Page 84 of Lock Up the Darkness

“A staple?”

“Oh, yeah, one of the main food groups, I’m telling you.”

I chuckled. “Sorry. I do have some cookies chocked full of M&Ms if you want.”

“M&Ms, huh?”

“Those are my stress food. And cheesy fries.”

“Good to know. I’m fine, but thanks. And thanks to Ash, I guess.” He muttered under his breath, “Motherfucker.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s really not. Don’t get into the habit of defending him. It’s a dangerous road to go down.”

“All roads are dangerous right now. I’m fine with it. I’ll handle it.”

He stared at me for a few long moments, worry and empathy shining forth.

And then he looked away, focusing back on the comics.

“Jonah’s into his comics too. He has shelves upon shelves full of them in his room. Although, he’s all for the villains.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “He thinks that’s what we are. So, it’s relatable to him.”

“And you? Do you think you’re villains?”

He put down my comics and eyed me. “We have to be. Heroes compromise for the greater good and all that, they do what’s right even at the expense of themselves and those they love. Villains don’t. They’re all in. They do whatever it takes to come out on top.”

“It’s the world of the Infidels writing your story, making it that way.”

“For now, yeah.”

“Killian—”

He snatched up one of my soft toys—my Saint Bernard—and looked it over studiously. “So, what’s the deal with all these? Just dogs, nothing else.”

“I like dogs.”

“And?” he pushed.

“What?”

“That can’t be the extent of it. This is obsession level.”

“Bullshit.”

Off his look, I shifted in bed and admitted, “They’re my favorite animal. One of my goals was to have this big farmhouse type of home full of dogs, out in the middle of nowhere, just me and the animals. Much better than people.”

“Right there with you on that.”

“You’re a hell of a good actor, because you’re always around them. At the center of their attention, right in the heart of the crowd.”

“Yeah, I’m not a fan. Not at all.” He shifted his weight, leaning back on his hands and getting comfortable. There was a faraway look in his eyes as he told me, “A few times a month, whenever I can get away without it alerting my fan club, I head on out of this cage of a place and spend hours at a petting zoo. Just being away from people and around animals is—”

“Soothing beyond belief?”

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