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She swatted my shoulder with a snort. “Just tell him his favorite niece says hey.”

Dinner rolled on as Tara and her mother laughed at inside jokes and made plans for the weekend, the tension easing as we inhaled the casserole.

I tried to pay attention.

I tried to hang on to every word that echoed around the table.

But all I heard was the Oasis CD playing on loop, one floor above us.

CHAPTER 12

The bar was smoky, smelling like rich, aged whiskey and a fusion of various perfumes and colognes. My eyes scanned the dimly lit space that was jampacked with people as I searched for a familiar tousle of black hair and broad shoulders.

When I spotted him in a corner booth, sipping on a short glass of amber liquid over ice, I swerved through a group of laughing coeds and made my way over to my brother.

His eyes flicked up mid-sip, and he faltered before the glass touched his lips. A wide smile spread, full of familiarity and mischief. “Reed,” he greeted, leaning back in the booth. “Long time no see, big brother.”

My smile wasn’t as bright, but I was glad to see him. “Hey.” I slipped into the seat across from him. “You look good.”

“Two whole days sober.” He grinned, holding up the glass.

“A shining achievement.”

“How’s hero life?”

Radley slid a second beverage across the table, filled with a pale lager. Staring into the froth, I curled a hand around the sweating glass.

I didn’t consider myself a hero.

I had a job, and I did that job well. In my world, the real heroes were the people I encountered every day—the survivors. The ones battling and overcoming the worst that life had thrown at them.

“The job is good. Keeps me busy and fulfilled.”

Radley stretched his trademark smile, the one that always made his eyes sparkle jade and jovial. “I’m proud of you, you know. But not surprised.” He skimmed the pad of his thumb across the dark stubble dotting his upper lip. “That was always your way. Making big moves, changing lives.”

“I’m no saint.” I took a sip of beer. “Not even close.”

“Compared to me, you’re the halo-wearing offspring of Mother Teresa.”

“Not exactly difficult.”

He barked a laugh. “Yeah. Guess I made a wrong turn somewhere and went straight to Hell.” Palming his whiskey glass, he twirled it around and lowered his eyes. “You seeing anybody?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Happily single.”

“Just doing the fuck-and-run, then? Jay’s older brother told me you were spotted getting cozy with a blonde in his bedroom not long ago. Said she was hot as hell and had legs for days.”

Christ.

That was the absolute last thing I wanted going around the rumor mill.

Goddamn small towns.

Closing my eyes, I rubbed a hand over my mouth and sighed. “She was seventeen. Jay and his brother are idiots.”

He shrugged like it was nothing. “This is a judgment-free zone. Age of consent is seventeen,” Radley said, sipping his liquor before chuckling through a swallow. “Good ol’ Illinois. You can’t buy fireworks, but you can fuck a seventeen year old.”

My eyes pinged back open and I shot him a hard glare. “Your niece is seventeen. Say that again.”

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