. We’re too different.”

“I’m afraid Stefan is right and we have no choice. Unless you’re saying that you aren’t prepared to put your selfish desires aside for the woman you love.”

He looks so vexed, it’s almost funny. “I hate it when you’re right, James. But I guess we’ll have to find a way to coexist at least for now.”

Stefan rubs his hands together, clearly excited. “With the three of us working together, we’ll be able to keep Lula safe. Take it as a practice run, if we’re to run Star Thunders together.”

Jules’s tone is resigned. “Fine. Without Star Thunders, we’re all fucked anyway. But what are we gonna do about Morelli?”

“I have a crazy idea, but it could work.” Stefan says.

I bark out a laugh, since last time I went along with one of Stefan’s ideas, I ended up in a hot threesome. “I don’t know if I should be worried or excited, Stef. Let’s hear it.”

Stefan’s grin widens. “Let’s go to the sheriff and tell him everything we found out about Eddie and Star Thunders.”

I open my mouth to question his sanity, but Jules beats me to it.

“Have you lost your fucking mind? Why would you do that? I thought you agreed that we need to keep the company going and work together?”

Stefan rolls his eyes. “Duh. That’s exactly the point. You said it yourself that there’s no way to walk out from a deal with the mafia unless it’s in concrete boots. What if we do what any law abiding citizen should do and go to the police? We can tell the sheriff what we learned and how we want to take over Star Thunders but we want to be above board. It’s perfect timing because we aren’t involved with whatever Eddie and Trevor weredoing. Besides, if we offer our full cooperation, we can make sure the company gets out unscathed. Maybe we could even try to make a deal that if we let the sheriff look at Eddie’s personal finances without needing a warrant, we could get to keep all of his assets even if they end up being fishy.”

Jules immediately disagrees. “That’s too risky. We all need that money. What makes you think that the sheriff will accept your ridiculous offer? Eddie is dead and I’m pretty sure the police have already applied for a warrant as part of the murder investigation.”

Not for the first time today, I hate it when Cutler is right.

But Stefan has given his idea some serious thought. “True. But whoever has been taking care of Eddie’s books, must have been good at their job. Remember Mom looked into Star Thunders for us before we signed our contracts and it all looked squeaky clean? The police might have the same problem, but if we tell them what we know, they might know what to look for.”

That isn’t totally crazy. “That could work.”

Stefan is emboldened by my backing. “It will work. Think about it, if we have any chance to catch Morelli, it’s now that he’s taking over from someone else and he might not know the ins and outs of Trevor and Eddie’s operation. Besides, Eddie and Trevor are dead and full access to Eddie’s secrets might help Sheriff Pullin with the investigation.”

The more he talks about it, the more I think this could work. “That’s true. The sheriff might be grateful for our help and cut us that deal.” I nod.

Jules is finally on board. “I guess we could talk to him in private. Luckily he’s a friend of the family, so he’d never play dirty withus. He and Mom went to school together and Pullin senior and Grandpa went way back.”

I would usually hate this kind of entitled talk, it was one of the things that made me hate Jules Cutler from the second we met. For the first time in my life though, we’re on the same side and his connections are working for my benefit too. I guess our moms aren’t totally wrong when they say that we’re family, whether we like it or not.

“I’m in.” I say.

Jules claps Stefan’s shoulder. “Me too. Well done, dude. I wouldn’t have thought about that.”

The smile on Stefan’s face, the way he preens under his older brother’s praise tells me that he doesn’t hate Jules the way he wants the world to believe.

I only got a taste of having to live in the shadow of Jules’s popularity and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Stefan. When everything is said and done though, he wants his big brother’s respect and approval like everyone else in this goddamn town.

“Ok,” I say, my hand on the car door handle. “Do we want to drive to the police station now?”

I guess the harmony between the three of us was just temporary, because Jules disagrees. “No. That’s too official. We need to play this right. We should call him and ask him if he could meet with us at the house. Talking to him in private is better in case our offer needs any tweaks before it’s acceptable.”

Right. I hadn’t thought about that, I’m not used to the level of privilege and nepotism people like Jules take for granted.

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