“What’s a party without music?”
Already looking a little glassy-eyed, Phoenix shrugs off Eli’s overprotectiveness and begins an awkward dance. His leg is still stiff and healing, but that doesn’t stop him from shaking his ass while everyone laughs at the sight. When he crooks a finger at Brooklyn, she shakes her head.
“Don’t be a spoilsport, firecracker. Come show me those moves.”
“You’re such a dumbass.”
“And a hell of a dancer.”
Before she can protest, Eli shoves her in Phoenix’s direction with a devious glint in his eye. He follows and the trio dance to the music like idiots, pretending the huge training room is a downtown nightclub. I nearly choke on a mouthful of vodka lemonade when Enzo joins in, busting out his retro dance moves.
“Well, she’s smiling.” Kade watches them with palpable happiness.
I knock our cups together in a toast. “Good call, brother.”
Theo joins us in the corner, quietly helping himself to a drink. He props himself against the wall, watching everyone else with sadness in his eyes. Like Hunter, he seems flat, drained, a shadow of the sweet and socially awkward person we met.
Incendia has taken everything from them.
Yet, they still showed up for us.
“She seems better today,” Hunter observes.
I pass him a beer. “Sounds like they grilled her pretty hard.”
“Seven hours straight. I should have called it off sooner.”
“You’re trying to help us,” Kade answers. “That’s already more than we could’ve asked for.”
Looking thoughtful, Hunter watches Enzo dance and drink with the other three. It must be something to reach such success with your best friend at your side. They’ve been running Sabre for seven years now, growing it from the ground up with nothing but their determination to help those who can’t do it themselves.
“You kids ever think about putting your experience to good use?”
I consider Hunter’s question. “What were you thinking?”
He takes another pull of his beer. “I could use some new blood around here. People who know how to handle themselves and don’t scare easily. We often take on recruits with chequered pasts.”
Kade looks intrigued. “You’re offering us jobs?”
“Something to think about. Gotta do something with your lives, right?”
With that, Hunter puts his beer down and disappears from the room. His party spirit didn’t last long, but he still made an effort to show his face. That’s far more meaningful than any empty words he could offer. We watch him leave, and I can already see the cogs in Kade’s oversized brain turning.
“Let’s get through the shitstorm heading our way first,” I speak up. “With the stuff we’ve had to go on the record about, we’ll be lucky to walk away from this.”
Kade’s smile dims. “There’s still a chance, Hud. Don’t we deserve that?”
“Fuck knows, man. The world ain’t fair like that.”
We watch the rest of our group enjoy the makeshift party. Brooklyn’s ditched the oversized sweater she was wearing, twirling in Enzo’s expert arms as he swoops her low to the ground. Phoenix and Eli are waltzing, their bodies moulded together like star-crossed lovers.
I watch my family, whole and content.
Kade’s fucking right.
We deserve our second chance.
A couple of hours in, the music has shifted to gentle, coaxing guitar strokes and crooning vocals. Kade is playing cards with Theo and Eli on a workout bench, while Phoenix sleeps off his eighth vodka shot with a power nap. Enzo’s eating his body weight in snacks, stealing more cake when he thinks nobody is looking.
