Page 173 of The Long Way Home

Pushes her through the crowd, pauses in front of me.

“Heading to the bar upstairs—” Nods his head at me. “You coming?”

He leads her by the hand upstairs, then over to a lift that goes up to the private rooftop.

We all pile in. Me, Parks, Jo, Henry and Taura, Christian, Julian, Daisy Haites and her cop boyfriend, and then Jordan.

Julian’s got my girl pinned in the corner of the lift — I should clarify — not my actual girlfriend. Just the girl I love.

He’s whispering things in her ear and she’s staring over at me with eyes that tell me she’s pretty fucked, and when the doors open, I can’t get out of there fast enough.

Jonah reaches over the counter, shakes the hand of bartender behind it.

Never cared that he and Julian were close til thirty minutes ago.

Now I’m fucking pissed.

Walk up behind Jo, pull him aside, say through gritted teeth, “You said she wasn’t in danger.”

He gives me a look. “She’s not.”

“He’s a gang lord,” I tell him and Jonah gives me this look.

Raises his eyebrows a bit. “And?”

“And he’s a gang lord.”

“I’m a gang lord.” Jonah shrugs.

“Thought you didn’t like that term?”

Jonah rolls his eyes, nods his chin at me then. “What’s wrong with gang lords, then, ey?”

I shake my head at him. “He’s not like you.”

“How’s that now?”

I roll my eyes and tip my head in their direction — Julian’s mega so fucking north of her knee I want to jump off the balcony. “So, you’re fine with that—”

“Beej.” He gives me a pointed look. “You fucked someone else! You didn’t have to! You could have called her — told her it was a big deal—”

“It wasn’t a big fucking deal, Jo! It was me and the love of my life—” Jonah interrupts me with a look that tells me to speak quieter. “It was me and her. Which is a massive deal in and of itself, and it being a massive deal is why us sleeping together wasn’t a big deal to me.”

“I get it, bro.” He nods. “I understand what you’re saying. Would have backed you, actually—” He shrugs. “But then you slept with Jordan. Kind of took the wind out of your own point.”

I roll my eyes. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“So be her boyfriend, then,” he says over it all. He nods his chin at Parks. “And fucking leave her alone.”

Then he walks past me, goes and sits down with them.

Leave her alone? Never. I won’t ever leave her alone. Especially when she’s fucking about with Julian Haites — of all the people she could — fuck.

I know that how I feel seeing her with him is indicative that I should end it with Jordan, I know that. But I won’t do it anyway. It might be the bigger thing to do, could be a short-cut home for us — but we love a detour, me and Parks. And she just swerved us right off the fucking road.

I look around for Jordan. She’s over at the bar talking to a celebrity DJ. Flirting with him, I can tell. I don’t even care, it’s not a thought in my mind. All I’m thinking about is the only thing I’ve ever truly given a fuck about and how she’s cuddling up in to the arms of the most notorious man I’ve ever met.

“What’re you doing all the way over there, Ballentine?” Julian calls, pulling Parks up onto his lap to give me space to sit down.