Page 133 of Love Thy Brother
He was, but I’d been party to the agreement to leave that shit on the beach, so I just shrugged. “He’s a lover not a fighter.”
“A wet fighter. How did you end up in the sea again?”
“Stopped for a wash.”
“Not Cam?”
“Didn’t need to.” My brother’s voice rumbled from behind me. “Never threw a punch. How fucked up is that?”
Embry leaned against the doorframe. “It’s not fucked up. You shouldn’t be out fighting anyway. It’s not your job.”
“You think I should’ve sent Mateo instead?”
“You should’ve sent me.”
Cam snorted. “Yeah. Okay. You and River. Cos that’s not a shitshow waiting to happen.”
“Meaning?”
“You’re both chaos goblins.” Cam lit a cigarette. “And don’t even fucking start. I meant what I said.”
“Bible.” Rubi reappeared in dry clothes. “Can’t deny you’re a loaded grenade, Em.”
Embry made an impatient sound and walked away with my clothes.
Rubi laughed. “Every time.”
I didn’t know Embry well enough to gauge how accurate Rubi’s description was. But if hewasanything like me...
All right. Sometimes Cam really did know best.
“It’s beer o’clock,” Rubi announced. “Come on.”
He tugged me into the bar. Decoy was serving. He put pints in front of Rubi and Cam without asking what they wanted, then turned his stoic gaze on me.
“Sorry, mate. I’ve never been around to see what you drink.”
“It’s me that’s never around. Can I have a bottle?”
Decoy nodded and swiped a cold bottle from the fridge. A rowdy brother shouted him from the end of the bar, but he waited for Cam to dismiss him before he moved on.
I arched a brow when he was gone. “You’ve got him well trained.”
“Nah.” Cam necked half his pint. “He’s just respectful without even trying. Best dude we’ve patched in years.”
“I like Folk... even if he is a Crow.”
Cam elbowed me. “Can that shit. He’s a King.”
I grinned to let Cam know I was joking and tuned him out as he and Rubi got into it about timber prices and profit margins. It was hypocritical as fuck that I’d have been more engaged if they talked about the messier side of club business. As it was, I was fucking bored and I let my gaze wander the bar, drinking my beer until it was gone and Decoy brought me another.
Rubi was close enough that our thighs touched. On my other side, was... a pregnant woman. Short dark hair, olive skin. And curious eyes I recognised from the roasting I’d got from her daughter earlier today. Her name was Juana. She’d spent a month in a flat with Rubi last year. Four weeks that I’d spent off my tits assuming he was out there muling fucking crack or some shit, when he’d been guarding Mateo’s family like they were his own.
If that didn’t sum up who we were, I didn’t know what did.
“I like your bracelet.” Juana eyed the plaited thread tied around my wrist. “I wasn’t sure they’d give it to you.”
“Liliana told me.”
