Page 159 of Her Beast

“I cared for you,” Brian said, after the silence had stretched out too long. He cleared his throat. “I still care.”

Malcolm grinned, amused—but not surprised—when the other man winced at his crooked smile. “Why, that warms the cockles of my heart, Bri.”

“I’m so sorry about Sukey.So—”

“Shut up.” He didn’t raise his voice, but Brian’s jaws snapped shut immediately.

“You are still a beautiful man, Brian. Angelic is the word Sukey used for you.” His mouth twitched into a genuine smile. “She loved you, Brian—even knowing your weaknesses.Brian has the face of an angel, the vanity of a schoolgirl, and the heart of a hen, she once said to me.” Malcolm chuckled, genuinely amused by the other man’s furious flush.

Brian’s eyes narrowed to slits. “If I remember correctly, you were more than a little vain yourself once, Malcolm.”

“Oh, I was.” He nodded vigorously. “I was a handsome bastard back then, wasn’t I, Bri?”

“You’re still very handsome.” Brian had to force the words out and his face turned beet red when he heard how false he sounded.

“That’s kind of you. But you needn’t pretend with me. I know you. You never could bear broken or ugly things, could you Bri? I remember that dog I found half-dead near our rubbish bin. One eye, three legs, scarred all to hell from some rat or cock pit. Sugar, I named her—a sweet little bitch she was, but you couldn’t even bear to look at her.The dog is an abomination,you said,it would be a kindness to put her down. I think you were glad when the poor thing got run over by a carter, her spine crushed. Even then she dragged herself to me and licked my hand. But that’s a dog for you, isn’t? Loyal through and through. No other creature quite like it. The best I could do to repay that loyalty was to put Sugar out of her misery quickly. Poor Sukey cried and cried—even I bawled like a babe. But you? You were dry-eyed.”

Brian couldn’t seem to find his words.

“Don’t look so stricken,” Malcolm said, reaching for the ties that held on his mask, amused by the other man’s widening eyes. “I reckon you thought the same about me—that it would be a mercy to put me down?”

“No! Of course I didn’t—”

“One-eyed, scarred even worse than poor Sugar.” Malcolm pulled the second tie and then tossed the mask to the desk with a clatter. “Hell, evenIthought it would be a mercy to put me down.”

Brian’s lips parted in horror, his eyes flickering across Malcolm’s ruined face, revulsion coloring his still-beautiful features.

“So, no,” Malcolm said, smiling at the other man. “I wasn’t angry when I saw the way you looked at me when I was lying in that hospital bed, nothing but a raw, open wound. It’s a bit like the way you’re looking at me now, Bri.”

Those words must have reminded Brian that he’d come to Malcolm on a mission and that he’d better master his expression sooner rather than later.

Brian forced a shaky smile. “Surely you still remember the good times we had, too, Mal?”

“Oh, yes. I can remember those, Bri.”

“Perhaps…”

“Perhaps?” Malcolm repeated, genuinely intrigued.

“Perhaps you could see your way to relenting? Just a little,” he added hastily.

“Relent how?”

“Let the girl go.”

Malcolm shrugged. “What is the hurry? The wedding isn’t for several weeks.”

“Basingstoke and his family are in town and they’ve been asking about her. It is… awkward.”

“Hmmph. Awkward,” he said, as if pondering.

“Yes, very.”

“What about the other items on that list I gave Tommy? You want me torelenton all that, too?”

Brian’s expression went from hopeful to wary. “No, no, not all of it.”

“Carl and Nadine for example—they can still get what they deserve for killing Sukey, hmm?”

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