Page 60 of Skin Deep

Alarm bells started going off in my head. “What’s wrong? Where are you?” Wherever he was, I could be there in twenty.

“At home,” he said. “Something’s happened. I didn’t want to call you, but I was worried. I… needed to hear your voice.”

My heart melted, hearing that. “It’s good to hear yours too. How come you didn’t text me back? What’s going on?”

War sighed. “One of my brothers was hurt. Xander got beat up badly. I was at the hospital overnight with him, and then came home and crashed.”

“Fuck,” I said, starting the truck. “Is he okay? What happened?”

“He’s got a broken arm. Pax… I can’t…” He sighed again. “It was my fault he got hurt. I brought him in to help and he got hurt because of me. I can’t let that happen to you, or your girls. Maybe… Maybe it’s better if we don’t see each other anymore.”

I was quiet for a long beat, trying to decide what I should say. “I’m not afraid, Warrick.”

“I am,” he admitted quietly. “There are things you don’t know about. If I don’t drop this case, they’ll kill you.”

“I thought that’s what this Bowen business was about?”

War sighed. “Things have gotten… complicated.”

“Maybe you should explain in person.”

War was quiet for a long time. “I want to. God, do I want to see you. But if I do, I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to do what I need to do.”

I clenched my jaw, anger and hurt flaring. “Well, maybe you’re ready to throw in the towel, but I’m not. I told you before that I don’t need you to track down the ripper. I can do it myself if you want to back out.”

“You need to let this go, Pax,” War said firmly. “And you need to let me go. This can’t work. You have to see that.”

“God dammit, War. What the fuck? I thought you were all in. What changed?”

He was quiet for a long moment. “Simeon made himself clear, Pax. If we don’t drop this, he’ll kill you. He might hurt Charlie and Lettie and I can’t…” He took a deep breath. “I won’t be responsible for that. This case, it’s all we’ve got. Without it… there is no us.”

“Bullshit,” I spat through gritted teeth. “We’re more than partners in crime. We were made for each other. I’m not backing down. Not from this job, and not from you.”

“Paxton… don’t make this harder than it has to be.” He sounded like he was in pain.

I sat back in the seat, my heart sinking. “So this is it, huh? You’re going to let them bully you into walking away from what makes you happy?”

War was quiet on the other end.

“Do I make you happy?” I asked and held my breath.

“Pax, this isn’t about that.”

“Yes, it is,” I insisted. “Fuck everyone else, War. I want you, and I know you want me. So be with me.”

“I can’t be with you if you’re dead, Paxton!” There was a small sound on the other end, and I wondered if he was trying not to break as hard as I was.

“Warrick, please don’t do this.” I wasn’t above begging. We were so good together, too good to let it go because a bunch of mobster assholes didn’t want us to be together.

“I’m sorry, Pax. I can’t.”

“War. War!” I shouted his name into the phone, but it was no use. He’d already hung up.

I stared down at the phone in my hands, feeling nothing and everything all at once. I was pissed off that he thought I couldn’t protect myself and my girls, but touched that he cared. The phone call proved he did. He cared enough about us that he was willing to give up his own happiness to make sure we were safe. If that wasn’t love, I didn’t know what was.

And he was willing to let that go? Didn’t he know how rare that kind of love was? Especially for men like us.

Well, I wasn’t willing to give up. Not on the ripper case, and not on him.

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