Page 16 of Last Chance Love

“You did? Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“That’s…a pretty obvious question.”

He gave a harsh grunt and glared at me. “Why wouldn’t I? Trying to help him is the entire point of what I’m doing.”

“You’re his mentor, not his father,” I told him, trying to resist the urge to sigh heavily. Another one of Leon’s more endearing and frustrating tendencies was taking responsibility for too many things onto his shoulders. Trying to get him to understand that he didn’t have to be responsible for everyone around him was like trying to convince the sun not to rise. It was inevitable.

“I know that,” he said with a heavy sigh. “But I let this happen.”

“How do you figure?” I wondered.

“I knew he had a potential problem with violence. I knew he was primed to go off at the wrong moment, but I just said…” He stopped and bowed his head again. “I should have known something was up when he decided to join the group. That’s not like him. But all I did was hope it was a good sign.”

“Trying to see the best in people isn’t a crime. And it’s definitely not your crime because he proved you wrong.”

“He won’t. Or at least, I think he won’t. Not this time.”

“Leon,” I began and then stiffened when a door opened in the hallway behind me.

“Hey, Reed? This is the longest ten minutes of my life,” Dom called, sounding annoyed.

“Damn, forgot he was here,” I said, shaking my head.

“It’s fine. I need to sleep on things anyway,” Leon told me with a weary sigh. “Figure out if I’m happy with myself or not.”

That was vague, but I knew there was no chance of getting him to open up. Dom had presented the exit Leon had probably been working his brain to find. There was only one option for me. “Well, maybe you could tell me the next time we’ve got a moment alone?”

It was the perfect opportunity for him to invite me to his place. It wasn’t like visiting other people on the ranch in their cabins was forbidden, not before lights out anyway. That was even more true when we were both Tier Ones and had private cabins.

“I’m sure I’ll feel a little more generous after a good night’s sleep, so yeah. I can do that,” he said with a small smile.

I wasn’t sure I believed him, but there was no point grilling him over it. Pushing him would make him more stubborn and probably end up pissing him off. Leon wasn’t prone to showing his temper, but you could tell when it started happening. Mostly it just resulted in him getting more and more stubborn, and if he was well and truly pissed off, it usually meant him doing something impulsive and stupid.

“Good,” I told him, rapping my knuckles on the desk. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said with a weary sigh. “Go take care of Dom. He sounds like he’s about ready to have a temper tantrum.”

“Sure, because having a patient that kicks and screams over a boo-boo is new to me,” I said with a laugh.

“I can fucking hear you!” Dom barked down the hallway.

“I’m aware,” I called back and winked at Leon. “Go get some rest. And here, take another bottle of water. That might help with the migraine.”

“Yes, Mom,” he said, taking the bottle.

“Good,” I said crisply, not caring that he was trying to make fun of me. “I had better not see you in here again tonight.”

“Hard ass,” he said as he turned away, but his tone was affectionate.

“I’ve been told it’s pretty firm,” I said, not bothering to hide my chuckle when he missed pushing the door open and almost slammed into it. “Good night, Leon.”

“Good night,” he said with a shake of his head as he stepped out into the night.

Sometimes, I couldn’t tell what was happening in that man’s head. But if the grumbling a few doors down was any indication, I had a different sort of pain in the ass to worry about.

LEON

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