Page 176 of Burn Bright
Eliot downs a strong sip. “She’s loyal.” He motions to me with the glass. “Commendable. Blink twice if Ben is penniless. We won’t tell.”
Holy shit, the urge to actually blink overpowers me, and I do blink. Twice.
Eliot holds out a hand to Charlie. “He’s broke.”
Charlie sighs, then glares up at the ceiling.
Regret assaults my insides. I am literally the worst friend. I couldn’t even stop myself fromblinking.
Are you serious, Harriet?I throw the dishtowel at the taps.
“This isn’t a betrayal,” Eliot says deeply. “Look at me.”
I barely lift my burning gaze.
“He needs us. He needs you.”
I frown. “What do you think is going on?”
“He’s moved his money somewhere. A trust. Land,” Charlie theorizes. “Or he was scammed out of a large sum of cash. He’s being blackmailed?—”
“What?” I bristle.
“It’s my number one theory,” Eliot chimes in. “He’s paying off some bastard.”
Is that why he needs to leave New York before the end of the year? Is Ben being threatened? At times, he acts like hehasto go. Like it’s a necessity. Against his will…? “What if he is in trouble?” I ask them.
“That’s why we’re here,” Eliot says, then points at me. “That’s why you’re here. Eyes and ears.” He motions to those organs with two fingers.
Charlie rolls his eyes at the dramatics, then tells me, “Ask Ben if he is. He’s clearly been more forthcoming with you.”
I’m not a fan of prodding Ben. I don’t like how it makes me feel. I hate how it makes him feel even more.
“Heeeeey.” Beefy Dude is back with an empty pint. No friends at his side. “My girl.”
I clutch my biceps.
Eliot extends an arm out across the bar, obstructing this dickhead from being able to careen over and reach me. “She’sactually my brother’s girl.”He considers me Ben’s girl???I can’t even fully process, not while nerves accelerate my pulse. At six-four, Eliot towers over the dickhead. “You’re going to want to back up.”
Charlie is relaxed against the bar, barely moving a muscle, acting like a confrontation isn’t beside him. He sips his Glenfiddich.
Beefy Dude laughs, only eyeing me. Trying to unsettle me. It’s just frustrating me. Maybe Ben was right. This outcome was a high possibility. It wouldn’t have been if we’d just kicked him out in the first place.
My scowl even pains my face. “You want a beer? Fine, but I’m not getting you any liquor. And if your friends want something else, they can come up and get it.”
He coughs out a hostile sound. “You fuckin’ tiny little bitch.” Out of nowhere, he spits at my face—but Eliot blocks me and takes the loogie to the chest. Then he sucker-punches the dickhead. It’s the hardest hit I’ve ever heard in person. His eyes roll back, body slackens, and he’s out. Just a sack of flesh and bones on the floorboards.
“‘If you wrong us, shall we not revenge,’” Eliot spits on him.
The bar erupts.
Beefy Dude’s friends rush forward. The Cobalts’ bodyguards deescalate. Charlie is just watching me while he casually drinks whiskey.
I’m pinned to the shelf of liquor. Fighting the extreme instinct to flee the skirmish. To block out the commotion, I end up making myself even smaller, sliding to the floor and hugging my knees. The noise is loud. Violent.
“Harriet?”
I flinch, my spine digging into the cabinet.
