Page 112 of Silver Sweet

While I unwrap my Big Mac, the car starts moving again. I can’t keep my mouth shut. “Do you two always talk in French in front of other people?”

“You’re in our car,” Beckett reminds me as he tosses a couple fries in his mouth.

“We could switch back to English for you,” Charlie says. “Mais je ne pense pas qu’on en ait besoin.”But I don’t think we need to.

Fuck.

I grind my jaw again.

Beckett’s lips part. “What the fuck?” He looks from me to Charlie and back to me. “How long were you going to let us keep talking?”

I shrug. “I had all night.”

Tom lets out a breathy sigh. He’s starting to pass out. The half-bitten nugget is in the footwell, and I’m holding him upright against my chest. His head is practically nuzzled in the crook of my shoulder and neck. I make sure he’s okay, brushing my fingers through his hair to see his eyes as they shut.

“Why did RJ warn me not to leave Tom with you?” Beckett asks.

“Probably because I was a dick to him,” I say flat-out. “Was it warranted? Maybe not. But I wasn’t in a place where I could be nice to your brother’s on-off thing. I will probablyneverbe in that fucking place unless you want to shove Valium down my throat.”

Charlie makes a face like he’s considering. “You have some on you?” It sounds like he wants some for himself.

“No.”

“Coke?”

I frown. “No drugs,sorry.”

“On pourrait te mettre à poil. Voir si tu mens,” Charlie says.We could strip you naked. See if you’re lying.He spins in his chair to Beckett. “Qu’en penses-tu?”What do you think?

Beckett dusts salt off his fingers. “Overturn your pockets.”

I don’t make excuses. I remind myself,What would you do to protect Birdie?

The answer:Everything.

If I had their money and their threats.

More.

So I shift Tom off my lap. Very carefully, I place his head against the door and take a beat to make sure he’s still breathing fine.He’s okay. Then I buck up in the seat to stick my hands in my cargos, and I turn the big pockets inside-out. The other ones are zippered, so that’s harder. But I manage.

All that comes out is my leather wallet.

Charlie reaches for it before I can even offer.

“Take it, please, be my guest,” I snap.

He’s abandoned his fish sandwich like I did my burger. “Credit cards, credit cards, a lot of credit cards,” Charlie says in a mocking tone.

“You want my credit score too?”

“No,” Charlie says. “I can already tell it’s not good.”

“We all can’t live off Mommy and Daddy.”

He forces a dry smile. “And what’s this?” He pinches the square foil of a condom like it’s a cigarette. “Magnum.Impressive.” He bows forward. “Hey, you do know that Tom is basically a virgin, right?”

“Charlie,” Beckett says.