Page 8 of Psycho
“You won’t do that,” August said, that wolfish smile returning.
Lucas shifted from one foot to the other. “And why’s that?”
August leaned in close enough for his breath to fan over Lucas’s ear, his voice a low rumble as he murmured, “Because we both know nobody would believe you.”
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Lucas to stare after him with his card practically burning his fingers.
Shit.
“Are you really not going to see Dad before you go?” Adam asked.
The question wasn’t directed at August but at their other brother, Aiden, who sat across from him. It was a breezy day, so they were gathered at a table at the far end of the patio, one far from the prying ears of neighboring tables. Lunch with the Mulvaney boys was always a lively affair, even when only four of them were present, like today, and the topic of conversation was rarely palatable for public consumption.
Aiden was rarely in town. In fact, this was his younger brother’s first trip home in years. He stayed in touch with them via text or email, but nothing more, not even a phone call. Nobody knew why. Well, one other person knew why, but he wasn’t talking either. So, they’d staged an intervention before his flight.
Aiden gave Adam, the youngest, an irritated look. “He’s your dad, not mine.”
August just didn’t understand the venom directed at their father. He wanted to know more, to poke at Aiden with something sharp and pointy until he spilled his secrets. Instead, he took a sip of his fizzy water. “Funny how you don’t say that about us, your brothers. Only Dad.”
Atticus, the eldest, threaded a hand through his ginger hair before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Yes, excellent point. Why have you disowned Dad, but not us?”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “This is why I don’t come back here. You guys are so dramatic. I didn’t disown anybody. He was never my father. I was almost seventeen when he ‘adopted’ me,” he said, using air quotes around the wordadoptedas if that was somehow untrue. “I just never viewed him as a father, and he never saw me as his son.”
“Bullshit,” Adam said, reaching for his sugar laden soda, downing half of it in one go.
August couldn’t help but note the girls who gazed at his brother, a former model. He was gay and taken, but that never stopped them. If anything, when he was out with Noah, it only made things worse. Somehow, it never bothered Adam. Maybe it was because he was the baby and used to all the attention.
August took in the black nail polish on Adam’s short, blunt nails. It was chipped in several places, but it seemed as if even that was a deliberate fashion choice. His black hair parted in the middle, flopping into his husky blue eyes. He wore ripped jeans and a faded designer t-shirt that probably cost a thousand dollars, even though it looked as if he’d pulled it straight from the garbage. Adam made laziness chic.
August turned his attention back to Aiden. “No, there’s something more to it. We’ll figure it out eventually, so why not just tell us?”
Aiden pushed his plate away, glowering at the two of them. “Because there’s nothing to tell. You’re literally making something out of nothing. How did six psychopaths become such gossips? There’s no tea here.”
Aiden didn’t look well. His reddish brown hair now fell to his shoulders with his face half-covered by an unkempt beard. As always, there was a hardness to him, like the world never stopped letting him down, even though their father, Thomas, never denied him anything. Even if Aiden refused to acknowledge it.
“Your words say one thing, but your body language screams that you’re lying,” Adam said, looking Aiden up and down. “You can’t lie to us.”
The muscle in Aiden’s jaw began to tic. “Is this why you asked me to lunch? To grill me about why I don’t get along with your dad?”
Atticus snapped his fingers. “See, that. That right there.Ourdad. What the fuck, man? Even after all these years, you still have a chip on your shoulder about something. Can’t the two of you just work it out?”
Aiden took a sip of his scotch. “We have worked it out. I live on the other side of the country, he gives me assignments and pays me for my time. You’re the only ones who seem so pressed about it.”
“Because Dad hasn’t been the same since you left. It’s like he’s just…sad. You could have at least gone to see him while you were here. Said hello or something,” Atticus chided, his tone chock full of eldest child superiority.
Aiden forced his chair back with a loud scrape of iron over concrete, drawing the attention of the other patrons. “This has been fun, guys. Let’s not do it again.”
“Sit. Down,” Atticus said, tapping a finger onto the table with each word.
Aiden flicked him off. “You’re not the boss of me.”
Atticus opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, while Adam snickered. It was clear Aiden had no intention of staying.
August did the only thing he could to keep them all there. “I think somebody knows about me.”
His bickering brothers all turned to look at him at once.
“Knows?” Adam echoed. “Like,knowsknows?”
