Page 118 of Love Thy Brother
How do they do it?
This life was mad. Between them, they’d taken bullets, gas, and more near-death escapes than I wanted to think about, and still they rode into battle together without coming apart at the seams like I was right now.
Fucking witchcraft.
Rational me knew it wasn’t so simple. That loving each other so hard had hurt my brothers as much as it had saved them. But I was beyond logic. We still didn’t know who the county lines crew had come for, and the mere thought of them pointing that car at River made my knuckles itch, even as something else simmered in my veins.
Fear.
Ominous, deep-rooted, and sickening.
I’d loved River for as long as I could remember. And I was so fucking scared of losing him.
21
RIVER
Eighteen months ago, I woke up to blinding pain in my head. It was the middle of the night. For some inexplicable reason, I was in my bed, tucked up like a good boy, not trashed and drifting somewhere else, and I came to screaming.
Except, I hadn’t been. And when I brought my hand to my head, the pain was gone. Nothing but a dream. A ghost. Aphantompipe to my skull when in reality it had been Rubi’s.
That’s how connected we were.
The chapel emptied out. Only Rubi and Embry remained, Rubi lost in thought, Embry prodding his phone.
I didn’t hesitate. I pushed away from the window and rounded the table. Rubi sat where Nash’s uncle once had—Seamus McGovern. Small dude with skinny legs and a big brain. He smoked a pipe, rode a Street 500, and didn’t give a single fuck.
Rubi was like that.
Except when it mattered and he put his whole heart on the line.
His chair had wheels.
I tugged it back from the table and wedged myself between his legs, bending to kiss him as if I could pull him from wherever his thoughts had taken him with the power of my lips alone.
He took a breath.
I took advantage, slipping my tongue into his velvet mouth.
He groaned.
Embry laughed. “Fuck. Now I owe Mateo a score.”
I drew back, letting Rubi bury his face in my chest while I cradled his head. “Lost a bet?”
“Yup.” Embry slid his chair from the table with a rueful grin. “He said you were definitely fucking. I thought maybe you hadn’t got there yet. Either way, I’m happy for you.”
“Fucking doesn’t mean happiness, bro.”
“Trust me, I know.”
Embry made for the door. As he passed, Rubi fished a twenty from his pocket and handed it over.
Still laughing, Embry left.
Rubi wound his arms around me and sighed into my weathered T-shirt. “He’s gonna tell Mats. Mats’ll tell Saint. Who the fuck knows what he’ll do with it, but it’ll get back to your brother eventually.”
“What will?”
