Page 101 of Sean's Sunshine

“In addition to!” Jackson retorted, and Ellery could tell he was stung to his core.

“You and Henry,” Ellery said slowly, “beat up five police officersin the department elevator, and….”

“There’s no record of that,” Jackson told him virtuously. “You can’t prove that. Nobody will testify to that. It didn’t happen.”

“Nothing happened,” Ellery said, and his eyes widened. Oh my God. He narrowed his eyes and glared. “You….” He pointed his finger directly at Jackson’s chest. “Youshould have been a lawyer.”

Jackson clutched his heart. “You take that back!”

“Not until you tell me what happened!” Ellery shouted.

“Nothing happened!” Jackson and Henry shouted back.

“Hey!” Galen entered in his stately way and thumped on the floor with his cane. He peered from Jackson to Henry in surprise. “What in the hell happened?”

“Don’tsay it!” Ellery ordered, and Jackson and Henry both leaned back, hands to mouths. “According to those two, nothing.”

Galen’s eyes narrowed. “Is anybody pressing charges?”

“No,” Jade said. “I just texted the desk sergeant. She said, and I am quoting here, ‘Your employees were kind and supportive and did nothing to warrant any investigation.’”

Galen blinked several times in rapid succession and peered at Jackson and Henry again. “Oh dear God.Somebodyneeds to tell us what happened.”

“Nothing.” Jackson’s voice had taken on that stony ring that told Ellery he wasn’t getting a thing out of him.

“Which is probably the same thing that will happen tonight when we get home,” Ellery said sweetly. “Not a goddamned thing.”

“Fine,” Jackson said.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

And for the rest of the day, that was that.

THAT NIGHT,Ellery climbed into the shower with Jackson and proceeded to seduce him—gently, of course, because he was covered with bruises.

When it was over, and they’d both dried off and mopped up the excess water on the floors and put on pajamas, Ellery lay, head pillowed on Jackson’s chest, and tried to map his injuries.

“Ooh, this one’s bad,” he murmured. “Someone caught you pretty hard with this one.”

“Telescoping nightstick,” Jackson mumbled, half asleep. “If he’d had room to swing it, my wrist would be broken.”

“Mmm….” Ellery kissed his bruised wrist. “Why did this happen again?”

Jackson let out a sigh that told Ellery he was out of fight. “They were being shitty to the desk sergeant. Her kid was born with a cleft palate, I guess. They were telling her to stop showing pictures of her ugly baby. Worse shit, too, but….” He sighed. “Go ahead. Tell me it’s stupid.”

Ellery’s eyes burned. “Nope. Not stupid.” He grimaced. “Just… you know. You and Henry are really lucky that nothing happened.”

“Yeah. Maybe next time we try to make nice with the police department, nothing can involve fewer ice packs. That’d be nice.”

Nice, Ellery thought, but not necessary. Sometimes the biggest somethings were revealed by the most important nothings.

Like Jackson’s—and Henry’s—enormous hearts.

Zoomies

So I wastryingto finishSean’s Sunshine, and my brain didn’t want to do it. Apparently not just kittens have a case of the zoomies.