Page 11 of Painless
“You mean you’re not fucking done testing the waters before diving in?” I demanded. “Fuck me with a rattlesnake, Gun. When are you gonna quit jerking her around and make up your mind?”
“I’m not jerking her around, I’m just going about it slow. Look, I take this shit seriously, alright?”
“What, like you think I don’t?” I shot back. “Like Jandro doesn’t? We knew what we wanted, so we went all in. You’re the one acting like she’s a side piece you can just drop and pick up when it suits you.”
Now his fist came down on the table, and it made me glad to see. If he didn’t care about her, he would have no reaction.
“That’s not what she is to me,” he hissed. “Idowant her, just sharing her with you two kinda squicks me out, that’s all.”
“Then you don’t want her. Not enough, anyway. Now tell her, so she can get the fuck over you.”
“No, dude. Come on, I—” He brought a hand to his forehead with a sigh, then scrubbed his palm down his face. “I just want to be sure. I want to make absolutely sure this is the right choice, okay? None of us have known her for that long, if you think about it.”
“The length of time doesn’t matter,” I argued. “We could die tomorrow, you know that. It’s why Jandro and I love her so hard. If one of Tash’s scouts picks you off with a sniper rifle tomorrow, are you going to feel good abouttaking it slow?Will you have lived without regrets? If you can look me in the eye and tell mehonestlythe answer is yes, then I’ll never give you shit about this again.”
He couldn’t, as I expected.
“I just wanted your blessing to take her out for a day,” he muttered, shoving his hands in his cut. “Guess the answer’s no.”
“Myblessing?What am I, her father?” I scoffed. “She’s my woman, but I’m not her keeper. You want to take her somewhere, you’re asking the wrong person.”
A tiny light bulb seemed to go off in his head as he shot me a skeptical glance. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, Gun. It’s not all that complicated. If she tells you to fuck off, I trust you’ll honor that answer.”
He nodded to himself, the wheels turning in his blonde head. “Okay. Well, if that’s all, president—”
“Look, if she says yes, the coast is romantic and all, but I need you here,” I interrupted. “And we need to be pragmatic. Mari’s getting her tattoo soon, but that’s not always enough. She needs to learn how to defend herself.”
He glanced at me, the question lighting up his eyes. “And you want me to…?”
“You’re the best person for the job. I want her to learn weapons and hand-to-hand combat.” I humored him with a smirk. “And if things don’t develop between you two then, well, I got no hope for you.”
Five
MARIPOSA
"How'd it go?" I asked Reaper, as he and Hades came through the door.
"They found a whole lotta nothin'," he grumbled, shrugging off his cut to drape it on the back of a chair. "Just as I thought."
"Which isn't a bad thing," Jandro piped up from his spot on the couch beside me. "Like I told you, it means whoever wanted to fuck with us is miles away from here."
Reaper muttered something unintelligible as he rummaged through the kitchen. "You want wine, sugar?"
"Yes, please!"
I stretched my legs out on the couch, so my feet would have their place in his lap while Jandro's chest made a nice pillow for my head.
Hades stood in the center of the room, looking torn. Jandro and I took up the length of the couch, while Freyja’s tiny black form was curled up in the center of his massive dog bed next to the fireplace.
"What a sucker," Jandro chuckled. "Just pick her up and move her, Hades."
"He got a nose full of claws last time he did that." Reaper returned from the kitchen and held my glass out to me. "The little rodent just walks all over him."
"Who does that remind you of?" Jandro poked me in the ribs as Reaper lifted my legs to take his spot on the couch.
"I donotwalk all over you two!"
