Page 38 of Bad to the Bone

“If you say so,” she retorts, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I gotta go. Call you later?”

“Have a good time, sweetie.”

I hang up the phone and search for the broom and dust pan to pick up the ruins of the lost sculpture. Shannon is right, no news is still good news at this point. I throw away the broken shards and turn on my newly mounted television, scrolling through my news options to see if Linsmythe has made headlines. One small streaming service seems to be carrying the story so far, but it won’t be long before it reaches network news desks.

“Thank God for the internet,” I mumble, letting the short newsclip play. The images of the authorities marching out of the “mayoral mansion” toting crates of files and hard drives is jarring and almost alien. Although I recognize the scenery, I can hardly bring myself to admit that it’s real.

“...coming to the end of a year long operation that ties this sleepy little town to a vast network of smugglers, gangsters, and extortionists….” the voice says.

I hear the knock at my door and go to answer it without taking my eyes off of the screen. I am so engrossed in the news that I don’t bother to look through the peephole before opening the door. It’s only after the guest clears his throat that I look up.

Roses line the floor outside the door. Zayne.

The delivery man holds a ridiculously large bouquet up for me to take, obscuring my view of him or anything else.

“Just sign here for delivery” says the gruff voice.

I struggle with the overwhelming parcel, putting it down inside the door before turning back to the stranger outside my door. Only it’s not a stranger.

I barely have time to register the sight of Zayne, clad in workman’s boots and a blue delivery uniform before he moves in and catches my gasp of surprise with his mouth.

His strong arms wind around my waist and fiercely clamps my body against his. He burrows his other hand in my hair, gripping a fist full of my untamed mane as he plunders my mouth. He tastes like cool mint and smells faintly of pine needles. For a moment I wonder if I am actually kissing him or if I am hallucinating and making out with a tree. I open my eyes, tentatively, only to have the reality of this kiss confirmed by the sight out Zayne’s strong body under my roof.

Emotions swirl in my chest, with relief being the lion’s share. I exhale and throw my arms around his neck, pressing my chest against his, trying to convince every inch of my body that this is real. He is real, and safe, and here, and mine. Our kissing reaches a feverish pitch before we are forced to pull back without separating our bodies. Breathing heavy and fighting tears, I rest my head on his chest and trample on my questions while I listen to his heart beating under my ear.

“Missed me?”

“You’re late, asshole.”

“My bad,” he says with a chuckle, kicking the door closed behind him. “I see you heard the big news.”

“What the hell happened?” I look up at him, still worried despite the fact that I can clearly see that he is fine.

“I couldn’t leave it like that.”

“You did that?”

His face clouds over as he nods slowly.

“Why?”

“If I don’t do something, it won’t ever end. He won’t ever stop until he destroys me.” Zayne’s pain cuts through me like a sickle. I wrap my arms around his body and squeeze with all of my strength.

“He just wanted to break us up. If you were my son and you were sleeping with your teacher, I would want you to break up as well,” I say softly.

“You are too naive.” The hard edge to his tone makes me look up at his face, his eyes blazing with barely checked rage. “He doesn’t care if I fuck all of the teachers. He doesn’t want me to love anybody and he doesn’t want anybody to love me. He wants control. I’m not his son, I’m a prop.”

“That’s not fair, y-”

“He was going to destroy you as well, to teach me a lesson.” He interrupts my response with his revelation.

“He wanted me to know what happens when I oppose him. He was going to destroy your career even though he said he wouldn’t. Even though you did everything he asked. It wasn’t enough. And even if I managed to stop him, what would I have to give in exchange? How long could I keep making deals with him before I finally ran out of bargaining chips?”

“Is he really like that?”

“He said something to me once, not long ago. It was the first piece of advice I ever remember getting. He said, in order to protect something, you have to be willing to sacrifice something. If you keep one, you have to throw the other away.”

“Is that what this is? Are you throwing your family away?”

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