Honestly, I didn’t think Toby would be down for torture, but that motherfucker really has helped him to embrace his inner monster, because he’s so fucking hungry for it. As he should be after the way Jonas treated both him, Maria, and Stella.
“No, he’s not. Your dad’s faked his death to give his other family closure. Apparently he ‘died’ before Christmas.”
I scrub my hand down my face and rub at my rough jaw. “Jesus fucking Christ. Why does he think that’s a good idea?”
“No clue. Toby is fucking pissed.”
“I can imagine. When is it happening?”
“Next week.”
I blow out a breath and fall back on the sofa, trying to imagine just how Toby is feeling right now.
That fucking cunt doesn’t deserve a funeral or for anyone to mourn his passing.
The only place he should be going right now is hell for what he put his real family through.
“I think your dad is just trying to make things easier for his other family.”
“Why the fuck are they his problem?”
Seb shrugs. “Fuck knows. They’re not, and maybe he’s trying to keep it that way.”
“I swear to God, if anyone other than Toby and Maria gets even a penny of that fucker’s money, I’ll have something to say about it. They deserve to bleed that cunt dry after what he put them through.”
“Bro, you won’t hear me arguing,” he says before taking a pull on his beer.
Silence descends around us, and it quickly turns uncomfortable as the elephant in the room becomes more and more obvious.
“Have you spoken to her?”
He shakes his head. “No, but Stella and Calli went over there after school. I’m sure I’ll get a full report soon.”
“I need to know what’s going on,” I confess. “If someone doesn’t find something out soon, I’m going to be shooting up fucking Lovell trying to find that cunt.”
“I’ll be right behind you, man. It’s something to do with Cora.”
A growl rips from my throat. Emmie might have told me over message last night, but hearing it hits harder somehow.
“That’s what Emmie told D when he found her yesterday.”
“Motherfucker. After everything that’s happened? She must have a fucking death wish if she’s been lying to all of us.”
D and Cruz were pretty tight-lipped about it all, but I’m pretty sure they know more than they’re letting on.
“Where the fuck is Ram in all of this?”
Seb shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine. From what I’ve heard from Mickey’s, he’s not been seen in a while.”
“You think he’s run?” I ask. I’ve heard the same gossip from the gym, and I’ve seen the same suspicion on his members’ faces.
“He’s got half the fucking club after him for what he did to Emmie. I wouldn’t be surprised. He has to know that we’re right behind him after the Joker stunt too.”
“This is all going to blow up around us, isn’t it?”
“Hey, it’s been a while since we’ve all had an all-out war.”
“And we could all fucking well do without one.”
Seb sits back, draining his beer and letting it rest on the cushion, probably knowing that the condensation is rolling down the side of the bottle and is about to leave a damp ring on the fabric.
Arsehole.
“I’m sorry about all that shit. About keeping her from you.”
His eyes find mine. He’s pissed, I can see that on every inch of him, but he also understands.
Hell, he’s the only one who comes close to having any idea how I feel right now.
“I know. I get it, T. I really do. You want to protect her. But you can’t always have it your way. I know that must be a tough pill to swallow.”
“You make me sound like a right entitled brat,” I scoff, and Seb’s brow lifts as if to say ‘yeah, and?’. “Fuck. That wasn’t what it was about. Well, not entirely.”
“We’ll be fine, man. Don’t sweat it. I just want to make sure all our girls are safe.”
“I wish she was still here.”
“So you could keep her to yourself.”
“So I can protect her. No one can get her here. Can we say the same about D’s house?” I ask, knowing for a fact that we can’t, because I’ve let myself into her room more times than I can count.
“You trying to tell me you’ve not got tabs on that place?” Seb asks with a knowing smirk playing on his lips.
Mine part to respond, to lie, but I quickly swallow down the words.
“You’re so fucking predictable at times, bro. She got any idea you watch her?”
“Of fucking course not. You think I’d still be able to if she knew?”
“She’s going to flip her lid when she finds out.”
“You gonna tell her?”
He pauses for a moment, thinking over his options.
“No. I want her safe. And you need to take a fucking chill pill, so if you get your rocks off watching her then I guess we’re all winning.”
“Maybe I should allow her the same privilege so she can see me getting my rocks off.”
“Bro, I don’t want to know about your kinky shit with my cousin.”
“Because I was just begging to know all yours with Stella?” I ask incredulously.
“You loved that shit and you know it. I saw how many tubs of Vaseline you got through after she moved in.”
“Fuck you, man,” I spit out, but whatever Seb’s comeback was going to be is cut off when my tablet lights up on the table with an alert from my app telling me that the camera has been activated. “I guess that’s the girls. I wonder how much they talk about us when we’re not there,” I say, partly as a joke. Although, I can’t deny that I’m pretty damn curious.
Seb stares at the screen as if he’s actually considering it.
“Bro, I’m joking. I don’t invade her privacy that badly. I just like to watch her get herself off before she goes to sleep.”
“You’re fucked up,” Seb barks out, standing from the sofa and marching toward the kitchen for another beer.
“Takes one to know one,” I call out. “Order food while you’re up.”
“So you can rub one out while you hog the girls? No fucking chance.”
“I’m not watching. Look.” I wait for him to turn around before I make a show of turning my tablet off.
I can reactivate my stalker mode later.
Alex miraculously shows his face ten minutes before the pizzas arrive, and he demolishes almost half of what Seb ordered, much to his irritation.
“You guys ready for the weekend?”
“The weekend?” I ask.
“Jesus Christ, man. Get your head out of your fucking arse.”
“Or Emmie’s pussy,” Seb scoffs.
“Chance would be a fine thing,” I mutter.
“Ugh, you two have had too much action,” Alex mutters.
“Us two?” I ask. “We all know it’s this motherfucker that has so much sex he should be worried about wearing it out.”
“Never gonna happen, man. My girl takes too good care of it.”