Page 75 of Bound in Blood
On his way out the door, he caught Eleanor out of the corner of his eye. Eleanor, who’d always had a weird way of knowingeverything,even if nobody had ever told her.
“Boston,” she’d said as Marco opened the door. “Careful with the sun.”
“Thank you, Eleanor,” Marco replied. Fuck the sun. If he were reduced to a pile of ash in the pursuit of his brother, so be it. “Do you know where in Boston?”
“Not sure. Caught the name of a bar, maybe? Red Dragon, I think.” She blinked. “Hurry, your train will leave soon.”
What a weird woman. Marco wished he’d gotten to know her better. “Thank you again. Come visit us, okay?”
“We will. Not for a while.” She smiled, handing him an umbrella. “I’ll send your things when you get settled.”
With a quick nod and one last thank you, Marco was out the door.
To Boston.
To Mateo.
It didn’t take much time, really, to find the tavern Eleanor had spoken about. It was, apparently, quite a historical place in Boston’s history. He stepped inside, and the air was warm and smoky, packed with bodies. Humanseverywhere,the low hum of conversation buzzing around him, laughter punctuating the noise, the occasional clink of glasses. Some song Marco didn’t know played from the jukebox in the corner, but he barely heard it.
Because there, across the room, looking as miserable as ever.Mateo.
Marco was only about a day removed from the last time he was in the same room as his brother, but having his eyes on him now felt like instant relief. Like coming back inside after you’ve stood in the sun for hours.
Mateo was sitting next to Alexei, their heads dipped together in conversation, and Marco just… watched. Stared. His breath caught in his throat.
Marco inhaled sharply, steadying himself.
He looked the same. He lookeddifferent.
The anger, the weight of New York, his ever-present readiness for a fight… it was still there, but it was quieter. Worn down around the edges. Like a day removed from New York—from Marco—had started to smooth him out, just a little.
What if Jiro had been right? That Mateo could be happier here, without Marco? What did Marco do with that? If heapproached Mateo, and Mateo told him to go the fuck home. Where would Marco even go when his home had always beenMateo?
His feet moved before he was ready, guiding him through the thick press of bodies, moving through tourists and locals, brushing past warm skin and cool gazes.
Mateo hadn’t noticed him, but Alexei did.
His head lifted slightly, gaze flickering over Marco’s face with that same unreadable expression he always carried. He didn’t react or warn Mateo. Didn’t do anything, really, except tilt his chin slightly upward. A barely-there shift, before looking back down at his own drink.
That was as close to hello as Marco had ever gotten from Alexei. He’d never liked Marco as much as he had Mateo. Which, Marco figured, was fair. Marco got Jiro, Mateo got Alexei. Just in different ways.
Marco tightened his jaw and pressed forward. His steps felt heavier as he got closer, like gravity was pulling harder now that he was within reach. The press of people around him felt suffocating, but Marco didn’t care. His attention was focused on one thing.
One person.
Mateo shifted. Drug a hand through his hair. Let out a low, frustrated sigh before finally lifting his eyes—meeting Marco’s wide eyes with a glare.
He knew. Ofcoursehe knew Marco was here. He’d probably known the second Marco had stepped into the city. The same way Marco knew he was gone before anyone had told him.
“Where’s Jiro?” Mateo asked, hands clenching into fists on the table in front of him.
“You didn’t say goodbye,” Marco replied stupidly, his voice wavering as tears already threatened to spill.
Mateo scoffed, shaking his head as he leaned back in his seat. His jaw was set tight, shoulders squared, like he was bracing for a fight. “Yeah, so what?” Mateo growled. He was putting on a brave, angry face, but Marco could feel the underlying pain. Mateo was hurting, just like Marco was hurting. And it was Marco who was in the wrong here. Marco who needed to fix it.
“So I followed you,” Marco said. “To fix things or get closure, I’m not sure. That depends on you.”
Mateo rolled his eyes, “Right. You come all the way to Boston soIcan fix everything.Iget to apologize and make amends, yes? What do you?—”
