“Don’t worry, Walrus—he was a really bad guy. I wouldn’t go torturing and killing nice people or anything.” Then Jude winked at the sheriff.
The sheriff was saved from figuring out how to reply when Liam gave Jude a light smack on the back of the head. “Idiot,” he mumbled.
“Sorry about that, Sheriff Paul,” Josh said. “Jude is obviously a little…” He trailed off, because really, how did you finish that sentence?
“Have some lunch, anyway,” Q cut in. “I promise he didn’t poison it or anything.”
The sheriff snorted at that, and everyone went back to their conversations, taking the focus off the sheriff. It would be nice if he stayed and ate something—hewaspack, even if he didn’t know it yet.
Liam wandered over to the sheriff, casually asking about the newest surveillance equipment the department was apparently interested in. The sheriff ended up asking tech questions, and almost without thought, he started eating when Jude handed him the plate again.
I sighed, putting my arm around Sebbie. He leaned his head against my shoulder, and we sat quietly and enjoyed our crew all being together. I didn’t sense anything until the sheriff had finished eating and was wiping his hands on a napkin.
“I appreciate your expertise on the tech stuff,” the sheriff told Liam. “And lunch. Thank you.” He didn’t look over at Jude, but he was beaming anyway. “I have to get back to work, though. I haveactualcrimes to investigate.”
“Oh,” Sebbie murmured softly next to me, and I felt his body stiffen. I looked at him, but his eyes had a far away, dazed look to them.
The sheriff walked out the front door, calling his goodbyes out. I mostly ignored that to focus on Sebbie, because something was wrong. The sheriff was gone before Sebbie turned and looked at me.
“I don’t want the sheriff on my boat,” Sebbie murmured, and then he passed out in my arms.
Chapter 22
Sebbie
I was cradledin Corbin’s arms, and we were sitting on the floor. Well, Corbin was sitting on the floor, and I was sort of sprawled across his lap. He was gently caressing the hair on my forehead and staring down at me, but there was a lot of hubbub going on around us.
“You cannot kidnap him and store him in the basement,” Josh was saying. “He’s a police officer.”
“Just go follow him, Jude. But for fuck’s sake, be discreet,” Liam said. “Q and I will go do some checking into things.”
“Is Sebbie okay?” Toby asked. “I don’t get why he passed out. Fluffy didn’t even go all flamy or anything.”
It was all sort of overwhelming, so I let my eyes drift shut, just focusing on Corbin’s hand caressing my head. I must have snoozed a bit, because when I opened my eyes next, the hubbub was over, and it was quiet.
As if sensing my question, Corbin said, “Everyone left to take care of things, but if you want someone to come back, they happily will. No one really wanted to leave you, but the whole pack can be a little overwhelming.”
I ignored his odd phrasing and reached up to hold onto his hand. He gripped mine tightly, and I looked around. We weren’ton the floor anymore. We were in Corbin’s bedroom, and he was sitting up while I was still laying in his lap.
“I saw… I thought…” I started, but I wasn’t sure how to finish. What had I seen? Why had I passed out? I remembered the sheriff saying goodbye, and then I’d felt a funny swooping feeling in my stomach, and then… I didn’t know.
A flash went through my mind. It was like a memory, but at the same time it wasn’t, because it didn’t feel like it was actually happening to me. I knew itwasme, but it was like I was standing three feet outside my body and watching it instead of actually being there.
“Go ahead and tell me, Sebbie. You’re safe here. No matter what you say, it will never change the fact that I love you,” Corbin said.
My stomach did that swoopy thing again, only this time it was agoodswoopy thing, because Corbin had just told me he loved me. I wanted to say it back, because Ididlove him, but I heard a crow caw, and I was back in that memory-not-memory again.
“I’m in a room, I think. It’s hard to see the details. It’s like a movie but there’s a haze in front of it. There’s gray painted walls. I think I’m standing over someone, but I don’t know who. There’s groaning, and someone else is there. They’re supposed to…”
The thought was like one of those little silvery fish you saw in the water. It was tiny and fast, flashing and then gone so quickly that I wasn’t even sure what it was.
“They’re supposed to what, Sebbie?” Corbin asked. He was still stroking my hair with one hand, and his other hand was holding mine.
“I don’t know. It’s gone. But there’s something in my hand, and I’m going to…” It was like that slippery little fish again; thethought was gone before I could even register it. What was I going to do? I felt scared, and I didn’t know why.
Corbin hugged me tightly, and I pressed my face into his belly, hiding myself.
“You’re safe, Sebbie. You’re safe, and I love you. And it’s okay if you don’t remember right now. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
