When I pull back he's very still. His ears have gone pink. Not slightly. Deeply pink. The color climbing up from his jaw in a way that looks deeply incongruous on a face full of that much scar tissue and severity.
He blinks once.
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. I fail. A giggle escapes before I can catch it and his brow furrows and somehow that makes it worse.
"I'll be back soon," I say, still fighting the smile.
He makes a sound that might be acknowledgment.
I step back and cross to Alex.
From behind me I hear Malcolm make a sound that is definitely a suppressed laugh. I don't look back to confirm this.
"Ready," I tell Alex.
The car smells like leather and the faint lingering smell of coffee from the cup holder. I breathe it in. Juniper moves around the air. Alex's scent. I’m glad it’s not really pine. The reminder helped once, when I needed it. I don’t need it anymore.
I watch the trees blur past the window, my hands folded in my lap.
"Can I ask you something?" I say finally.
"Sure."
"Am I messing up your job? You and Malcolm being away?"
Alex glances at me, one eyebrow raised. "What makes you think that?"
"I know Finn can work from his laptop but you guys work for a security company. Don't you need to be there for installations and consultations and—"
"Vee, I own the company."
"Oh."
"Malcolm and I started it years ago. We have enough employees to handle things when we're not there, it's perfectly fine."
I feel something loosen in my chest. "Okay. Good."
"You're not a burden, Vee."
The words sit between us.
"Okay," I say.
We drive in comfortable silence for a while.
"The flag," I say eventually.
He glances at me.
"You told me you got it for beating an alpha at a bar. The one hurting his omega." I pause. "But I've been thinking about it and something doesn't fit. The version of you I know and the version of you in that story don't line up the same way."
Alex is quiet.
"It wasn't you," I say. Not accusing, just stating what my gut has been sitting on.
He exhales slowly and his hands adjust on the steering wheel.
"No," he says. "It wasn't me."
