Page 17 of Weatherman

I shook my head and let my anger go. “No, it’s not. I would rather be home with Pearl. Kimmie’s been pushing for me to gosomewhere with her, and Deandra volunteered to watch Pearl so I could.”

I looked up, meeting his eyes. He stood close, and we both noticed at the same time that he still held my arms. He didn’t let go, and I didn’t pull away.

In that moment, I felt safer than I had in a long time. I also felt more vulnerable, and the odd combination brought its own level of anxiety.

He took a breath and let it out slowly, his fingers lightly massaging my forearms in apology. “I’m sorry for jumping your shit earlier. It’s not my place to say who or where you can hang out. It can get rowdy at the River’s Edge sometimes. You saw that tonight.”

He moved closer to me. “I’m not sorry for stepping in.”

“I could have handled it.” The words came out like the lie they were. No way could I have dealt with that asshole on my own.

“Yeah, maybe, but you shouldn’t have to, and you won’t when any Dragon Runners man is around. Even if I wasn’t here tonight, you think Mute was just gonna let a man put his hands on you uninvited?”

“I guess not.”

“No guessing, babe. We take care of our own.”

Time stopped. The world around me silenced and ceased to move. It seemed to be waiting. Waiting for me to decide something. Something bigger than me. Something that had the potential of greatness or disaster. A risk I’d taken in the past, and it nearly killed me.

“It’s okay to let your heart beat again.”

“Have you had anything to drink?”

The dual voices, one in my head and one from the man in front of me, started time flowing again. I dropped my eyes and shook my head. “No.” It was the same answer to both of them.

“Do you want to drink? I’ll stay with you if you do.”

“No. I don’t drink. I can’t, and I won’t.” My voice came out defensive and harsh, but I couldn’t help it. I hoped he planned on letting that go, as I had no desire to explain why.

Weatherman made a noncommittal sound in his throat. “If you’re ready to leave, I’ll follow you home.”

“I can’t leave Kimmie.”

“I’ll text Bruiser. He’ll keep an eye on her and keep her safe. Give me your number, and I’ll text if I hear something.”

“I’m not?—”

“Babe, let me do this for you.”

“Babe, let him do this for you.”

The two voices were too much to resist. “Okay, but you can only follow me as far as the street. I’ll go up to my apartment myself.”

I recited my number. His thumbs flew over the phone’s screen, my own phone pinging with an incoming message a moment later before he tucked the rectangle into his back pocket. “I just texted you so you’ll have my number too. Let’s go.”

The single headlight stayed with me the ten minutes or so to my place. He didn’t follow so close that I thought we’d collide, but his presence was constant in my rearview mirror.

I parked on the street and glanced over to where his bike idled as he straddled the seat. I couldn’t see his face behind the face shield, but I sensed his eyes on me. This was confirmed when he flicked two fingers at me. I waved back automatically before tapping my code into the electronic lock to the outside door and heading up to my apartment.

A few minutes later, I watched Deandra head to her car from the upper window. Weatherman was still there, waiting until she got into her car and drove away. His helmeted head tilted backas if checking on me one last time, and then his red taillight disappeared down the road with a throaty growl.

Pearl was dead asleep, but I was wide awake and buzzing with energy. I puttered around the apartment, putting a few dishes away from the drying rack and wiping the counters. Kimmie was so seldom home anymore that most of the mess in the apartment was mine and Pearl’s, so it didn’t bother me to do nearly all the cleaning. I swept some crumbs into my palm and brushed them into a rather full trash can, debating on whether to take the bag down to the dumpster in the side alley or wait until the morning.

My phone beeped with a message, causing me to jump.

Weatherman: Bruiser texted back to say he put two prospects on Kimmie. She’s totally wasted, so they took her to the Lair to sleep it off. They won’t hurt her. She’s safe.

I let out a heavy breath. The hairs on the back of my neck told me there was more to come, but at least my friend was okay for now.

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