Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,156
chase after him. He sacrificed himself to save you. He didn’t know Gordo then. Not like he does now. But he knew you, even stuck as a wolf.”
“My shadow.”
“You’ve given more than anyone should have to. And you still gave more. It’s your turn, Carter. It’s your turn to finally be happy, to find something to hold on to in the middle of this storm. Gavin would do anything for you. I know you would do anything for him. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is. Don’t worry about all the other shit. It’ll work itself out. You’d be surprised how quickly you can adapt. Trust me on that. I had no idea how to go down on a woman, but I learned really fast. And I’m pretty great at it now, if the look on Dominique’s face is—”
“Jesus fucking Christ. Why are you like this?”
She laughed again, clutching my hand. “He’s lucky to have you.”
And as if it were some great secret, I whispered, “I think I’m the lucky one.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “You both are. All of us, really.” Then, “We’re going to win.”
“You think?”
She nodded. “I know. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it end after everything we’ve done. Fuck Robert Livingstone. Fuck the wolves who’ve gathered around him.” She grinned, razor-sharp. “We’re gonna make sure they regret every single moment of their miserable lives.”
GORDO TEXTED FIRST in the early afternoon.
Landed. We’ll let you know what we find.
Kelly texted a couple of hours later. In Maine. Made Robbie wear sunglasses on plane because his eyes wouldn’t stop glowing. Joe almost ate a flight attendant, but I stopped him. Love you.
“YOU’LL BE RIGHT HERE?” Gavin asked me, looking weirdly nervous.
I nodded. “Yeah, man. Right here. I’ll meet with Will and some others to let them know what’s going on. Go. They’re waiting for you. I’ll come over when I finish up.”
We stood in front of the diner in town. Across the street, Rico, Chris, and Tanner were heading toward the garage. They wanted to bring Gavin in to help him learn about what he’d be doing while working at Gordo’s. They’d made him wear his work shirt, promising him that he was going to get dirty. The idea had apparently appealed to him, as he’d run up the stairs to go change after making sure I’d be going too.
“Don’t go anywhere else,” he told me. “I will find you if you do.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s fucking creepy.”
“Not creepy. Truth.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else but shook his head instead. “Okay. You go to diner with Will. I go to garage.” He nodded, more to himself than anything. “I can do this.”
“You can,” I told him. “I know it.”
He scowled at me. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Not dying.”
And then he did the damndest thing.
He kissed me on the cheek.
Like it was the easiest thing in the world.
He turned on his heels and stalked across the street, leaving me to stare after him.
AND SINCE HE’D DONE THAT in front of the diner, everyone inside had seen it.
The diner that was packed with people.
The only sound I heard when I walked in was the bell over the door and Dominique laughing behind the counter.
I glared at her before turning it toward everyone else. “Is there a problem?”
“Question.” A man. One of Will’s friends. “Is everyone in the pack gay?”
“So what if they are?” I snapped.
The man shrugged. “I don’t give two shits either way. I just didn’t know if that was, like, a prerequisite for being a shape-shifter or whatever.”
“You’re just jealous no one wants on your junk, Grant,” Dominique said.
Grant sighed. “Ain’t that the truth.” He grinned at me. “Looks like our mayor found himself some mystical moon magic.”
I hated Jessie with every fiber of my being. “New law,” I announced. “No one is allowed to say mystical moon magic ever again. If they do, they will be executed publicly.”
“That’s not how laws work,” Will said. “And I don’t think we’ve had a public execution in Green Creek since… oh. Well. I suppose since Elijah. But she killed herself, so I don’t think that counts. Her hunters died, though. All over the place.”
The people in the diner crowded around me as I walked toward the booth Will sat in. They were eager to hear what was going on. This town was nuts. I hoped it would stay that way.