Page 20 of Cover Up

Jeremiah peered from around his computer, but his glasses were off, so Dei knew there was no chance the man could see him. “What’s up?”

“I’m gonna take a break before I get on dinner prep.”

Jeremiah lifted a brow. “Home for a nap? Or is something else going on?”

Dei opened his mouth to tell him the truth, but for some reason, his tongue stuck to the back of his teeth, and the words refused to come. After a beat, he cleared his throat. “Nothin’ important. You need anything while I’m out?” It wasn’t exactly a lie, even if it sounded like one. The tattoo wasn’t important, but somehow, it held that sort of weight in his chest.

Jeremiah sat back, gently rubbing at his eyes. “Uh, not that I can think of. It would be super awesome if you could—”

“Run that big-ass to-go order to your boy?” Dei asked with a small grin.

Jeremiah had the courtesy to look a little sheepish. “I’ve got a meeting with that new produce vendor, otherwise I wouldn’t ask. I swear.”

Dei snorted. “I know. You never miss a chance to suck face with him if you can help it.” He thumped his cane twice on the floor. “I’ll be back in a couple hours. Call me if you need me.”

Jeremiah shot him a wave just before Dei turned, and he snagged the three bags sitting on the edge of the to-go line and wrapped them around his wrist. It was awkward trying to manage everything with just the one arm, but while he’d mastered the fuck out of his prosthetic leg, his upper limb had been a real bitch.

A lot of it was due to the tendon and nerve damage that made it difficult for him to work the mechanics of the robotic arm, even as sensitive as the new technology was. He’d done a few weeks of PT with it, but in the end, he ended up more frustrated with the damn thing, and it had been hanging by the strap in his closet for almost a year now.

In reality, he preferred to just let his stump hang out. People were going to ask questions anyway, and the prosthetic made him feel like a newborn baby giraffe trying to walk. He struggled with his spatial awareness thanks to his missing eye, and knocking shit over just drew even more attention to him, which was the last thing he was ever in the mood for.

But days like today, when he was hoofing his ass to the shop with ten pounds of food, he wouldn’t have minded the extra limb. Even if it was just to hang grocery bags from the mechanical wrist.

When he got to the shop, a couple of the guys were out front. Jamie spotted him first and lit up, and Dei felt his belly warm. He loved that little fucker. He was short and loud and unapologetic about who he was. He was the little sibling Dei had always wanted to have, and he’d warmed to the guy in ways he hadn’t expected to.

“Hey! Is that food? You love me that much?”

Dei laughed. “Uh, this would be the work of Max taking full advantage of having a boyfriend with a restaurant.”

“God, I love that,” Jamie said. “Did you cook it?”

Dei shook his head. “Nah, man. I’ve been stuck on inventory most of the morning.”

“Gross. No, thank you,” Jamie said. He darted forward and opened the door for Dei. “You gonna stick around?”

He’d been planning on going home to take a nap, but he shrugged anyway. “For a bit.” He brushed past Jamie and walked inside, unable to help scanning the immediate bodies for Felix’s face. He was nowhere to be found, even after he turned his head to compensate for his left-side blindness, so he tried to temper his disappointment when Max jumped up and rushed to the counter.

“I hope he’s paying you overtime for this.”

Dei rolled his eyes. “My ass is on salary. But I do get afternoon naps, so I can’t complain too much.”

Max pulled the bags toward him. “Tell him he’d better be working on your Christmas bonus. I’m starving, and you’re literally saving my life.”

“He’s just being dramatic,” came the voice Dei really wanted to hear, and Felix appeared a second later, wearing a big grin. His gaze moved to Dei’s stump, then to his hand, which was still clutching his cane. “Aren’t you sick of being their errand boy?”

“Not when it means I get to visit with you. Uh. Y’all,” he amended, a bit too late by the look on Max’s face. But no one said a word, and he was grateful for it.

Felix’s smile went a little shy, and he leaned his arm against the edge of the counter, his hand covered in a black latex glove. “Ready to get inked?”

“Yep,” Dei said, trying to hide his nerves.

Felix raised a brow at him. “Not going to chicken out on me, are you? You seem a little green.”

“Never,” Dei said, and he knew he sounded a bit too fierce when Felix took a step back.

“Hey, I was joking,” Felix said at the same time as Dei blurted, “Do you have the design finished?”

There was an awkward silence, and then Max slowly took a step back. “I’mmmmm gonna go put the food in the drawing room.”

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