Page 23 of Cover Up

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit Jeremiah’s work cell. It rang twice before he answered. “I’m next door at the tattoo shop. Is there a fire?”

“I’m in the alley,” Dei said, feeling a little woozy. “Clark showed up.”

“Sofia’s—”

“Yeah,” Dei interrupted. “I knocked him out. He’s laying here unconscious.”

“Shit. Okay, uh…don’t move. Just give me a second.”

The line went dead, so Dei tucked his phone back into his pocket, then tapped Clark with the tip of his cane. Clark groaned and turned his head, but he didn’t open his eyes. Jesus fuck. Maybe he’d done some actual damage.

Dei took a few steps back, pressing two fingers to his temple, and after what felt like a short forever, he heard more than one person approaching. Whipping his head to the side, he saw Felix with Max close at his heel and Jeremiah on his arm.

“Is this him?” Max demanded, coming to a stop.

Felix kept moving until he was at Dei’s side, and he put a warm hand on his arm. “You okay? Did he hurt you?”

Dei let out a tense laugh. “No, uh. No. He just ran his mouth, and I knocked him out.” He felt suddenly disgusted with himself for unleashing that way. What kind of man was he? Any better than the piece of shit on the ground?

He realized he was shaking when he reached up to comb through his hair and his fingers were trembling like fall leaves. The world seemed oddly muted, and shit, was he breathing? He pressed his hand to his sternum to feel his lungs move.

“Hey, I think you’re having a panic attack,” Felix said very softly. He turned his head. “Jer? Can Deimos take off now?”

“Yes. Go. Max and I will take care of this.”

Felix nodded. “Why don’t you come with me? I can get you out of here.”

Dei nodded a little numbly and realized his hand was still shaking as he picked up his cane. “I, uh…” His voice sounded far off, and he felt like he was floating outside of his body. He hadn’t had a full-blown panic attack in years, but the sensation was all too familiar. “Felix?”

“I’ve got you,” Felix said very softly. “Paris is waiting around the back in his truck.”

“Wait. No,” Dei tried to protest, but Felix stopped him, squeezing his fingers hard enough to keep him momentarily grounded.

“Did he do something to you?” Felix asked.

Dei shook his head. “He threatened my sister, and I snapped. I didn’t even think. I just knocked him out.”

Felix grimaced. “That was probably the least he deserved.”

“Yeah, but I just fucking hit him. I—”

“Dei?”

He took a breath. “Yeah?”

“Wanna come to my place tonight?”

Dei blinked, then let out a tense laugh. “That might not be the worst idea. Don’t know if I should be alone right now.”

“Cool, because I don’t want you to be alone right now,” Felix told him. He threaded their fingers together and tugged until Dei started moving again, and he realized Felix had taken his cane before he dropped it.

The simple, careful gesture that Dei hadn’t even noticed hit him right in the center of his chest.

He swallowed against heavy emotion as he met Paris’s gaze through the windshield, and he appreciated the man’s quiet stoicism when he got in. The truck had the AC blasting, so Dei was able to rest his head against the cool window, and in the back seat, Felix reached between the door and Dei’s side, curling fingers over his wrist.

“There gonna be cops?” Paris asked when they were a few minutes from their street.

Dei took a breath. “Maybe. I knocked that fucker out, but he was high as a kite, so I don’t know if he’s gonna involve them.”

---