Now it washerturn to swallow.
He seemed to be holding his breath. She was certainly holding hers. When she finally spoke, she did so carefully, choosing her words deliberately. “If you’d rather not tell me, I understand.”
“Ya showed me yours. It’s only right I show ya mine.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to?—”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger over her mouth. She placed a gentle kiss on it that made him smile. “For the first time in my life, Idohave to. ’Cause I want to. I want ya to know why I am the way I am.”
She nodded hesitantly. “O-okay.”
He started talking then. Haltingly at first, and then with more certainty. By the time he finished telling her about the afternoon he’d come home from school to find his father beating and raping his mother, more tears had spilled down her cheeks. Inexplicably, she felt her love for him grow.
He’d witnessed the unthinkable. The unspeakable. And yet…somehow…he wasn’t broken by it. Somehow, despite the horror and trauma of that awful,awfulday, he was still good and generous and true.
And he’s mine, she thought as she hugged him close, willing him tofeelher love for him even if she couldn’t speak of it.For as long as he’ll let me keep him, he’s mine.
31
Two weeks later...
The Fisher and Eliza era sure didn’t last long,Britt thought as he helped Hewitt drop a shiny, new V-twin engine into the frame of one of Becky’s spec bikes.
Hewitt must have been thinking along similar lines because he muttered, “Is it my imagination, or are they even worse than before?”
Britt shot him a look of agreement that ended with a grimace.
For over a week, Fisher and Eliza had been on each other like white on rice. One night, Britt had gone to get cereal from the pantry for a midnight snack and had caught Eliza down on her knees…uh…polishing Fisher’s chrome, so to speak. Just FYI, there wasn’t enough brain bleach in all the world to erase that memory from his mind. Hewitt had complained he’d found them half-dressed and making out like high schoolers on the sofa in the TV room after everyone had gone to bed one evening—the couch theyallhad to sit on, mind you.Gross.And Graham had admitted he’d walked in on them in the kitchen early one morning and, even though Graham had refused to give details, he'dalluded there’d been whipped cream involved.
That last incident had prompted Britt to corner Fisher in the shop and have a talk with him about keeping his exploits with Eliza in the bedroom. Because whileFishmight think Eliza was the sexiest thing on earth, the rest of them thought of her as a sister and…
No. Just…no.
But Fisher had simply scowled and said,“Ya don’t have to worry, bruh. We’re done. Back to bein’ friendswithoutthe benefits.”
That had been five days ago. And in that time, Fisher and Eliza had returned to bickering like they were getting paid to do it. Except previously it was like they’d been making a buck per word and now they were making a cool G.
They never stopped sniping and snapping at each other. And even now, with Ozzie’s music blaring from the second floor, they could be heard above Guns N’ Roses welcoming folks to the jungle.
It was getting out of hand. It was keeping everyone on edge. And it was starting to worry Britt because he wasn’t sure how this new dynamic would ultimately affect their band of merry men.
I think I preferred it when they were doing it in the pantry.
“I love to shop, but I’m not buying your bullshit.” Eliza stood over Fish with her hands on her hips and her jaw thrust out at an angry angle.
Fisher was crouched in front of his motorcycle, hand-painting details on the front fender.
Poor Mardi Gras had suffered some serious wear and tear when Fish had gone after the bagel shop shooter. Ever since it’d been delivered to the shop the day after the debacle, Fisher had been working to get it back in shape.
Although, it was safe to say he’d redoubled his efforts since he and Eliza had called it quits. In fact, Britt figured his wingman for life was now using Mardi Gras as an excuse to avoid their girl Friday as much as possible.
“It’s not bullshit,” Fish countered, not looking up from his work. “I said I’ll get to it, and I will. I’m just goin’ to get to it on my own schedule and not yours.”
“It’sourschedule,” Eliza emphasized. “As in BKI’s schedule. I can’t get clearance for the next op until you finish your report. And I takeissuewith you acting like I’m asking you for the moon and stars.”
Now Fisher deigned to glance up at her. “I could’ve sworn I canceled my subscription to your issues.”
“Oh, no.” Hewitt muttered from the side of his mouth. He and Britt were no longer pretending to work. Instead, they unabashedly watched the train wreck that was Fisher and Eliza’s exchange. “How much you wanna bet she grabs that lug wrench and brains him with it?”
