Page 78 of The Retaliation You Deliver

“It’s really okay. But there’s more to this than just your name, isn’t there?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, taking the photo back and staring down at my parents’ smiling faces.

My chest still aches from talking about my dad earlier, and seeing him happy before Mom died doesn’t make any of it any easier to take.

“But a lot of that isn’t my story to tell.”

“It’s Leon’s.”

“Our pasts are intertwined in ways I never could have imagined.”

“Is that why he sought you out?”

I nod, not wanting to lie to him.

“Yeah, although finding me while he was… entertaining Charlie was just luck. He had no idea I was here.”

He nods, accepting my words before his eyes capture mine, a seriousness I don’t like flickering through his.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

“We’re a disaster, Nate.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.” He lifts a brow, trying to make a point.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel. We’ve both got too much baggage to make anything work.”

“Do you really believe that? Don’t you think that all of it might be easier to carry if you both share the load?”

My chin drops in shock that he’s suddenly encouraging this.

“I thought you hated him.”

“I hate how he’s treated you. But none of that seems to have stopped you from wanting him, and I trust you, Mace. If you see good in him that we can’t, then I’ll take your word for it.”

“Is that why you hit him, because you trust me?” I ask.

“No, I did that because he deserved it. Although, I wasn’t expecting to actually do it.”

I can’t help but laugh at the horrified look on his face as he recalls what happened outside.

“Hurt like a motherfucker,” he admits lifting his hand to inspect his knuckles.

“My hero,” I joke.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Mace. And whatever you do with all this, I’ve got your back, okay?”

“Thank you,” I breathe, that damn lump back in my throat.

“I’ll leave you to get cleaned up. You look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge.”

“You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself.”

“I was trying to be polite and not tell you that you looked like you’d been fucked six ways from Sunday.”

My cheeks bloom at his words.

“You better have got yours, Mace. That’s all I’m gonna say.”