Page 75 of Shades of Henry
Henry cocked his head. “Where is he going?”
“Well, we might have a line on a scholarship for him at an electronics school—so, surveillance, computers, technical stuff.”
“That would be great,” Henry said softly. He looked at Lance and smiled a little. “AJ’s a great kid, but, you know, I’d be worried about him doing what we just did.”
“And what did you just do?” Jade asked sweetly.
“Yeah, Junior,” Jackson said, emerging from the hallway with all the swagger Lance had seen even when Jackson had been bleeding on his bathroom tile. “What exactly did you just do?”
Lance leaned casually against Jade’s counter when Henry’s cocky grin weakened his knees.
“Nothing you wouldn’t do,” Henry told Jackson, all teeth.
“Oh dear God,” Jade said. “Did you learn nothing from our little adventure last week? Nothing?”
“Hey,” Henry said, on the defense. “It was not my fault. Lance got me in all legal and shit, and I took those pictures and sent them to you and K-ski—”
“K-ski.” Jackson gave a cat smile to Jade. “I like it. We’re keeping it. Can do?”
Jade grinned back. “It’s going in the contact files, so noted.” Then she looked back to Henry. “Continue, Junior.”
“And then Summer Frasier got there, and we dove into the closet,” Lance said baldly, because he was not about making this into a storytelling moment.
“Oh!” Jade clapped her hand over her mouth, but that in no way hid her delight. “Caught? You gotcaught!”
Henry arched his eyebrows at Lance and turned back to her. “Well, once we shut the closet door, I texted the evidence to everybody, and then, when it was obvious she was heading back to the closet anyway, I stepped out and shut the door behind me.”
“Classy,” Jackson said, and he and Jade nodded together in agreement. “Very nice. Your stock is rising already.”
“See?” Henry directed the comment at Lance, and then turned back to finishing the story with relish. When he finished up with telling Kryzynski that he planned to stick around a while, Jackson laughed softly, and for the first time Lance caught the breathy sound of someone who was not getting enough oxygen.
“Well done,” he said soberly. “We need to find some way to pay you. I have the feeling—” He took a deep breath. “—we’ll be asking you to help until I’m back to full strength.”
“Or maybe beyond,” Jade said pointedly, but Jackson just shook his head.
“When are you going in?” Lance asked, and Jackson’s mouth twisted.
“A week from next Monday, if I can keep putting on weight. You guys are coming to Ellery’s party, right?” He darted a look over his shoulder. “He’s invited like a thousand people. It would be great if Jade and her boyfriend weren’t the only ones to show—” Another inappropriately deep breath. “—up.”
“Sit down,” Jade said softly. “You got your nitro?”
“I hate this,” he muttered. “I hate it so bad.”
“Yeah, baby. It’s a picnic for the rest of us. So much fun. Your lips are blue. There is acouchright there in the reception room. I’ll go get Ellery.”
Jackson started to move slowly to the couch, regulating his breaths with every step. Lance put a steadying hand out to take his elbow on instinct, only to be met with a withering glare.
“I. Dare. You.”
Lance assumed his best bored expression and took his arm anyway. “When you’re all recovered, you can come to the apartment and kick my ass. I’m fine with that.”
“Henry, deck him,” Jackson breathed as they sat him down on the couch.
“Yessir. I’ll get right on that.”
“I hate you. You’re fired.”
Henry winked at Lance. “I’m not even on the payroll yet. I’m not scared.”
