Page 85 of Butcher

“No vacations,” Lock snapped.

She bit her lips to keep her laughter contained.

Lock’s grim expression darkened. “Great. Now there’s three of them.” He shook his head and walked off the plane.

“What does that mean?” Isla asked.

The captain came out and introduced himself, interrupting our explanation, but it was better that way. I wasn’t sure what the fuck was wrong with me, but I was all twisted up inside over her. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do about it. I was grateful there was still Randal to deal with, because it kept my mind occupied and ensured Isla stuck close by. If nothing else, I could fuck with my wound. Physical pain had a way of keeping a man from thinking deep thoughts.

“Well,” Toxic said once the captain went back into the cockpit, “guess we’d better sleep on the flight if he expects us to get shit done in such a short amount of time.” He went to kick back the chair then sighed when it only reclined slightly. “Maybe I’ll try the bed.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled at the woman checking on everything before take-off. She giggled when he waved at her.

“Knock it off,” I grunted, closing my eyes.

“Just passing the time,” Toxic complained.

Scythe shook his head from the next row. “You’re as bad as Warrant.”

“Who do you think he learned his charm from?” Toxic shot back.

“I was born with this,” Warrant announced.

They argued back and forth as the plane took off, and once it leveled out they finally fell silent. Isla shifted in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position. Reaching over, I undid her buckle, and flipped up the armrests between our seats. These weren’t the uncomfortabletiny things on commercial airlines, but still, it wasn’t easy to sleep elevated. “Stretch out,” I told her.

“Thanks,” she replied and laid her head in my lap.

I grabbed one of the little blankets the attendant had dropped off and settled it over her. It was only about four in the morning, which would help us hopefully get some more sleep during the flight. Closing my eyes, I tried to go back to sleep, but my fucking brain wouldn’t shut off. I looked down at the woman sleeping in my lap and wondered again what the hell I was supposed to do with her. My dick twitched, volunteering its suggestion, but I ignored my body. This was so much more than physical at this point.

I ran my hand over her hair. It was so damn soft.

Would she even want to stay with me? Was it selfish of me to ask her to? Knowing how hard it was for me to connect with people made me hesitate to let anyone in. Would she leave at some point because I wasn’t able to give her what she needed? I let out a heavy sigh. A muffled sound had my eyes raising and I met Toxic’s amused gaze. “What?” I asked in a low voice.

“Aw, Big Guy, did you have a feeling?” he teased.

“Fuck off,” I growled at him.

He shook his head, the smile on his face spreading. “You did. We’re allowed to have those now you know. Let it out.”

I flipped him off.

“Seriously, though,” he said, his face settling into a serious expression. “Have you told her?”

“Told her what?” I snapped, though I was careful not to be too loud. The last thing I needed was her overhearing this conversation. Her breathing remained deep and even. I glared at Toxic.

“That you’re in love with her,” he replied, voice calm and even.

That made me freeze. How did he know that? Especially when I wasn’t sure if I knew it?

He must have read the panic on my face because he gave me a reassuring smile. “There’s always a chance that something could happen during this fight,” he said. “You should tell her before we go into it.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. To any of us,” I insisted.

He shrugged and closed his eyes again.

“Toxic?”

“Yeah,” he replied without opening his eyes.

“What would you do?”

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