Page 35 of Saint's Sinner

“Yeah, well I hope you catch up soon,” Saint said. “‘cause I’m all out!”

Saint slammed the door as Sinn flopped across Saint’s bed and tugged Night down to join him. The ghostly echo of his headache had returned along with a slash of irritation at what Saint had done. Sometime very soon he was going to have to remind the man that he didn’t need anyone to fight his battles for him.

Chapter 13

(Saint)

Protect doesn’t mean smother

With the lockdown lifted, it was time to get back to business as usual, something Saint looked forward to after the last few days of revelry. Evenhisliver needed an occasional break from the whiskey. The sound of an automated voice reading a bike manual greeted him when he stepped into the garage where Sinn and Creature had been holed up for most of the day, trying to diagnose what was wrong with Kong’s DYNA. Having learned from a previous mistake, Saint tapped Sinn on the shoulder, then waited for him to pause the book before speaking to him.

“Hey, Mark and I are heading out in a few. Do you need me to snag you some wings or something from the bar before I go?” Saint asked.

“I’m perfectly capable of grabbing food for myself if I get hungry,” Sinn replied, barely sparing him a glance. He was running his fingers over the carburetor he held, mapping out the contours of it.

“I’m aware of that but Teddy is back behind the bar and…” Saint began.

“And what? You think I can’t handle him giving me shit?” Sinn snapped. “If I want food I’ll go get it and if Teddy steps outof line I’ll drag him over the bar and break enough fingers that he won’t have to worry about picking up a bottle and serving anyone anything for the next few weeks.”

“Alright, I hear ya,” Saint grumbled. “Just let Rabbit know when you’re ready to head back up to the house and he’ll take you.”

“Is he planning on taking Night whenhe’sready to leave?”

“No, Night said something about being down here late tonight doing prep for the weekend,” Saint replied. “Didn’t know when he’d be up.”

“Well, I don’t know when I’ll be done in here either,” Sinn shot back, “so don’t worry about it.”

“The path up isn’t lit the best…”

“But itislit and even in the dark I can see the difference between something and nothing, so stop smothering me and get on with whatever it is you’re planning on doing and leave me to my work.”

“I just…”

“Out, Saint, and don’t you dare send Wreck, Rabbit or even Night back here to check on me in a few hours unless you want to get one of them cussed out!” Sinn declared, turning to glare at him like he really wanted to pitch the carburetor at his head.

Saint got the message and left without another word, heading outside to await his brother. Three scents assailed him as he shoved open the door. Salt air, lingering rain, and cheap cannabis; ditch weed really.

Saint rounded the back of the building and spotted Night leaning there, fringes of bangs hanging in his eyes as he inhaled.

“Tell me you didn’t spend good money for that crap?”

He hadn’t meant to startle Night. He’d figured that the prospect had heard the door bang shut and Saint’s footsteps squishing the sand, but when Night jumped and bobbled thejoint, singeing his fingers in the effort to regain control of it, Saint realized he’d thought wrong.

“Let me help you with that,” Saint remarked as he plucked the joint from between Night’s fingers so the man could suck on the sore spots. Shit weed or not, Saint took a toke, trying to study Night’s face, an endeavor made all the more difficult by Night’s obvious refusal to meet his gaze. Saint had gotten the feeling that something was off with him from the moment he’d returned from helping Sinn’s family deal with their enemies and with each passing day, Night had grown quieter and broodier than the day before. He said little, but Saint had seen him in action when they’d arrived at the compound in Texas to find it under siege, and he was brutal.

Now though, he looked like a shy kid worried that he’d been caught being naughty. “Wanna tell me why you’re not inside smoking the good stuff with everyone else, or better still, behind the bar making another batch of fajitas like you told me you were about to do?”

“Out here is quieter.”

Nodding, Saint let out a little chuckle. “There may be some truth to that.”

“Plus, I um, got some news from home and fucked if I know what to do about it.”

Leaning against the wall beside him, Saint took another drag and regarded Night intently. “If there’s one thing I know with all certainty, ignoring it ain’t gonna solve shit.”

“Can’t solve the unsolvable.”

“There’s little that makes something unsolvable.”

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