Page 100 of Reacher
“Nice. I’m really not sure why you’re trying to kill my boner by even being in the room, let alone telling me that.”
He laughed, walking over to the window to stare out for a moment, while I took a second to adjust what was left of my hard on and followed him. At least I hadn’t stripped yet too.
“Any other news?”
He nodded. “Rossi’s guy, uh… DeMarco. He wanted us to know that there’s nobody left in this branch of the cartel. They took the intel we had, along with what they’d already worked out, and they finished them off. If we wanted the harder drugs trade in the area, it’s up for grabs, but I told them that’s not how we roll.”
“Damn right. Any news on Ice?”
“Yeah, he’s pissed, and wants to come home.”
Thank fuck for that. “And what’s the plan there?”
“You’re visiting him with me later, and we can decide then.”
“So not content with interrupting me in the bedroom with my old lady, you’re now putting a fucking time limit on us?”
He turned to look at me again, and I was struck once more by how tired he looked. All of this shit had been hard on him. He’d had to run things while I was ill. He’d had to manage so much, and it was clearly wearing him out.
“Brother, ignore me. I’m being an asshole.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to ruin your time with your lady, man. You know that. I’m just, I’m trying to hold things together, yeah?”
I felt shamed, and I fucking should, of course I should.
“Dammit, Stitch, I’m sorry. You’re holding things together while I piss around, and slack off, and I should be by your damn side.”
He shrugged, rubbing both hands over his face, practically hiding from me for a moment, before he lowered them.
“I’ll be okay once I get some sleep. Uh… listen, after all of this, I uh… I might have to take a few days, got some shit to sort out, yeah?”
What shit did he have to sort out? What did he have going on that wasn’t a club issue.
“Are you okay? Is something going on with Elise?” He’d drop everything for his younger sister, and I’d back him all the fucking way if she needed help.
He waved a hand at me. “Nah, Elise is fine, just fine. I’ve just got some stuff going on, and you know, it’s uh… it’s not gonna fix itself. That’s all.”
And now I was worrying about him too.
“Brother, you need anything, I’m there, yeah? If you need to go sooner, you go sooner. I’ll pick things up again, and stop leaning on you so much.”
He smirked as he headed for the door.
“Yeah, whatever… now go finish your woman off, so we can go, yeah?”
Prick. His words, and his general state, were bothering me though. Something was wrong with my VP, and it was down to me to find out what.
Thirty-Four
WhenIcameoutof the bathroom, he was pre-occupied. Worried. Instead of trying to carry on where we left off, I made tea for us, and encouraged him to sit down with me on the sofa. He picked up his mug and stared at it.
“What’s wrong?”
He sighed heavily. “I really want a fucking coffee.”
I slapped his arm, nearly making him spill it, and earning myself a delightfully sexy glare for my trouble.
“Be serious.”
