Page 198 of Things We Left Behind

I rolled my wrist. Apparently time didn’t heal all wounds.

“That’s horrible,” Naomi said.

Knox handed her a fresh napkin. “Donotfucking cry, Daze.”

“His aunt and uncle must have heard about it because they sent Lucian another bike. He hid it at our place in the shed. He only rode it when he came over. He never once tookit into town or anywhere his dad might see him on it,” Nash explained.

Knox frowned. “I remember that.”

I didn’t want to feel sorry for Lucian. Not right now.

“So he protected it by hiding it from his dad,” Lina said. “That’s a spot-­on metaphor, hotshot.”

“I do what I can,” he said with a flirty wink.

I shook my head. “Yeah, okay. He was thirteen and living under the thumb of a god-­awful monster. But what’s his excuse now?”

“How the hell should we know?” Knox said.

“Sounds like the guy you’renotworried about didn’t grow up with any kind of emotional support to show him what it’s like to be a real man in a real relationship,” Joel said, magically appearing behind the bar. “A guy like that might think the only way he can keep something safe is by keeping his distance.”

I didn’t want a reason to empathize with the man who was currently fucking his way through the beautiful female philanthropic geniuses in the District of Columbia. I wanted to forget that Lucian Rollins existed.

I held up a finger in Nash’s face. “First, you are hereby not allowed to discuss anything regarding me, including any past, present, or future threats.”

“Noted.”

“Second, who the hell would be targeting me to get to Lucian? A discarded lover? Some politician he put into office?”

He shrugged. “Possibly. Or maybe someone like Anthony Hugo. An enemy with the resources to dig into exactly who and what Lucian is doing.”

“Well, that puts a fucking damper on things,” Stef said, breaking the ensuing silence.

“Look. Right now, we don’t know who it is. So it’s smarter to be vigilant,” Nash explained.

“Then why the fuck isn’t Luce being vigilant here?” Knox demanded.

Nash shrugged. “Because he’s a dumbass? Did you at least install the new cameras you said you were going to get?”

“Waylay came over last weekend and helped me order everything,” I told him. “Now can we please change the subject and start in on Stef for still not telling Jeremiah he’s ready to move in together?”

Assface:How did it go with the judge?

Assface:Holly brought in gas station sushi to share. The entire office smells like listeria.

Assface:I’m making an effort here. You could at least pretend to have the maturity of an adult and respond.

33

Grumpy Bear

Lucian

How am I supposed to know the man’s grandmother died?” I snapped in exasperation at Lina, who stuck to my heels like one of those annoying yappy dogs that wanted something from you.

I was marching down the hall when my employee lost her damn mind and committed a fireable offense by grabbing me by the back of the jacket and dragging me into an office.

“Carl, I’m sorry to do this to you, but it’s for the good of everyone. Get out,” Lina said.