Brothersong (Green Creek 4)

The men at the counter turned away quickly.

Dominique came to the table. “The usual, boys?”

Gordo nodded. “Coffee too. A lot of it.”

“Can do.”

Gavin leaned over to me, dropping his voice to a low whisper. “Usual? Is that bacon?”

“Yes.”

He looked relieved as he turned back to Dominique. “Usual. Please.”

Dominique smiled at him. “So polite. I like that. Maybe teach the others some manners.” She rapped her knuckles against the table before turning around and heading back toward the kitchen, already shouting back at the cook in diner speak.

Gavin was fidgeting. He wouldn’t look up at me or at the others across from us. He was obviously uncomfortable, but he wasn’t trying to leave or take off his clothes to shift back. Small favors, and all that.

“So,” I said.

“So,” Gordo said.

“So,” Robbie said.

And that was it.

It was a little awkward.

Gordo knew it too. He cleared his throat, looking at his brother, then at me. “I heard from Aileen.”

Gavin stiffened.

“What did she say?” I asked. “Anything we need to be worried about?”

Gordo shook his head. “No. He’s… they haven’t seen him.” Gavin raised his head in alarm, but Gordo held up his hand. “He’s still there. He can’t get out. The wards are holding. They’re making sure of it.”

“It’s not going to last forever,” I said. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do. He got out once. He can do it again.”

“He had Michelle Hughes last time,” Gordo said, leaning back against the booth. “Though fuck if I know how that happened. It bugs the shit out of me that we didn’t see that coming. Or even consider it.”

“She lied,” Robbie said, voice flat. “It’s what she did. She lied about everything. She was good at it.”

Gordo stretched his arm over the back of the booth, fingers against Robbie’s shoulder. “Not your fault, kid. You couldn’t have known. They made sure of it.”

Robbie grimaced. “I know that. But she had everyone fooled. She got what was coming to her.”

“She can’t hurt anyone again.”

“He can,” Gavin muttered.

Gordo looked hesitant. I nodded at him. There was a reason we were here, and it wasn’t just to have lunch. He said, “Hey, Gavin.”

Gavin flinched, clutching my hand in his lap. “What.”

“You doing okay?”

“Yes. Doing okay.” He didn’t sound like it.

“Is there anything you need? Anything we can do for you?”