Page 45 of From the Noblest Motives
In Shudder's distracted, nerve-wracked state, he'd blurted out that he loved them—not news to Blaze, not really—and Damien had taken the declaration well. Everything he'd said had even been true. Still. He opened his runaway mouth and—blargh—words stumbled out without his permission.
The sudden urge to bury his face in his hands and cry nearly overwhelmed him, but he managed to beat it back under the cover of a bright smile as Blaze helped with his boots. He hadn't recovered yet from any part of the past few weeks. Living in a constant state of anxiety dotted by moments of terror was exhausting, after all.
A tiny cynical voice in a dark part of his brain said this was for the best, since facing the press with shaking hands and an unsteady voice would only up the pathos. The news sharks would go into a feeding frenzy. The press conference might have even been fun if the shakes weren't so real.
Damien took his hand gently. He seemed to be doing that more and more. "Ready?"
"As much as I can be. Are you sure you're not coming with us?" Shudder offered a smile that he hoped wasn't too pitiful.
"I'd rather stay out of the news." Damien nodded to Blaze as he rose from his crouch. "Blaze, you can explain away. Me, not so much."
Even with Damien's carefully controlled expressions, Shudder knew there was something he wasn't saying. All right, fine. He wasn't going to pry. Instead he wrapped Damien in a slow, gentle hug, giving him plenty of time to step back or push away. "I don't like leaving you here alone."
For half a breath, Damien stood still in his arms. Then he leaned close and held Shudder tight. "It won't be long."
Blaze wrapped them both up in a smothering bear hug. "Don't go sticking your nose into something you can't get out of while we're gone."
"I try not to approach things nose first."
"You know what I mean." Blaze huffed and kissed the top of Damien's head. "Come on, Shuds. Cyril gave me directions to this place. It's not far."
The house was quiet after breakfast, the pregnant residents most likely resting. Shudder was happy to take Blaze's arm down the sweeping staircase and happier still to be able to ride sitting upright and alert in the front seat of Blaze's truck.
After a few miles of driving along wooded roads, Shudder remembered to ask, "What did our Damien mean, saying you're easy to explain away?"
"We've played it that way before, Damien and me." Blaze tapped a finger on his own chest. "I'm the hired muscle. Easy to understand in your situation and easy for them to dismiss."
"How exciting! I get security." Shudder shot a bright smile in his direction. "How did I afford someone with your reputation?"
"I dunno, Shuds. Your family has money. The press probably think you have, you know, treasure hoards or something at your hideout."
"Ooh! I'm a small-scale dragon! A miniature.Draconis minor."
"You're annoying is what you are." Blaze ran his hands up and down the steering wheel. "How nervous are you? You get goofier when you're nervous."
Shudder managed to keep his smile in place as he said, "Terrified."
"Hey." Blaze reached across the console and took Shudder's hand. "It'll just be talking to people about your favorite subject—you."
"I know, but…" Shudder couldn't even bring himself to respond to the teasing, and he lost his grip on his desperate smile. "What if it's another elaborate trap? What if there's no press? No interview? Just enforcers waiting to drag me back to that hell of a prison, where I'll rot forever and never see you and Damien again—" His voice had been rising toward hysteria, and he cut himself off with a strangled sob. "I can't. I can't go back there."
"Look at me. Hey." Blaze gave their joined hands a shake. "You're not going into this alone. You've got me. Meemaw Sekhet called me a private army, and that's what I'll be today. No one's kidnapping you this time. If anything looks off, I'm getting you the hell out of there."
"You'd shoot people for me?" Shudder sniffed and wiped at his eyes.
"Fuck yeah."
With a pair of deep breaths, Shudder reined his unreliable control back in. "And they say there aren't any heroes anymore."
Blaze shook his head, apparently struggling with things, too. "Telling you I should've been there for you doesn't help you now. I know that. But it won't happen again."
"Okay. But, Blazey, there's no way I'd ever think to blame you for not being there when I was in a stupid place doing a stupid thing and got illegally arrested."
"Well, that wasn't convoluted or anything."
"I'm glad you're here now, but you can't be here all the time. And I won't ever blame you for that. We just left Damien all on his own, and what if something happens to him while we're—" Shudder cut himself off when the panic began to crest again.
To his amazement, Blaze laughed. "Damien? Damien saved me from gunmen with just a shovel. He's a fuckload tougher than he looks."
