Page 60 of Flyboy
Something was wrong with Lys. Something other than the images of their friends he'd put in her head. Jack couldn't put his finger on it though. There were so many things that could be upsetting her right now and all he wanted to do was take care of every single one of them. If he were a knight of old, he'd be slaying dragons.
Except she would never let him. Experience had taught him he shouldn't even offer. Although he did. Regularly. It was what they argued about most. That and the fact he didn't ask and just did a lot of the time.
She'd shocked him earlier when she'd agreed to let him know where she was from now on. Normally, he wouldn't worry about where she went or what she did, but after speaking with Roark last night, he had to admit he'd gone into panic mode when she hadn't shown up at Ry's when he'd expected. And when she hadn't answered her phone…
Yeah, he'd panicked. He wasn't ashamed to admit it. The thought of her in trouble, of something happening to her, had made his gut cramp and his blood freeze.
If Gina did anything…
Fuck. He had to stop torturing himself. Lys was fine—safe. She was here. Laughing and talking, having a good time with their friends. Even ifhecould tell her smile didn't reach her eyes and her laugh came out a little forced, she had put up a good front for everyone else. No one had questioned her in spite of her less than usual exuberance.
Shaking his head, he watched her walk across the deck toward Ry. Jack let them talk while he finished folding the last of the trestle tables. He waited a few seconds more before his need to be near her got the better of him and had him heading over to where they stood.
"Hey, me and my designated driver are heading out," he said, slinging an arm around Lys's neck, he ignored the way she stiffened against him.
Ry smiled absently. "Thanks for coming."
Would their friend be offended if Jack rushed them out the door? They were the last two here; the Malone brothers, the usual last stragglers at one of these BBQs, had herded their families out of the backyard a good ten minutes ago. The only reason he hadn't ushered Lys out at the same time was her insistence they help clean up a bit more before taking off.
"Great place." Jack looked around, his gaze pausing on the window he could see Maz through, the same one he'd seen the two of them through earlier. "Kind of big for just one guy though."
Ry's smile was full of genuine pleasure when he said, "Yeah, but that deck."
Jack laughed, as if that was the only draw of the place; he hadn't missed the looks Ry had sent Maz all day. "Yeah, the deck."
"C'mon. Let's go." Alyssa poked him in the ribs. "I need to get home."
"Everything all right?" he asked, his concerned gaze lowering to study her face.
"Yep. Fine. I just need to get home."
"You sure?" Jack pressed, the edge in his voice unavoidable, he'd been on tenterhooks since he couldn't get hold of her on the phone this morning. No, he had been on edge since he'd learned from Roark where Gina was.
Jack notice Ry watching them closely and hoped he hadn't revealed anything with his tone or the way he held Lys close. He was trying to come up with a distraction when Lys spoke.
"Of course." She ducked out from under his arm and stepped away. "C'mon. You're on shift tomorrow."
She was right. He was scheduled to work his usual twenty-four-hour rotation at Mercy-Life, along with Ry and Maz.
"I'll see you in the morning, Jack. See you Tuesday, Alyssa?" Ry asked, making Jack frown. Had she switched shifts again?
Nodding, she said, "Sure will. I already said goodbye to Maz, so we'll go out the side gate."
"Oh, okay. Thanks again for coming."
Jack gave Ry a chin lift, then walked across the yard to the gate. He didn't wait for Lys, figuring it would be better to put some distance between them to stop any speculation Ry might be thinking. Although the man seemed preoccupied, and it didn't take much effort to guess what had his friend's attention. Jack could only hope it was enough of a distraction. It would keep him out of Lys's bad books if their current circumstances remained a secret.
He heard Ry say, "I'll see you out," but Jack didn't turn around or answer; he wanted to get them out of there as quickly as possible so he could find out what had Lys faking happiness all day.
"No need. I'll lock the gate behind us," Lys told him.
When Jack reached the side of the house and looked back, he saw Lys up on her toes pressing a kiss to Ry's cheek. She murmured something in his ear Jack couldn't hear before dropping to her heels once more.
Ry acknowledge her words with a single nod and a slight smile. Whatever she'd said hadn't offended him and Jack had to assume it had to do with Maz. The few conversations he and Lys had had about her friend gave him the impression Maz was coming off a bad breakup, and he knew Lys would be warning Ry to tread carefully.
Ry wasn't the only one who needed to tread carefully. Jack still had to work out how to tell Lys about what Roark had discovered as well as who he was and what that meant for her as his wife.
Knowing he couldn't put it off any longer and suddenly wanting to get on with it—now—he called out, "You coming?"
