Page 91 of Shades of Henry
“And I’ll get to be a flower girl and wear a dress, and you’ll let me keep the little silk pillow, just like I did foryourwedding, right, Uncle Dex?”
Dex squeezed his eyes shut again. “Yeah, bunny. They know the plan.”
Lance snickered as Henry put her down. “Wow, Henry. Are you ready for all her plans?”
“No,” Henry said blandly. “No, I am not. I suspect that is the case of all seven-year-old girls, and I’m glad she’s Davy and Carlos’s.”
“Thanks, little brother. You’re a peach.”
Henry smirked. “Pink, Davy. Remember, pink. Also, rainbows. Whatever you bought was crap, and you’ll pay for that forever.”
“Aces. Go help Kane on the barbecue and make yourself useful.”
Henry gave a salute, and Dex came to sit next to Lance on the picnic bench. He wore the air of a man who wanted to talk quietly.
“What’s up?”
Dex gave him a brief smile. “You’re very perceptive. Is that a doctor thing?”
“Yes. We get mind-reading capabilities in our first postgraduate year. It’s in the curriculum.”
Dex wrinkled his nose. “Sarcasm is so attractive. Welcome to the family.”
Lance chortled and then sobered. “Seriously, what’s going on?”
Dex swallowed and glanced at his brother. “So, Trav called today. Malachi transferred stateside about three months ago, and Debbie was waiting to join him in Georgia. She was getting a little upset because he wasn’t relaying any orders or any travel plans. She’d let the lease expire on their house—she had to move in with our parents this week.”
“Oh no,” Lance said. He could tell where this was going.
“Mal went AWOL a week ago and cleaned out their savings.”
Lance closed his eyes. “What. A. Scumbag.”
“Yes. Well, he’s a scumbag who knows where I live, which is not exciting. But he’s also a scumbag who wants Henry back.”
“You know this how?” Because Lance had held out hope. God, Malachi had been such a user. How important had Henry been to him, really? But apparently, Dex knew.
“I know this because he had no other reason to leave,” Dex said. “I had Trav ask Debbie some questions about how Malachi had been doing. She admitted he’d been drinking a lot and talking about Henry a lot. She was the one who suggested he transfer to Georgia so she could see him and maybe get him back on track.” Dex swallowed angrily. “Trav says she started crying. Malachi may not have been close enough to hit her, but he sure did say some shitty things to her from deployment.”
“So he knows Henry’s in Sacramento?” Lance had to make sure.
“He does. And he could show up here any minute.”
Lance scrubbed at his eyes with his hand and tried to keep the fear at bay. Henry had been so happy, so optimistic. Was he ready to face his biggest demon? “You haven’t told Henry?”
“I just got off the phone with Trav an hour ago. I’ve been trying to do the math to figure out how long it would take Mal to get here by bus, or if he could get a plane ticket as an AWOL serviceman or even if he stole a car and drove. When’s this guy going to show up on my doorstep? And I’ve got nothing. But I wanted you to know so you could let the guys in the other apartment know, and—”
“And I’ll call Rivers,” Lance said, pulling out his cell phone. “He has a contact at the police department. I’ll ask him for K-ski’s number. Henry has friends.”
Dex smiled faintly. “He does. That’s good to know. Maybe tell his friends to have some MPs on standby, because they can take Malachi into custody. Make your call. Then, if you can play with Frances while Carlos deals with burning things at the grill, I’ll tell Henry. I really don’t want Frances to hear. Her… her father wasn’t a good person. She’s had enough of that in her life.”
“Understood,” Lance said, shuddering. God, he felt Henry’s compulsion then. The one that said “protect my family”—the one that had led him into danger with Jackson Rivers, and had led him to face down Summer Frasier with a gun. Lance would do anything to protect Henry. He just hoped Henry had the healing in his heart to protect himself. “I…. Henry doesn’t deserve this.”
“No,” Dex told him, clear-eyed. “No. He never deserved this.”
Which was great that they both agreed on that. But would Henry agree if he had to see Malachi again?
THE NEWSwas a cloud, but like most clouds, Henry shrugged and acted like he had an umbrella. But he did tell Lance to be careful and make sure there was someone with him at all times.
