Defiance (The Protectors #9)(26)

I watched him pick at the food at first, and then slowly start to dig into it with a little more gusto. I generally ate pretty light fare, but I’d purposely made something a little higher in the fat department since Nathan looked like he could use all the calories he could get.

“It’s good,” he murmured between bites. “Thank you.”

I didn’t comment. His eyes lifted to mine and I saw a little bit of pesto sauce on his lower lip. I was half-tempted to reach out and wipe it away, but his own tongue beat me to it and I felt my dick tighten even more in my pants. Thank God I’d had the foresight to wear jeans after I’d finished my workout this afternoon and showered while Nathan had been sleeping.

As the silence grew between us, Nathan seemed to get more and more tense. His eyes kept shifting to mine, and finally he put his fork down and sat back. “Can you just tell me something embarrassing so I can pretend we’re on even ground again?” he asked. “Even though I know we never really will be.”

I hid my smile at that. I knew he was smarting over what I’d heard in the shower. I leaned back and studied him for a moment and said, “Rabbits.”

“Rabbits?” he asked, shaking his head in confusion.

“I’m fucking terrified of rabbits,” I admitted.

“Shut up,” he muttered in irritation. He reached for his fork.

“God’s honest truth,” I said as I raised my hand. “Scout’s honor,” I said.

“Were you even a Boy Scout?” he asked.

“I was. So you know I have to respect the Boy Scout pledge.”

His lips quirked up before he said, “Rabbits.”

I nodded.

“Why?”

“My brother had a rabbit when we were kids. It was a mean little shit…used to bite me all the time. Anyway, Pierce made me watch this scary movie once about giant rabbits that ate people.”

“How old were you?”

“Six or seven, I guess.”

“And your brother? How old was he?”

“Fourteen.” Even the brief mention of Pierce had my stomach cramping, but I pushed the sensation aside and focused on the man in front of me. “So that night after I went to bed, I couldn’t sleep, of course, because that movie had scared the hell out of me. So I’m lying there, debating whether or not I should get up and go ask Pierce if I can sleep with him, when I see this shadow on my wall. I’d left a light on in the bathroom,” I added. “The shadow was of this big-ass rabbit and it was moving towards my bed. I started screaming and then Pierce is there, standing in the doorway, laughing his ass off with his goddamn rabbit in hand.”

Nathan laughed and I felt it ripple through my entire body, easing the sting that had accompanied the brief memory of my brother.

“Oh, wow,” he said.

“Yeah…I got him back, though.”

“How?”

“I snuck into his bed every night for three months. I even accidentally wet it once or twice when that fucking rabbit of his would move around in its cage.”

“No you didn’t,” Nathan scoffed.

I held my hand up again in silent deference to my time in the Boy Scouts.

The sight of Nathan’s lingering smile did something to me I didn’t want to think too hard about, and I reached for my drink to swallow the rest down in a healthy gulp. The burn in my belly had nothing on how hot I felt all over as I watched Nathan resume his meal.

“Better?” I asked.

“It’s no crying like a baby in the shower, but I’ll take it,” he said.

I chuckled at that and watched him eat the rest of his food. When he was done, he pushed the plate away. “There’s more in the fridge,” I said.

“No, thank you,” he responded. “That’s more than I’ve eaten in a while. It was delicious.”

He could use a lot more meals like that, but I kept that thought to myself.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked.

It was a question I’d been waiting for, but I was reluctant to answer. Maybe because I knew what would happen as soon as I did. Whatever these few minutes had been between us would be gone. It shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did.

“I try to figure out who wants you dead, I find them, take them out, you keep breathing,” I said simply.

“That easy, huh?” he said doubtfully.

“Never said it would be easy. I just told you what’s going to happen.”

“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?” he asked.

“Whatever I tell you.”

Predictably, the answer had all the tension leeching back into his system.

“So, I just put my life on hold? Give up everything I worked for?”

“Would that be so bad?” I asked. “After all, one less politician-”

“Fuck you, Vincent,” he snapped. “You have no idea how hard I’ve worked-”

“I don’t care,” I cut in. “Spare me your speeches about how you just want to make this world a better place. You want your brother’s forgiveness for whatever you did to him, be a fucking man and ask him for it! While you still have the chance.”

The last words left my mouth before I could call them back, and I quickly reached across the table to snatch Nathan’s plate just so I’d have something to keep my hands busy.