Page 82 of Break

Must. Fucking. Sleep.

Vincent

Dragging my feet up the porch steps, I feel defeated. Then, I get pissed.Fuck Danny and fuck his entitlement to believe that he shouldn’t have to answer for what he’s done. We just wasted so many man-hours walking the city and driving along back roads, with nothing to show for it. Not one goddamn sign of him.

I’m surprised to see all three of them in the living room at this hour. Normally, Mina goes to bed early, but tonight she’s the only one awake. Max is laid out in the recliner with the remote resting on his chest. Ethan has his legs stretched out and head tilted back against the headrest of the couch, also passed out. He’s tucked into the corner, and it’s obvious Mina was leaning against him.

Now that she sees me, she’s sitting up straight with her legs crossed, wordlessly waiting. Her eyes are big, and her gaze is bouncing between my eyes, silently asking me all the questions.

I ache for her, and I wish I could give her some reassurance that we’re out of the woods, but I just can’t. She must read that from my lack of response, and her face drops in resignation.

Exhaustion is deadening my limbs, so the only thing I can think to do is to stumble my way toward her. Resting my knee on the opposite side of her, I crawl my way onto the soft cushions, feeling them give way under my weight. I know I’m moving slowly, but my body is quickly shutting down.Must. Fucking. Sleep.

I should probably have asked first, but my brain is misfiring as I ease my body down and lay my head in her lap, facing her stomach. My nose is near her belly button, and I breathe in deeply. Cuddling closer, I feel myself being sucked into the darkness of slumber, but not before her fingers settle on my head and tangle with the strands of my hair.

It’s so goddamn soothing that I don’t remember when I wrapped my arms around her, and I certainly don’t remember pulling her down to lie beside me. What Idoremember as my consciousness fades away is the feeling of her snuggling into my chest, and I know I’ve found a haven in her arms.

The next thing I know, I’m waking up to the sound of Max’s deep voice. He’s on the phone, speaking in hushed tones, but I can hear the frustration laced in his words. Sitting up slowly, I blink my eyes a few times to clear the sleep from my vision, then look down at an entirely breathtaking different kind of vision.

Mina is still asleep beside me, tucked in between me and the back of the couch, her chest rising and falling steadily. I can feel the warmth from her body seeping into mine, and for a moment, I lay back down, content to just stay here and hold her. I swear to God; the woman fucking purrs in her sleep as she nuzzles closer into my chest, and I just can’t stop looking at her.

I’m grateful as fuck that she’s here as well. Not just here on this couch, but in Max’s home with all of us.

The sound of Max’s voice pulls her from sleep as it grows louder, her brows furrowing as she fights to wake up. I wait until she blinks her eyes open and then looks up at me, unfocused and confused.

“Max is on the phone,” I whisper, running my hand along her waist.

“Is everyth-” She immediately stops talking and covers her mouth, eyes widening in horror. Mumbling under her hand, she continues mumbling, “I’m so sorry.”

Snickering at her, I pull her hand away. “The hell are you sorry for?”

Mina tries to talk by moving her lips as little as possible. “It’s the morning. I need to brush.”

Scooting down the couch, I bring my face level with hers, both of our heads only laying inches away from each other. Then I bump my nose against hers and smile when her nose crinkles as she tries to distance her face from mine. “You’re all good. But I’ll let you up if you’d like, for a toll.” Winking, I let her know I’m just teasing.

I hold my hand up between us and hold my thumb and index finger about an inch apart. “Just a teensy little good morning kiss, and I’ll haul my ass off this couch and let you be on your way.” I wouldn’t actually force her to do it, but each time I play with her, she seems to gain more confidence around me.

She studies me, trying to figure out if I’m serious. It’s obvious the moment she comes to a decision because her eyes brighten with laughter. A mischievous little smile flickers across her lips before she pecks the tip of my nose. “There, a teensy little good morning kiss for the toll. Now move so I can go brush my teeth!”

Chuckling to myself, I roll off the couch and let Mina scramble up. She makes her way to the bathroom quickly, and I turn my attention to Max, who’s still on the phone. I can hear snippets of his conversation, but I don’t want to interrupt him. I’ll find out what’s going on when he’s finished.

When Mina returns to the living room, Max notices, so he pivots his body away from her, no doubt trying to keep the conversation private. I get annoyed with him as I watch her face fall when she notices. I know Max well enough that he wasn’t trying to hurt her, so I do my best to ease the sting she felt at his apparent rejection.

Grabbing her hand, I pull her towards me, cupping her face. “You look beautiful, sweetpea. Now that your teeth are all brushed and your face clean,” Kissing her nose, I grin and add, “you should let me do something about this bedhead.” I give her wild braid a tug.

Gasping, she pulls back and lightly smacks my arm. “I couldn’t find my hairbrush. I think I left it in the bathroom by mistake, but Ethan was in the shower, so I couldn’t grab it.”

Holding up my hands, I feign innocence. “Alright, alright. I’ll back off for now. Come sit down and let me play with it for a bit. If you’re cool with that?”

We both hear Max snap at whomever he is speaking with, and Mina takes a step toward him. Grabbing her elbow gently, I shake my head. “I’m certain it’s a work call and has nothing to do with Danny. He’ll fill us in if he can when he’s done. Come sit with me and I’ll fix this mess.” I wave at her head, and she gives me an easy smile.

“So, Vincent. Tell me. What did you do after you graduated and left home? How did you end up in law enforcement?” she asks as she settles on the floor between my legs.

Tugging out the hair band wrapped around the ends, I start to pick apart the braid from the bottom, working out the tangles I encounter without causing her any pain. “Hmm… Well, I’m not sure if you remember, but I played football in high school. I was decent, so I was offered a scholarship to play for college. I chose to major in Criminal Justice, thinking that it would be something I could fall back on if the whole football thing didn’t pan out. My second year in, I tore my ACL in my left knee.” I pat my knee to show her and continue. “The doctors didn’t think it required surgery to fix, but an injury like that is pretty much career-ending, especially so early in college. It took about half a year before I could walk comfortably with no pain.”

Turning, she frowns as she looks up at me. “I’m really sorry that happened to you. You must have been incredibly disappointed that your plans didn’t pan out the way you intended.”

Placing my hands on her head, I turn her to face forward again, enjoying the sound of her light giggle at my antics. “It all worked out for the best. Playing at that level is completely different from high school. Here, I was the best of the best, but there? I was just as talented as most of the other guys. There were a few standouts, and those are the ones that would have been picked up to play professionally. If I had wanted to go down that route, I doubt a team would have picked me up. I would have had to try out as a walk on and it’s rare for team members who join like that to become anyone known. I would have been lucky to even make second string.”

---