Page 60 of Last Shot

Grey was not a calming presence, though. He was wound tight and way too intense, making her feel like she had to be on her guard all the time. But somethinghadshifted. She could feel it loosening, a bolt slipping from its washer, ever since the bomb. Now that he believed her. Maybe it wasn’t trust. But it was enough to steady her breathing and keep her from jumping every time he moved.

She couldn’t stop her mind from thinking about the moment in the cellar. His enormous body on top of hers. Where had he gone? But when she’d exhausted all the horrific scenarios that could have caused such trauma, her treacherous, immature mind started to elaborate on the scene. Pushed him down. His mouth traced her neck ...

‘Where’s your coroner based?’ Max asked. It was the first random thought she could conjure that had nothing to do with the cellar.

‘I don’t have a coroner,’ he said, only one hand on the wheel. It always annoyed her when people did that. ‘I just told the Barbaranis that’s where I was going. We’re going straight to the prison.’

Max opened her mouth like a python. ‘You lied. To your creator?’

‘I didn’tlie.I am going to get the information from the coroner. Through this newfandanglepiece of technology called a phone.’

‘Fandangle?’

‘You said it first.’

‘Hmm.’ She watched the fields of cows turn into little cottages and primary-coloured cafes and second-hand bookshops on display like decorated cupcakes. ‘Will they be all right without you?’

‘I left some toys, and there’s food in the fridge.’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘There’s an entire security team in the house right now. Jett’s there, and Concetta will make enough food to put everyone in a coma. It’s my job to fix things, not be a bodyguard. But Gio will hate that the security are staying. He thinks it makes him look weak.’

‘Tell him the King has it.’

‘I have. Many times. I won’t tell you what he said in response.’

‘I can guess.’

They lapsed into another silence. Strangely, it wasn’t as awkward as Max thought silence had to be.

‘Did I hurt you?’ he asked as rolling vastness of the country dried up into concrete. They were nearing the end of the highway.

It took her a while to work out what he meant. She studied his profile. His hands were clenched tight on the wheel like he was steering the car through a meteorite storm. His jaw looked just as rigid. His eyes were straight ahead, hyper-focused on the straight road even though there was no traffic.

‘I’m fine,’ she lied. Her chest ached from where he’d crushed her. She’d have bruises tomorrow. But they’d remind her that someone had thought she was worth saving. Just strange that it was the Fixer.

‘I’m sorry.’

She figured from his expression and how he’d acted in the grove by the karri trees that those words were not pulled easily from his mouth. ‘Two apologies in one afternoon. I might overdose.’

His lips tightened.

Remembering how he’d reacted when she’d brought up PTSD, she turned over her next response carefully before rolling it like a dice. ‘You were trying to protect me.’

‘It’s just instinct.’

Her stomach dropped. Like she’d expected him to say something else? ‘From the army?’ It was dangerous territory, but her bruised ribs surely gave her a little leeway.

Dishonourably discharged.

He made a sound that was neither agreement nor dismissal.

‘Why did you leave?’ she asked, hating herself. She shouldn’t have asked. Not when she already knew half the answer. But a small part of her couldn’t help but draw a shaky connection between her own career downfall and Grey’s. Although she would never tell him what happened, it made her feel safer somehow, knowing that she wasn’t completely alone.

‘Got caught with drugs,’ he said, gaze still stapled to the road.

She rolled her eyes. Should have realised she’d reached her quota of emotional vulnerability from a man who could barely pronounce the word ‘sorry’ without breaking out in hives. ‘It was fucking terrifying back there,’ she said, figuring if she was expecting him to be honest, she’d have to give something up too. Like taking a sip of medicine to prove to a toddler it was fine to drink. ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like I was that close to dying in my entire career.’

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