“Okay then. Your arm is set. Shoulder is stable. Bruising is superficial. Cuts are clean. No concussion signs. If you wake up with nausea, dizziness, or vision changes, tell the staff immediately.” Dr. Rossi concluded.
Scar lifted his good hand in a lazy salute. “You got it, Doc.”
“Why are you choosing to be in pain?” Gage asked.
After the doctor walked away, Scar gripped him behind the back of his neck and whispered, “Come closer.”
Gage leaned down until Scar’s mouth was near his, close enough that his breath mixed with his own.
Scar’s voice was rough, intimate, and shameless. “If you’re that concerned, you can kiss it later and make it better.”
The words made heat spread under Gage’s skin before he could tell his body to behave.
He smiled and touched Scar’s cheek until Jo’s voice snapped him out of his euphoria.
“Where did you go, Scar?”
Scar didn’t flinch or pull away from his touch.
“I didn’t know we were prisoners,” he said. “I thought we could come and go as we pleased.”
Jo came closer, her patience sounding close to the edge. “Cut the shit. You know the rules. Yes, you can come and go, but there are protocols. Your shadow team was created for a reason—to spot the exact kind of threats that almost got you killed tonight.”
Scar was quiet.
“Your handler is supposed to know your whereabouts. For your safety. For the anonymity of this organization.”
Gage didn’t butt in, knowing she was right, but he kept his hand on Scar’s cheek.
On the outskirts of Gage’s hearing, Meridian still lurked, all intimidating presence and no sound.
“So, where did you feel you had to sneak off to, Scar? You said it wasn’t somewhere that would expose us. Then fine, tell me,” she demanded.
Scar let out a frustrated breath. “Do I really have to—.”
“Scar,” Meridian warned.
“I went to Gage’s church on G Street,” he muttered, as if the confession cost him a bit of pride.
Silence fell hard.
He stilled his hand on Scar’s cheek. For a second, his brain refused the information because it didn’t fit any mold he’d ever formed for Scar.
Jo seemed speechless.
Even Dr. Rossi paused whatever he’d been inputting into the computer.
“Church,” Roz repeated. “On a Wednesday night?”
Gage knew his church’s weekly schedule. “You went to Bible study?”
Scar flung his other arm over his eyes, taking the ostrich approach. “Yes.”
“And you didn’t burst into flames when you walked inside a church?” Roz barked an insensitive laugh.
“Fuck you,” Scar snapped.
Roz grunted when Gage backhanded him in his stomach, but it didn’t stop his teasing.
