Page 140 of Love Thy Brother
He gave me a watery smile. “Me too. Who was on the phone?”
“The accountant.”
River nodded, knowing club code as well as I did. “He has something?”
“Sounded like he had everything. You wanna go see?”
River rubbed more dirt between his fingers. “I thought I would, but I’ve never been as angry about this as I should’ve been. I know what has to be done, but I can’t make myself fucking move.”
I leaned closer, wrapping my arm around him. “Tell me what you need. I’ll make it happen.”
River laughed again. “I need the one thing I keep telling you I don’t want.”
I tucked his hair behind his ears, one side, then the other. “What is it? I’ll do anything.”
“Boo, I need you to go with Cam and make it right for me. Because I can’t do it, and I can’t make myself be the person who can.”
* * *
He didn’t have to ask me twice.
I kissed him. Then I exchanged yet another meaningful glance with Locke, dumped my phone, and left.
My bike was with the others. Cam’s was already gone. Nash’s too.
Saint waited for me. “I’ll fix whatever you break, but listen to Alexei first.”
As rare as it was for Saint to give me a direct instruction, I ignored him. I swung a leg over my hog and shoved my helmet on.
He got the memo and did the same, and we roared out of Porth Luck together, leaving River with Locke and Mateo watching his back.
The coastal road was the same we’d walked the night that car had tossed us into the sea. The angry waves crashed in my ears as loud as my fury raged, but it wasn’t real, and I was too focused on my end goal—to endthis—to let the phantom racket derail me.
We rode on, out of town and back towards home and the rugged countryside we knew so well.
A remote and derelict farm lay in the distance. Broken gates and abandoned barns. No dwellings in sight for miles around. It was familiar to me for all the wrong reasons. Nostalgic violence, yo.
I let Saint pass me and followed him to the northern edge of the property. The Transporter van that had parked outside River’s garage for longer than any of us truly knew was blocked in by three bikes—two Harleys and a Triumph Tiger.
Embry.
Alexei’s Ninja was further out, cloaked in shadow, but I clocked it. Followed Saint’s lead and parked close.
Alexei appeared the moment I tugged my helmet off. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was wearing a T-shirt that had once been mine. Mallory Knox. I’d shrunk it in the wash on purpose so River could wear it, but I’d never got around to giving it to him.
Couldn’t lie, it looked good on Alexei, but it would’ve looked better on my bedroom floor.
“Old one,” Alexei greeted me. “You are calm, yes? We do not have much time for this.”
I was a long way from calm, but for Alexei, I made an effort to school my features. To unclench my fists and stop channelling Rip Wheeler, for all the good it did me. Faced with Alexei and Saint, I had no fucking chance.
“I’m trying,” I hedged. “That’s all I have. Saint says you have a plan.”
Alexei brushed imaginary dirt from his jacket. “Is a theory more than anything, and I know you like those.”
“Do you?”
He leered. “Do not be obtuse, Rubi. If you cannot behave, you will have to wait outside.”
