Page 329 of A Matter of Time

“No, I… He fell, and then I ran, and Dominic was pissed and… I heard the shots, but I wasn’t sure that Dominic killed him.”

Sam nodded, his jaw muscles working as he looked at me. “He did.”

“Well, it was because he thought he’d lost me, not because of anything else. Dominic even suggested that I…” Too late, I thought about what I was saying.

“Suggested that you what?”

I shook my head.

“C’mon, Jory, just say it. It was a long time ago.”

I let out a deep breath. “Okay. He was just trying to make me feel like shit, and I knew that at the time, but…he suggested I give the guy a blow job to get some more blankets. It was about him trying to screw with my head, nothing else.”

Sam nodded and wiped his hands on the dish towel before he walked out of the kitchen.

“This is why you never talk about this kinda crap,” I said to myself, folding the towel and laying it over the edge of the sink before I went to look for Sam. I found him stretched out on my bed, hands folded behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t protect you from any of that. If I was smart, I would have taken you with me to see Maggie and he never would have gotten his hands on you.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” I assured him, and he rolled his head to look at me. “One way or another, Dominic was gonna get me. If it hadn’t been that night, it would’ve been the next or the one after that. It was inevitable.”

“So you’re saying, what? I won’t be able to protect you from this psychopath that’s after you now? You think it’s inevitable that he gets you too?”

“No,” I said, leaning on the doorframe. “That’s not what I said. I said Dominic getting me was inevitable. He was too close to you, Sam. He knew you too well, knew how you would react, exactly what you would do… There’s no way he wouldn’t have been able to get me. It was just a matter of time.”

He rolled his head back so he was again staring at the ceiling.

“Listen, I want some pie. How ’bout you?”

“No, I don’t want any fuckin’ pie.”

“You owe a quarter.”

“What?” He was irritated; it was clear in his voice as he looked back at me.

“I put a jar on the counter, and you owe a quarter from now on every time you swear. It’s out of hand and needs to be stopped.”

“Oh fuck you, J. I ain’t gonna⁠—”

“That’s fifty cents. Pay up or sleep on the couch. Your call.”

“Fine, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Maybe you should go sleep at your place.”

“Don’t push me.”

“Or what?”

“Or maybe I will.”

“Fine.” I shrugged, turning to walk away. “I’m going for pie. I’ll see ya later.” When I got to the front door and opened it, his voice reached me.

“If you set one foot out of this apartment, I will beat your ass!”

“Fine!” I yelled back and stalked over to the couch so he could hear me stomping and the floorboards creak before I tiptoed backward to the door, reversing my steps, went through, then closed it silently behind me. I didn’t make a sound when I locked it. I was outside on the curb when he yelled down at me from the living room window he’d opened.

“Goddamnit, Jory, you better get your ass back in⁠—”