Ride or Die

Whom the Gods Would Destroy

Chapter 20: Whom the Gods Would Destroy

"Gentlemen," Tom said briskly, falling into his seat at the head of the table and casting an eye around the room. "I presume you've all heard enough by now to know why you're here."

Draco glanced experimentally at Theo beside him, contemplating the wheels behind his best friend's vacant expression; they'd barely managed three words all morning, and while that was not fully unexpected, it was certainly a rarity. Theo, sensing Draco's eyes on him, looked up, and then made a small gesture under the table towards Tom.

Draco frowned, taking the hint and leaning to his left to mutter in his father's ear. "Where's Slughorn?"

Lucius shrugged, indifferent.

"Yesterday, as I'm sure you've gathered by now," Tom continued, "Greyback's primary associates, Smith and Scabior, took it upon themselves to make an appearance at Rosmerta's." At that, several heads swiveled tellingly to Draco and Theo, and Tom leaned back in his seat, gesturing. "Would you two care to explain yourselves to the rest of the club?" he prompted listlessly.

Draco blanched. "Well," he began, but was promptly cut off.

"Smith fucked with me," Theo supplied bluntly, not looking up as he drummed his fingers against the table. "We fucked back."

Draco grimaced, watching Tom's face transition from an implacable stillness to what read as a chilled expression of amusement. "Essentially," Draco agreed, resigned, and Tom arched a brow, seeming to approve the lack of further detail.

"There was a fight," Tom explained, glancing around the table, "and the altercation escalated." He paused, bring his hand up to curl around his mouth. "Smith's dead," he supplied without fanfare, and then shifted his gaze to Draco; a test, Draco guessed, to see if he would argue, or more accurately, to see if he would make any attempt to clarify the context of the statement.

He didn't.

There was a beat of stunned silence, and then a spattering of approving grunts. "Good," Rowle muttered, and beside him, Avery made a face, seeming to agree. "They owed us one."

"Oh, without question," Tom permitted, his gaze flicking momentarily to Theo, "but it ultimately leaves us even, which is a vulnerable place to be. We either take out Greyback now," he warned, his gaze traveling slowly around the room, "or we accept the fact that he and his crew might come for the rest of us."

"Come for us again, you mean," Avery said gruffly, gesturing to Darian across the table. "If you ask me, we're not even at all - "

"No, we aren't," Theo forced out in agreement, and Draco looked up, startled. "Greyback killed my father," Theo reminded the table gruffly. "He put a bullet in my best friend, and he stabbed my brother in the chest. By comparison, his losses amount to nothing. Nothing," he spat, his mouth twisting in fury. "Fenrir Greyback has been circling us like a fucking vulture - he's been waiting to pick us dry, clean our bones. Not anymore."

Theo shook his head, clenching a fist that he abruptly slammed against the table. "I'm not waiting," he announced bluntly, and Draco forced a swallow, caught off guard by the vitriol and uncertain how to proceed. "I don't care if it's by ambush or assassination, Greyback goes down. We put him down."

"Theo," Draco murmured under his breath, but the other man wasn't finished.

"I'm not willing to wait to see what happens next," Theo continued, ignoring him. "I've seen enough of what kind of man Greyback is to know that the world's better off without him, and I - " he paused, his voice breaking. "I fucking refuse to wait and see who he comes for next."