Page 57 of Nothing to No One

“Excusing him like that has caused this whole situation. You’re not doing him any favors,” she said. “You have to understand that doing it now with me, in the privacy of his own home, is one thing. If he’s allowed away with it once, predators escalate—

“Predators?” Magnus barked. “Where did that word come from? No. No. No. No. We’re not using that word. Don’t use that word.”

Why did she bother? What a waste of words. Yes, she was outraged and affronted, but what she was saying was true, and it would cover their ass too. But, no, Magnus didn’t see that she was actually doing him a favor by bringing it to him.

“What’s the situation with his sobriety?”

“Situation?”

“When we go out, he drinks.”

“He’s not an alcoholic.”

“You know he shouldn’t be drinking,” Struan backed her up, “it’s part of his recovery. One step leads to—”

“So what’s the guy supposed to do? Take out a double page ad declaring to the world he’s no longer capable of socializing?”

“It’s possible to socialize without consuming alcohol.” Okay, that came off a little bitchy. “If refraining from it helps him, I’m willing to do it too.”

She wasn’t a big drinker. Though the wine did take the edge off her irritation, she assumed. Perhaps it didn’t, perhaps alcohol inflamed her negative feelings. Going sober a few nights might cast Roman in a new light.

“If the booze causes shit like last night,” Struan said, “it’s trouble waiting to happen.”

“I’ll talk to him.” She sealed her lips and silently sighed. Everyone seemed to proclaim how ready they were to talk toRoman like it made the damnedest bit of difference. “There’s nothing on tonight. Everyone can relax, take a breather, reboot. Let’s just get through today.”

Another day on set. Providing no one pushed her in the direction of her bullshit beloved, she may just get through it.

“Are you ready to go, B?” Struan asked. “It’ll take me two minutes to mix this and there’s a car—”

“No,” Magnus interrupted. “I’ll take her, you travel with Roman.” Did that mean even their uncle, their guardian, didn’t want to spend time with Roman? “We can’t afford getting mixed up in any more sordid stories, so like I said, you two kill it, here, out there, everywhere.”

She got assaulted and still got a talking to the next day? Nice. Clutching the edge of the counter, she threw one leg up then the other, boosting herself onto her feet again.

Okay. She’d rather travel with Struan, but Magnus did have cause for suspicion. She conceded privately, like super privately, only in her own brain privately, that if she and Struan got into a car together, she couldn’t guarantee hands and mouths wouldn’t wander.

Struan approached like he intended to say goodbye, but Magnus hurried past him and shoveled an arm around her to rush them out into the car.

“How do you do it?”

They’d been on the road maybe five minutes. She’d been quite happy with the silent agreement to avoid discussion, although apparently that agreement only existed in her head.

“How do I do what?” she asked Magnus.

“Struan. I’ve never seen him with anyone else the way he is with you. Roman’s always been his priority and somehow you have Struan threatening to ruin him. His own blood.”

“I don’t do anything. All I heard was a man saying he’d do the right thing, any decent person would do the same.”

“They need each other. Struan gets strength from taking care of his brother, supporting him.”

“You don’t know what Struan needs. This has been his life for so long, sometimes I wonder if it’s just muscle memory. You’ve conditioned them both and orchestrated this life… Roman likes the attention, Struan doesn’t, he was the natural choice for stardom, I get that. Can’t you see you’ve wrapped everything Struan is up into his brother? It maybe works for a while, but Roman’s inherent volatility doesn’t make him the surest bet. You’re in this web too. Everyone’s livelihoods teeter on the thread of Roman’s mood. I know he went to rehab—”

“He did, and he worked hard.”

“That’s great. He deserves a second chance. If you believe in him I’m sure he’ll prove you right. I don’t have that same faith. I don’t know him well enough.”

And what she did know scared her a little.

“But you know Struan well enough?”

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