Page 137 of My Revenant
“I lost it once, Rabbit, and you brought it back to me. It’s safer with you.”
Tears beaded and fell faster than I could process, and then his arms were around me. Like a vise. Emotional. Desperate. Not leaving even an inch of space between us. I held him back the sameway. My hands smoothed over his back until he loosened his hold on me long moments later.
“Sorry,” he sniffed, as he wiped the dampness over his cheeks away with the back of his hand.
“Hey.” I captured his face in my hands. “Don’t say sorry. I always want to know what you’re feeling. Don’t hide from me.”
Jonah nodded, and my lips pressed against his. His pressed back a moment later.
“You want to talk about what’s going on?” I asked him when we parted again.
He nodded. “When I get back?”
“Okay, baby.”
I hadn’t told Jonah about the tracker in the lighter, maybe I would when he got back and we talked out whatever was going on with him. I hadn’t intended for it to track him. After Mason had stolen it I just needed to make sure I’d never lose it again. Still, Jonah had been a little unpredictable lately, so having it on him gave me extra peace of mind when things were so unstable in our world.
We both dressed for the day, and Jonah set off on his run. I only hoped it would help him the way he seemed to believe it would, and not make him feel worse about his injury and limitations.
Roy was in the kitchen, scowling at the contents of the fridge like they’d betrayed him.
“Alright, old man?”
He grunted in response, closing the door again. “Ain’t got enough to make breakfast.”
“So we’ll just eat leftovers.”
“That ain’t breakfast. And don’t think I didn’t notice neither of you ate dinner.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “We’ll eat it when Jonah gets back.”
Roy looked me over, hands moving like they were looking for something productive to do until they rested on his hips. A beat of silence, and then, “I’ll just go pick something up.”
“It’s fine, Roy,” I huffed.
“I’ll not be long.” He was already grabbing his keys off the counter.
I knew what he was doing—trying to be useful and helpful when he had no idea what we were going through, or what to do about it. Who was I to tell him how to care?
“I’ll be here.”
Roy nodded, and then he was off too.
With nothing to do but wait, I pulled my phone from my pocket to call Raven and check in on anything new she might have heard. Only, when I glanced at the pixelated screen, I saw I’d already missed several calls from just about the last person I would have expected. Reaper.
Knowing that bastard wouldn’t have reached out to me unless it was absolutely necessary, I called him back first.
“What?” came his abrupt voice as soon as he picked up.
“You’re the one who called me, like five times. You tell me what.”
“You’re alive, then.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Thought maybe you weren’t. Fire and everything.”
Fire? This wasn’t a conversation to have over the phone. Not when the police were already scanning through Archer’s connections and the Strays.
