rub my eyes. “We were children, and you were a guy who wanted to kiss a lot. There was nothing you could do.”
“I know people,” he murmurs. “I know powerful people who could have made things happen for you. If only you’d been honest—” His voice catches. “We wouldn’t have lost all this time.”
“What would you have me tell you? Hi, my name is Cameron, but that’s actually my fourth identity in this lifetime. This is my big, extremely overprotective fighter of a brother. He’s this way because he has to be. Also, he’s wanted for the murder of another dude our age. That dude, while mildly douchey sometimes, was a nice guy, and his girl was expecting a baby. Now he’s dead, she’s dead, I’m not sure about the kid, but if Will-whose-name-isn’t-Will-at-all ever makes his identity known in public, he’s going away to prison for a long time. Oh, and hey, Uncle Oz, that’s a shiny gun you have there.”
“Oz is a good man,” Jamie frowns “He was doing his job as well as he could with the information he had. He thought we had a murderer in our gym, and where we’re from, family comes first every single time.”
“Funny,” I joke without a smile. “Family comes first for me too. That means dating a guy whose uncle is a cop won’t work out.”
“Yeah, in theory,” Jamie counters. “Except that uncle isn’t a robot, Q. He’s a man, just like me, with a brain in his head, and common sense floating around in there somewhere. If you’d just told me the truth, we could have talked to him.”
“So he could arrest Will faster?” I ask impatiently. “So he could lock my brother up for the rest of his life? Although, you don’t have to worry, because I doubt the rest of his life will last very long. I get the feeling that, whoever is doing this to us, they won’t allow Will to rot behind bars for long.”
“No,” Jamie answers softly. Patiently. “Oz would have provided Will a platform to speak, a room, privacy, the chance to say it all.” He stands slowly, menacingly, and stares straight into my eyes. “He would have listened, then before slapping those cuffs around Will’s wrists, he would have talked to his boss, his boss would have talked to his sort-of brother-in-law, who is the owner and operator of some shady shit, but before that, he was a federal agent. You said it yourself, Quinn… we’re not as different as you thought. My family is made up of good people, and they believe in the law. But not blindly. Not without using their own brains and judgment. Everyone knows that Ben and Livi’s mom – Oz’s wife – executed a man. Gun to the head, bullet through the brain. A cop’s wife did that! Everyone knows the Bishops have killed people. Everyone knows Oz and X run a tight patrol around town, but they do it fairly, and if someone makes a mistake, they’re allowed a moment to explain before those cuffs are slammed down, and the cell doors are locked. You say Will is innocent—”
“He is innocent,” I declare on a quiet growl. “He has been framed, and my job now is to find out who wants to hurt us.”
“You could have told me,” Jamie repeats. “I could have helped. And my network, my family, would have more reach than anything you and Will could manage while on the run.”
“Oh, like you’re some kind of powerful kingpin, huh? Like you think you know the underworld of drugs and death.”
“I know that when I woke yesterday, I had no membership to a titty club, but now I have ID, membership, and a personal invitation for a free fuck in a quiet room, an invitation from Evan McGrady himself.” Jamie leans onto the desk and lets his eyes burrow deep into mine. “What the fuck are you doing, Q? You’re a stripper? Really?”
I sit back in my chair again, fold my arms, and turn my face away. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
“Yes, you fuckin’ do! You’re better than that, Quinn. You want to teach people how to dance. Not sit on men’s laps. You want to choreograph, not stick glitter onto your nipples. I was in that place last night, and what those girls were doing on that stage has nothing to do with the kind of dance you did on Soph’s stage.”
“You were at Zeus’ last night?” My eyes come back