Page 98 of Five Brothers
“Why are you here?” I blurt out.
“I’ve been helping the football and basketball coaches.”
“They’re letting you around high school girls?”
He literally finished his senior year from home last spring, and while no formal charges were brought, everyone knew why.
But his smile spreads behind his closed lips. “Mmm.” He nods. “And nothing’s really changed with them, either.” He looks me up and down, because once upon a time I was that naïve, too. “Other than that, there are no Bay kids like last year,” he points out.
Liv Jaeger was the only Bay kid who ever went here.
“You know half the parents here have interests in seeing that shithole torn down,” Milo tells me. “They’re all wondering how the Jaegers are able to keep the developers off their backs.”
“Do they know?”
He grins. “They do now.”
What does that mean? I haven’t told anyone about the cameras at Fox Hill. Did they find some?
And then it hits me. Cate, Emaline, and Antoinette aren’t the only ones heading for the Bay tonight.
“It’ll be lockdown,” I remind him. “The cops will pull those little shits over even before they get across the tracks.”
The canals flood in a big storm. Curfew will be in effect.
“Those little shits,” he replies, “used to be your classmates. You think you’re a Jaeger now?”
If Macon has cameras on our turf, is it possible that Saints have cameras in the Bay? St. Carmen wants trouble there tonight. They’re coming over to cause trouble. On purpose.
“The local news should be entertaining tomorrow,” Milo says.
“Why are you warning me that there’s something going down tonight? You know I’ll tell them.”
He backs into the office. “The more the merrier.” And he shuts the door, heading into the men’s locker room.
Son of a bitch.
Whipping around, I dig out my phone, forgetting all about Coomer.
Clay picks up, but I’m already speaking before she has a chance to say hi.
“Is Liv in town?”
Clay takes a second, but then replies. “Just got in. Why?”
Fuck. I’d rather she wasn’t here for this, but it’s almost the holiday. Of course she was coming back.
“I need your help tonight,” I say. “And I need you both to trust me.”
12
Army
God, I don’t want to go home.
He’s there. He’s always fucking there, and he never leaves anymore. It’s like being in a room that’s on fire. You’re constantly aware of it. Never not aware of how much time you have until it reaches you.
I pull off my shirt, using it to wipe off the sweat on my back and forehead before tossing it into the cab of the truck. Clouds block out the sun, while the wind cools my skin.