“For putting that gross-ass mental picture in my mind?” Flix made a gagging sound. “Maybe eventually.”
“What do I have to do?” Ani pulled away slightly, just enough he could bring his hand between them and draw a linedown Flix’s stomach, past his navel. When he made it to the top of Flix’s jeans, the Brumal member caught his hand.
“You can get up and go take that bath.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
“But I—”
“I’m not fucking you until you’ve got a better grasp on your emotions, Ani.”
He frowned. “I’m not going to hurt myself.”
Was that it? It was the only reason he could think of that Flix would refuse to sleep with him. Was he worried that there’d be a repeat with the knife now that he’d actually lost his brother?
“I know that,” Flix said, dashing that hypothesis. “You should still take some time.” He helped Ani stand and then led him toward the hallway. “We still have to decide what to do with your friends.”
“They aren’t my friends.” He followed him to their room, and then into the bathroom, waiting by the sink while Flix went to start the water in the massive clawed tub.
“Still,” as soon as he had the water going, he straightened and turned back to him, a serious expression on his face, “we have to figure out what to do with them.”
“What do you want to do?”
Flix gave a single shake of his head. “This isn’t about what I want.”
“Why not? You’re the one who was shot.”
“We were both shot at,” Flix pointed out.
Chapter 29:
Ani watched him for a minute, the tub filling the only sound before he finally asked, “Did you think I went with Bowser willingly?”
He didn’t know why he was so worried about the answer, only knew that if Flix didn’t trust him at all, his heart might actually break. Things had moved too quickly earlier for him to bring it up sooner, but his hands had clearly been tied, so that had to work in his favor now in convincing—
“Relax,” Flix told him. “I can practically see how anxious you are. Truthfully, I thought about it for a split second, but then I checked the tracker. If you were trying to run, the first thing you would have done was ditch the ring, not your multi-slate. I’ve bought you a new one, by the way, Yuze should be bringing it by later.”
“Yuze?” Odd choice. “Why him?”
“Easy.” Flix came forward and caged Ani against the sink with an arm at either side of him. “So you can answer the door in nothing but a towel.”
Ani scowled. “You won’t fuck me, but you’ll use me to make a statement?”
“You didn’t seem to mind all that much at the club.”
“You’re missing the first part of my complaint,” he drawled, and Flix laughed and kissed his forehead. “If you aren’t going to give me your cock, will you give me something else?”
“What do you want?”
Aneski blew out a breath and glanced away. “I want to know what happened that day. What really happened.”
Flix was quiet for a second before he figured out what he was referring to. “The day Russ faked his death.” He sighed and started to step away, only for Ani to grab his shirt to keep him there.
“Russ saw Haroon do something illegal, bigger than the petty crime the Shepards tended to get into. He wouldn’t tell me what, and frankly, I didn’t really give a shit. Knowing the details didn’t matter to me since Haroon and the Shepards didn’t matter. He was scared, though, legitimately. The kind of fear you can’t fake. I see it all the time. I knew he meant it when he came begging me for help,” Flix began.
“And you just…agreed?” Ani hated how simple he was making it sound.
