Page 21 of Pain
"You have a work car?" Matt raised a brow as he got in.
Once Xander was seated beside him, he nodded. "This one would draw attention. I don't want anyone noticing me when I go out. I have a little Toyota Camry I use when I go out on jobs."
"I'll be honest, I sort of expected a Harley." Matt grinned.
"I have one of those too. It's good for those weekend road trips."
"You take a lot of those?"
"Nope, too much work, but when I can I sneak away."
"How often do you have a job to do?" Matt had figured they would get maybe one person every month or so.
"A couple a week usually. It depends on how far we want to travel. We've pretty much cleaned up the local population, but every now and then a new perp pops up or moves into the area. Most of the time we have to head out of town to handle things."
"You do this nationwide?"
"Mostly we stick to the West Coast, but for the right case, we'll go anywhere. Even had a few cases up in Canada, but I leave most of those to the other guys. I hate flying," Xander admitted as he pulled out on the road.
Matt raised a brow.
"Had a bad experience when I was little. There was a lot of turbulence. Made me scared of planes." Xander didn't seem to have any issues admitting his weakness. "Hate spiders too. Fucking creepy things."
Matt laughed, the first real laugh he could recall in a long time. There was just something about this big, strong man who made a living cutting off people's balls being scared of spiders that was funny.
"You laugh, but those fuckers stalk you. I swear they follow me from room to room when one gets into my house. I'll never understand the need for spiders in the whole circle of life thing. Some creatures the world would be better off without." Xander glanced over at Matt. "So, what made you decide to join us?"
"Honestly, I just couldn't see myself going back to my other job for another day. I've been bored for years, but now, since Faith went missing, and everyone feels the need to try and cheer me up and be all sympathetic, I just couldn't handle it. This week has been hell. I walked out today and called Carter. I was just done with it all." Matt made sure he was paying attention to where they were going.
Xander lit a cigarette, lowering his window. "Does it bother you if I smoke?"
Thinking he probably should have asked before he lit it, Matt smiled. "No, my parents were both smokers."
"Were?"
"Is this where I tell you they both died of lung cancer?" Matt glanced over at him with a grin.
"Hey, something's got to kill me. I might as well enjoy it while it happens."
"Actually, my dad was killed in a car accident about ten years ago, right before Faith was born. And my mom, she's still alive, just no longer a smoker." Matt shrugged. "I actually smoked for a few years, but when I started dating my wife, she put a stop to it quick."
"Spouses tend to do that." Xander didn't sound happy about it.
"You married?"
"Hell no. Like you said, people tend to try and change us. Not something I'm looking for."
"Girlfriend at least?"
Xander laughed. "More like a few guys I hook up with from time to time."
"Ah, okay, so no girlfriends, and no serious boyfriends. Got it."
"Oddly, no one on the team is married. I'm not sure a family man could deal with the hours we put in or with what we do. I guess it would be hard wondering if your spouse was going to end up in prison for the next fifty years because we get caught somehow." Xander shrugged. "I never thought about it before."
"That's one of the things I'm kind of worried about. When Faith comes back home, I might not be able to keep working with you guys." Matt would never put Faith in danger of losing her father because he was breaking the law, at least not in the way he was going to be now. When he got her back, he wasn't leaving her side.
"We'd all understand that. It won't be an issue as long as you keep our secrets."
