DUNDEE // John Shelby

Chapter Nine

I've been laying here in John's arms, staring at the ceiling. I wasn't crying, I was just mad. How fucking dare Andrew come here and call the family I'm staying with bastards.

I got up and slid the white button up over my shoulders, and walked out to the kitchen. Polly kept the light dimmed, so I had enough light to have a glass of water and sit down and think. It's what I do best.

Matthew and I were thicker than Thieves when we were younger. It was one brain and two bodies. We always used to go hunting by ourselves for Alligators or some bizarre animal when we were younger. Now he's gone, and all that left are memories. He died so young. His sixteenth birthday would've been a month ago.

I could go find the French gang and start a vendetta with them, but that would cause so many problems. As Matt said, he did this to himself and told me not to grieve over him. I'm not grieving, I'm just thinking.

I lit a cigarette and inhaled the smoke. It calmed me. Even though I would smell like an ashtray now, it's better than being uncomfortable in bed. Hell, the last time I even slept well was the night I was sharing the bed with him. He's such an asshole.

I brought my knees up to my chest and looked at the handwritten note he wrote me. I was the one who taught him how to write. I was the one who taught them the meaning of the words on the paper.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" I looked over the west entryway to the kitchen, seeing Thomas there with a shirt and lounge pants on. He had a cigarette in his mouth also.

"Too much on my mind." I told him, looking back to the note. "Why are you up?"

"I haven't slept well since the war, Toni." He took a seat at the head of the table, two seats away from me. I hummed in response to his statement.

It was a nice silence. Tommy and I didn't exactly like each other, but we respect each other. We knew we would have each other's backs even if we wanted to kill each other.

"What was he like?" He asked out of nowhere. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "Your brother."

I shrugged. "He reminds me of Arthur a lot. Like an Italian Arthur, just a lot more laughing." I folded the paper with my right hand, then unfolded it.

"You said you were Australian." He looked over to me, I nodded.

"My Father was an Italian who grew up in Australia. My mother is from Columbia. I didn't grow up with either of them." I fumbled with the cross in the box, the one my brother wore.

"John told us about you. Said you hung around a scientist a lot." That made me laugh.

"John has a big mouth." I mumbled, exhaling the cigarette without taking it from my mouth.

"You know he fucking adores you," Tommy told me. I rolled my eyes. He's a liar. "Don't fucking roll your eyes at that, Toni. Don't roll your eyes about someone who loves you."

I didn't say anything in response. I didn't even think about his words. All I thought about was the night I came back from Billy Kimber's place and saw him in the bar. He knew. He knew and he couldn't do anything about it.

"He shouldn't love me, Tom." I looked up at him. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why is that, huh?" He took his cigarette out his mouth and looked me straight in the eyes. "We brought John to the Lee family to be married. He fought with us and said no, we get you first then we deal with it." He pointed at me.

"Did you deal with it?" I asked. He shook his head.

"That's not the point, Toni. He wants you to be a part of this family. He loves you." He told me. I didn't roll my eyes this time.

"A wise man once told me never to agree to anything you are not willing to walk out of in thirty seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." I looked over at him, seeing his facial expression change.

"Ill know when I feel the heat around the corner, Tommy."