Page 92 of The Question of Us
“Don’t be.” His expression softened. “I’m grateful. I really am. No one has ever had my back like that before. No one cared. I won’t forget it.”
“You’re welcome.” I glanced at Nick. “But now I really need to—” My departure was foiled by the arrival of Gazza towing an officer in his wake. I sighed and took stock of my apprentice. He looked surprisingly calm.
Gazza grinned and kissed my cheek. “Well, you sure took your time saving us.”
“Fuck off.” I kissed him back. “If you guys had simply stayed in one place, it would’ve been a lot easier.”
Gazza nodded, smiling. “We’ll try to do better next time.”
“See that you do.” I considered him for a moment. “Are you okay?”
He didn’t answer straight away. “I will be... eventually. For now, my head is still spinning and it’s not just from the drugs.”
Lee placed a hand on Gazza’s arm. “You were amazing. You fooled everyone.”
Gazza blushed furiously. “No, I wasn’t. Not really. When I started to feel a bit off outside, I thought it was just my diabetes. I’d been too nervous to eat enough before we came. My own fault. But it got worse almost too quickly to be that, and funnily enough, drugs were the first thing I thought of. I’d seen it happen once to a friend. But the only thing I’d had to eat or drink other than bottled water was the champagne, and I’d only accepted that because Marty was insistent. So, I quit drinkingit straight away and ditched as much as I could while everyone was preoccupied with the argument. Marty must’ve loaded the drinks, though, because whatever he’d put in it still hit me hard. It wasn’t until I made them take me to the toilet to throw up that my head started to clear. By the time I was taken to the games room, I was groggy but coming around, and that’s when Lee told me about his choker just in case we needed it.”
“His choker?” I’d heard nothing about a choker.
Gazza smirked and reached for the empty blade cover still dangling on Lee’s neck. “Yeah, Lee had a small shiv stowed up in here. Gotta love a man with a plan.”
I was almost sure Lee blushed, but he shrugged it away and said, “I had a feeling things were heading south for all of us, especially when Gazza told me who he was.” He shot me a wry look. “Be prepared, right?”
I raised both brows. “I see I have a lot of catching up to do.”
“That goes both ways.” Gazza turned to Lee. “Come on. The police want to talk to us again.”
I watched them go, Gazza’s arm wrapped loosely around Lee’s waist. Then I tugged my blanket close and finally crossed those last few metres to Nick.
“Hey, you.” I smiled down at him.
“Hey.” He smiled back, that one crooked eye tooth seeming to have the power to undo me. “We really have to stop meeting like this.”
Tears brimming in my eyes, I dropped to my knees at his side. “Yeah, I could live with that.” I ran my fingers over his bandaged brow. “And you really need to stop letting people mess with your face.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll remember to tell them that next time.”
I tipped my head toward where Gazza and Lee stood talking to the police, Gazza’s arm still tight around Lee’s waist. “What’s the story with them?”
Nick followed my gaze and shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I do know that we have Lee to thank for the fact we’re even having this conversation, but we can talk about that later. Now, come here.”
He pulled me down for a kiss that lingered to the edge of indecency. A kiss that felt more like desperate confirmation that the other man was alive. Was okay. That he tasted the same. Responded the same. That he lived and loved and would maybe even laugh again.
When we finally broke free, Nick’s face was wet with tears, his body trembling.
“Jesus, you’re freezing.” I caught the eye of a paramedic and asked for another blanket. When it was wrapped around his shoulders, I cupped his face in my hands and he winced at the pressure.
“Good.” I narrowed my eyes. “I’m glad it hurts. Because goddammit, Nick, you can’t be trusted to keep yourself safe.”
He cocked a brow. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Barely.” I stared into those beautiful but tired grey eyes. “What the hell did you think you were doing running at that shotgun? I almost had a heart attack.”
Nick ran the back of his hand down my face and I leaned into the touch. “He was still turning around,” he argued, like that excused the idiocy. “There was time?—”
“Shush.” I put a fingertip to his lips. “Or I might have to reconsider my promise not to lose my shit at you straight away. I’d rather you were recovered so I can really go to town on your arse.”
He grinned. “And how’s that working out for you?”
