Page 7 of Cover Up

Felix winced. “Oh.”

Dei let out a slow breath. “Sofia’s had mental health stuff goin’ on since she was a kid. I had ten years on her, so by the time we realized anything was really wrong, I was long gone, and my momma just…she was strugglin’ to keep herself together, so she couldn’t help. Sofia was gettin’ worse and worse, and Momma was needing lookin’ after. I was two months away from bein’ discharged when this happened,” Dei said, gesturing from his scarred shoulder down his body and toward his leg.

“Well, fuck.”

Dei laughed softly. “Got it in one. I was real fucked-up when I woke up in the hospital. Had debris in both eyes and lost this one.” He gestured to the one on the left. “Sixteen surgeries on my arm and leg…” He stopped abruptly, then laughed again, shaking his head. “Shit. You know, I never tell anyone that story. Ever?”

Felix sat upright. “Oh god. Am I being—”

“No, sugar. Hell no,” Dei said, interrupting Felix’s attempt at an apology. You’ve done nothin’ wrong.”

Felix felt something warm in his chest. “Will it help if I tell you I won’t remember half of this tomorrow?”

Dei’s face softened, and he reached his hand across the table. Felix hesitated, but only for a second. He was desperate to know what Dei’s touch was like, and it was as rough and warm as he expected. He was calloused with burns from his work, and even with the gentle brush of fingers, Felix could feel the power in him.

“It don’t help knowin’ you’re suffering too. And I’m sorry to dump all that shit on you,” Dei murmured, running his thumb over the side of Felix’s.

“god, don’t be. That’s a lot to hold in.”

“Maybe. But you got a front-row seat to the Sofia circus tonight, and I hate that,” Dei said. “Whatever she said to you…”

“Hey, no. It was nothing,” Felix insisted. “I’m just glad I was there to get her away from that guy. If you want to go hunt him down and make him sorry for ever laying a finger on her, I’ve got your back. I can’t be a getaway driver, but I can definitely hold him down while you go to town on his face.”

Dei’s smile went a little dark. “You got fire in you, huh?”

“Maybe not all the time, but the fact that he put his hands on her?” Felix glanced over his shoulder at the front door. “Will he actually show up here?”

Dei let out a soft growl and nodded. “He knows better’n that. I just need to convince her to stay put long enough to get out whatever garbage is in her system. She, uh…she stopped taking her meds a few months ago after my mom’s condition got worse and started takin’ other shit.”

Felix’s eyes went wide. “Does your mom live here with you?”

“Too much of a liability for her,” Dei said, shaking his head. “I work too much. I can’t afford the mortgage on this place with part-time hours, and Jeremiah’s been real nice about keeping me busy. But Sofia can’t even take care of herself, so I had to find a place for her. Feels like shit, you know?”

Felix didn’t know. He could tell Dei had done it out of love, not because he didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of a parent who clearly loved him and had done her best. That was something Felix would never be able to understand.

Hell, he was still waiting for some sort of subpoena or something calling him to court to defend his competency, though he didn’t think his parents would have a case after this long. But occasionally, the thought kept him up at night.

“I say something wrong, shug?” Dei asked.

Felix shook his head quickly. “It’s just been a long night.”

Dei seemed to snap back to reality and pulled his hand away, leaving Felix aching for more. “I should let you go. You didn’t need all this tonight.”

“It meant I got to finally talk to you, so I really don’t mind,” Felix blurted, then bit the inside of his cheek. Fuck, Dei was going to think he was a total creep.

But Dei just smiled and walked around the counter, offering Felix his hand to help him down, though he very clearly didn’t need it. “Been wantin’ the same thing. Y’all are always so busy, though. Never felt like the time was right.”

Felix didn’t really know what that meant. He could almost always be found hiding in the corner, trying not to talk in case his words came out wrong or backward. Dei was probably just trying to be nice, but Felix wasn’t going to turn his nose up at it.

“Let me walk you home?”

Felix blinked up at him. “Oh. I mean, it’s like four houses down.”

“All the same. It’s late as hell, and it would make me feel better. Ask Jeremiah how fuckin’ annoying I am about this stuff.”

Felix gave a small laugh and shrugged. “Fine. If it’ll make you happy.”

Dei met his gaze—powerful and intense. “It definitely will.”

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