He wrapped his huge hand around mine, warm and callused, his eyes widening for just a moment at our contact before he nodded.
“Agreed,” he said.
“Neds,” I said, “please help Grandma settle in for her nap.”
“And where are you going to be?” Right Ned asked.
“Watching our guest hold up his end of the bargain.”
Neds got moving and shepherded an already-drowsing Grandma down the opposite hall to her room, the little sheep trotting behind them.
Left Ned threw me a couple pointed looks that made it clear he thought I’d gone insane.
Maybe he was right. Maybe I had.
“Do you need something to call off the drones?” I walked past Abraham and headed into the kitchen. There was still a pool of blood that needed to be cleaned up.
“Satellite link? Data bounce? Smoke signals?”
His boots fell in muffled thuds as he followed me.
“Just an open sky.”
“Right that way,” I pointed at the kitchen door where he’d first arrived. “Watch the mess on the floor.”
I turned the water on the sink, pulled a couple of heavy rags out of the drawer, and tossed them under the faucet. Cleaning up blood was best done with a lot of hot water and soap.
“Let me help you with that,” Abraham said. He hadn’t even walked into the room yet. I couldn’t tell if that look on his face was guilt or worry.
“Just call off the drones. You aren’t the first man to bleed on my floor.” I offered up a smile and that seemed enough to get him on his way and out the door.
I wrung out the rags and watched him out the side window. He held up his left palm and jabbed at it, like he was punching in a code.
Huh. Maybe that was why he didn’t have anything in his pockets. He was coded into the network with flesh and bone.
He let his hand drop and tipped his head up to search the sky.
Yes, I was staring. He inhaled, his shoulders shifting a little, and closed his eyes. The afternoon sunlight poured over him, glowing up his skin while bringing those life stitches into stark contrast.
The wind pushed his hair around a bit, giving me a good, long look at him.
His face in semiprofile was god-awful handsome: strong nose and cheekbones, square jaw and mouth that relaxed into a slight frown. The lines around his eyes eased a bit as he took another deep breath, absorbing the warmth of the day. I wondered if it was pain that had put the lines at his eyes and across his forehead.
I’d seen the fighter’s muscles covered by the bandages wrapped around his middle and his heavy gray coat. But the way he was standing now turned my mind away from how dangerous he might be. If he’d wanted to, I supposed he could have overpowered Neds, maybe even overpowered me. But he’d talked to get his point across, and though he was annoyed by it, he’d done what I wanted and given me some time to settle things here.
It was . . . well, nicer than I’d been treated by anyone in House before.
Galvanized. I’d heard a lot about them, but had never met one. So far he had caught my full attention.
He took a third deep breath, and this time I inhaled with him and exhaled, letting that breath take away the fear that knotted like a fist in my chest. Fear that I had made the wrong choice bringing him into my house. Fear that I shouldn’t have agreed to let him stay. Fear that my brother was hurt, or, worse, and that I’d just sealed a deal that would take away my land and fail the people of House Brown.
For just that one breath, I didn’t worry about all the things I should be taking care of.
I just watched him.
He opened his eyes, then turned to look at me.
Crap.
