He shook his head. “After. I couldn’t get a job anywhere with my record and my discharge. I guess the good thing about war is companies are willing to overlook things. I worked for a security contractor. Well…a subcontractor, of a subcontractor, of a contractor. I was assigned to the FOB Graham was deployed to. We got to talking one day.”
“What’s a FOB?”
“Forward Operating Base. A smaller base away from the bigger bases.”
“How can you work with VACA with a conviction?”
He nodded and took a few steps closer to her. “Graham and Paige got my record expunged and my discharge upgraded to general. I’m honestly still not sure how they managed to pull it off—I would have been happy with other than honorable.”
Abby shook her head. “I don’t know what the difference is.”
“It’s basically the difference between really bad and not so bad, but not great. It only shows up in my military record, not any kind of background check. Since my record was expunged, it doesn’t show up on a basic background check, which is all VACA requires. I told Kat and Pothole about it anyway, but I don’t think they really care. Pothole told me I’m exactly the kind of guy they want protecting kids.”
Abby nodded again. “But, if your record was expunged, how did Olivia’s aunt get a copy of it?”
Tinker moved next to her and leaned against the wall, close enough she could feel the heat from his body.
“That’s the kicker. My record is only expunged at the state level, not the federal level. If I had to go through a full security clearance, I’d be denied because it never goes away. There are certain jobs Leonidas contracts for that I can’t do.” He shrugged. “But mostly it’s not an issue.”
“What—” Abby hesitated. “What happened to the guy? Dani’s dance teacher.”
Beside her, Tinker went rigid for several seconds. “He was charged, got three years, but ended up serving them in a state rehabilitation center. Last I heard, he’d moved back to Europe somewhere.”
That was disappointing. She’d hoped he was still in jail. Her mind wandered, not really focusing on anything in particular. Dani—she’d like to see her fight. The countless kids Tinker had helped. To what she would do if something happened to Will or Olivia.
She liked to imagine she’d go all vigilante justice and gladly spend the rest of her life in jail. Then some hotshot femme boss producer would buy the rights to her memoir and make it into an Oscar-winning movie.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, Abby,” Tinker said. “It’s a lot to deal with. I’ll understand if you need to end things between us.”
Abby took a breath and stepped in front of Tinker. “Shut up.”
He frowned and stood to his full height.
“I understand why you didn’t tell me in the beginning. I wish you had chosen to tell me yourself instead of finding out the way I did, but it is what it is.”
Tinker rested his hands on her hips. “I would have, eventually. But it’s not like I had a plan to tell you or not tell you.”
She nodded and licked her lips. She’d had a long debate with herself over the next part, but if they were going to be honest, they needed to be honest about everything.
“What I’m most upset about is the way you treated me after you realized I knew. You didn’t let me process. You shut down. You can’t throw a stink bomb into a room and then get mad when someone says it stinks.”
His mouth twitched. “I know. I just…” He looked over her head, took a deep breath, and blew it out. “The first time I thought about getting serious with someone, I told her up front. Her revulsion was immediate. She called me a monster. Told me she wanted nothing to do with me. Dani and Angie told me it was a her problem, except it happened the next time and the next. So, I quit telling women.”
Abby’s brows pinched together. “How did that work when you got into a relationship?”
Tinker looked at her. “I haven’t been in a relationship.”
Kissing it better
“Ever?”
Abby’s look of incredulity was almost comical. Tinker knew better than to laugh out loud though.
“Dani says high school doesn’t count.” He shrugged.
Her jaw dropped. “What’s the longest you’ve dated a woman?”
“What do you define as dating?”
