Page 69 of Changeling
“And you are totally on board, right?” Nathan pressed.
“Sure. Have a shower, Nathan.” Sasha closed the door.
Great, Nathan thought. They needed to get out of town. He had to get Sasha away from the temptation of beating the crap out of those guys. He was pretty sure that’s what Sasha would do because that’s exactly what he would do. In fact, hedidwant to go back and kick the crap out of them. But the last thing he wanted was for Sasha to learn the details of the attack.
By the time Nathan emerged from the bathroom, it didn’t take them long to decide on a course of action. Nathan needed to rest, but their need to get out of town was greater. Nathan revealed the money in his boot. It was enough for gas and food to get them a couple hundred miles gone, though maybe not as much as they needed to get to the next doorway. Sasha suggested a town along the way, one that had a bar where he’d sung at before. They could hole up there for a day or two until Nathan recovered enough to move onto Pittsburg.
Nathan couldn’t help noticing how Sasha’s eyes burned red a moment, then flickered blue with worry when he snatched up Nathan’s duffle to carry it to the car. Nathan shot Jim a glare, assuming his brother must have told Sasha what really happened last night, but Jim merely shrugged.
Five minutes later, they were in the car heading out of town.
Chapter 28
Jimdrove.Noneofthem spoke much. They reached the next town and checked into a new motel after only a few hours—just one room, since it seemed neither Sasha nor Jim wanted to leave Nathan alone.
Nathan was starving, and was thankful when Jim offered to run out and bring back something for them to eat, even though his stomach was still twisted from whatever he’d been drugged with the night before.
Once they were alone, Sasha studied him carefully. Nathan knew he was moving like a man over three times his age. “How are you feeling?” Sasha asked. He pointed out the ibuprofen and water Jim had left on the table.
“Better. Just nauseous.” Nathan swallowed the pills, took a breath, and finished the water in the bottle. He knew he was a little dehydrated too. He felt like shit. In fact, he felt like shit on Tuesday’s toast. He sank down on one of the beds.
Sasha came to sit beside him, close enough that they were almost touching. “Nate, talk to me.” His voice was quiet, almost but not quite pleading.
“‘Bout what?” Nathan did not want to have this conversation. Not now. Not a hundred years from now.
“Last night. What really happened?”
“I was stupid. Underestimated them. Got the shit beat out of me. I thought the whole thing was pretty obvious.”
“You weren’t the stupid one though, were you?”
“Huh?” Nathan turned to look at Sasha.
“I got you beat up, didn’t I?” Sasha’s voice was hard, accusing.
“What? Who said that?” Nathan was going tokillJim.
“Nobody had to say it, Nathan. I’m not stupid. Though you may doubt that after last night.” Sasha looked at the floor. “I saw your jeans…the way the button and zipper were cut away...”
Shit.Nathan should have made sure his ruined clothes were better hid.
“I haven’t cared what people thought about my sexuality for a long time—wellneveractually. I love you, Nathan, and I don’t care who knows it. But that wasn’t what last night was about. I let you down as a friend, as a partner. I didn’t have your back. And you were weaker going into that fight…because I fed from you.” Sasha’s voice resonated with the anguish that was clearly written on his face. Then his expression hardened. “I’m going to kill them,” he ground out, anger pushing everything else aside.
“No.” Nathan grabbed Sasha’s arm. “You will not. You will let. This. Go.”
“Nathan, you can’t expect me to just sit by and let someone hurt you.”
Nathan scowled. “Hey, didn’t we have this conversation the other way around recently? This isn’t your fault. We couldn’t have known those goons would jump me. I understand you wantto help, that you want to be there for me, just like I want to be there for you, but I can look after myself.”
“Yeah, I can certainly see that.” Sasha’s scathing tone mirrored the anger in his gaze, which moved up the length of Nathan’s body.
“Well screw you, too, then,” Nathan shot back. He stood from the bed and moved straight for the bathroom, though only partially because he felt like hurling the nothing in his stomach into the toilet one more time. He couldn’t stand the look on Sasha’s face; he couldn’t stand this conversation. He slammed the bathroom door behind him.
“Nathan!” Sasha shouted through the door.
For a moment, Nathan wondered if Sasha would come after him, but after a brief pause, he heard angered shuffling, and finally the door opening. It didn’t slam. Instead, Nathan heard Jim call out, probably having just narrowly missed running into Sasha.
“Hey! What about the food?”
