Garrison smiles. “He’ll never see himself that way.”
“Trust me, I know.” I laugh. “When I was a kid, I’d been so alone. Having friends meant having to explain bumps and bruises, or why I wasn’t at school after I’d broken an arm or leg. Then Zane.” I sigh and shake my head, the memory one I will never forget. “I’d gotten caught stealing food from the General Market and was hauled down to the police station to wait for my dad. Zane was there, waiting for his to get off his shift, and he just looked at me. I don’t know how to explain it, but when his gaze locked on me, it was like I was being seen for the first time ever. That probably sounds crazy,” I add with a laugh, then take a sip of coffee.
“Not crazy at all,” Garrison replies.
“He was just—everything. I tried to push him aside so many times, but he wasn’t having it. He’d just show up. Outside the school when I got out of class, whenever I went anywhere, he was there. And it was more than that. He’d actually talk to me. Or, try to, anyway. I wasn’t overly social back then.”
“What changed?”
I smile. “A vanilla shake at Maddie’s place.”
“Really?”
“Really. I was there, working part-time to try to get some money for food, and he came in. He ordered two vanilla shakes, then just sat in the corner. I was so frustrated at this point because he’d been coming in alone and ordering two shakes for weeks, so I went over to confront him. I yelled at him for following me and told him to leave me alone. You know what he did?”
“What?”
“He smiled at me. Said his name was Zane Knox, and we were going to be friends. Then, he scooted the vanilla shake toward me.” I laugh. “I was so stunned that I just stood there, staring at it until Maddie came over and wrapped her arm around me, told me to take a break, then gently guided me into the booth. After that, we were inseparable.”
“That’s a great story.”
I glance up at him. “Thanks. I think so, too.”
“Choosing to leave the way you did must have been hard.”
The all-too-familiar knot in my chest tightens, constricting my breathing. “It was.”
“As a man, I can understand how angry Zane might have been that you didn’t give him the chance to take care of you. But as his friend, I understand your desire to keep him safe.”
“I wish I could go back and make a different choice.”
“Would you?”
I consider. “I don’t actually know. He would have killed my dad, Garrison. Or lost his life trying. Either way, I’d lose him. But maybe if I’d gone to the police sooner, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. You’re here now, and that’s what really matters.”
“I hope so.”
“Zane is the best man I’ve ever known. He cares about people. About how they feel, their needs. He deserves someone who will do the same for him.”
“I will.”
He offers me another smile, then turns his attention to the water once more. There’s a faint scar hidden beneath his short beard, and while I want to ask about it, I decide against it. There are plenty of scars of my own I’d rather never discuss, so poking at someone else’s just isn’t something I’m comfortable with.
“So, Demo, huh? Did you really get that nickname because you like to blow stuff up? Or was it something else that branded you with that?”
He barks out a laugh. “Kind of. Our first mission, I set the charges a little too close to where Ryker and Sawyer were set up. They were fine, but everyone started calling me Demo after that.”
“And what about Ryker? You all call him Tank, right?”
“Yeah.” He chuckles. “He’s practically indestructible. A mission we were on six months ago, he had to be bound with chains because he snapped their ropes.”
I gape at him, trying to imagine a scenario where anyone could break free of ropes. “Who chained him up?”
“It took three of them. And the only reason they were able to is because of the gun to Cap’s head.”
My stomach plummets, the imagery settling into my mind like a horrible nightmare. “Cap is Zane?”
