Page 37 of Mercury Rising

“I had no idea,” Mercury replied.

“Yeah, I couldn’t wait to get a place of my own. Plus, the charity gets an unpaid night watchman. Win-win, I suppose.”

The conversation dried. Once again, the feel of Nick’s muscular arms around Mercury when they’d been swinging around in the air popped into his mind.

“What’s up?” Nick asked.

“Nothing,” Mercury replied. “Just thinking. You’ve done so much to change your life. I’ve had everything handed to me and have achieved fuck all.”

Nick moved a little closer. “That’s no way to talk. Maybe you’re a late bloomer.”

“You were supposed to disagree with me.”

Nick grinned. “I don’t do tricks. If you want to prove yourself wrong, you’re the only one who can do it.”

Mercury glanced up into Nick’s deep eyes. A knock at the door shattered the moment into a thousand pieces.

“Ugh,” Nick said, taking a step away. “I’d better see who that is.”

Nick opened the door. Hassan stood, waiting patiently.

“Can you get the Scrabble down from the top shelf?” he asked. “None of the others will and I can’t reach.”

Nick glanced back at Mercury and winked before letting Hassan pull him away.

Abort mission, Mercury. This is so not a good idea.

Still, Mercury focused on Nick’s fine ass as the door closed gently behind him. Being thrown together with this man day in and day out was torture and Mercury was only human.

What if I can’t abort? What then?

CHAPTER NINE

Two days passed and neither Mercury nor Nick had spoken about Nick’s confession. However, it preyed on Mercury’s mind. Every time he watched Nick with the kids, Mercury saw the gentle way he approached their problems. He refused to believe that Nick would have been prepared to use a gun.

No doubt he’d carried it to look like the hardman.

When Mercury used to spend time with his grandmother in Los Angeles, she’d hammered into him the dangers of carrying a weapon. Of course, in Los Angeles it was way more common.

She would always say that if you were holding a weapon, you either use it or have it used on you. She’d moved to America when Mercury was a child. In a rare moment of family concern, his father had paid for her to relocate.

“Penny for them?”

Mercury snapped out of his daydream.

“Sorry, miles away.”

“Thinking about someone?”

“My grandmother.”

“You want to talk about it?”

This man was so caring it took Mercury’s breath away. He really wanted to say it had been a nice change to think aboutsomething other than the feel of Nick’s body pressed against him as they dangled in mid-air.

“Not really. She died a few years ago. Just before the pandemic fucked everyone up.”

“It’s hard losing someone you’re close to. Did she live in London?”