Page 12 of Deranged
Beau leaned back in his chair again. “I’m not very good at staying out of things.”
“But you will for me.”
Beau chuckled. “Of course. I have no desire to kick a kid while he’s down.”
Henry cringed inside at Beau calling Field a kid, even though he had done it too. He also fought the urge to point out Field was nearly the same age as Kylo and Beau was two years older than him. It was basically the same gap in ages.
Kylo knocked on the open door. “Are you finished for the night? It’s time for Clay to clock out.”
Clay wasn’t like Mickey. He didn’t make an enormous salary and work as much as needed. It really wasn’t fair to expect him to stick by Kylo all night.
Beau pushed his chair back. “Yeah. Sorry. We lost track of time. Come here.” He patted his knee.
Kylo happily moved to sit on Beau’s lap and leave Clay free to disappear. After stealing a kiss, Kylo focused on Henry. “I just saw Field heading outside with a blanket.”
Damn. The gossip mill had run its course. It looked like everyone knew about them. Henry stood. “That sounds like something I should’ve been invited to do.”
Beau laughed. “Yeah. You should go check on that. I’m busy.”
Henry shook his head as he left the couple alone. His earlier statement stood. He was damn glad to see Beau like this. It didn’t take him long to find the subject of his happiness on the back lawn, sans gun this time, thankfully.
“Hey. I wondered how long it would take you to find me.”
Henry dropped to the ground and settled on his back at Field’s side, mimicking his pose. “I’m pretty good at tracking, and you have an obsession with stars.”
Field’s hand found his. Their fingers linked. “I can tell you’ve never been locked in a prison cell for any period of time.”
Henry always had to choose his words with Field, hoping Field wouldn’t shut him out. “I never heard that about your group.”
“That’s because it was only me.” Field looked his way. Their gazes met and held. “Some people are harder to break than others, but everyone eventually does.”
Henry scooted closer until Field got the hint and used him as a pillow. He wanted Field to talk to him. “Is Russia the only country to run this kind of program?”
“Not by a long shot. When we decided to open our business, it meant delving into some shady corners to spread the word. We learned all sorts of crazy shit. Did you know several countries run programs to turn kids into assassins? Unlike us, where we were meant to blend and be ready for every scenario, they were taught to live in the shadows and kill. That’s it. From what I understand, we were lucky compared to them.”
“I’ve heard about that. The guy we hired to build onto the property is married to one.”
Field turned his head. “Seriously?”
Henry needed Field to know people could heal. “Yeah. Beyond seeing nothing while taking jobs from people like us, I gather they live a pretty normal life.”
“Sounds nice.”
Henry kissed Field’s forehead before responding. “Normal looks different for everyone. Theirs is a house in upstate New York and spoiling their kids. Maybe yours is being kicked back under the stars, talking about what’s normal.”
“Maybe.” Field’s hand slid across Henry’s stomach. “Hey, how much do you know about the stars?”
“Next to nothing. Why don’t you fill me in?”
Henry shut down his mind and focused on Field’s every word. He studied every nuance of him while Field spoke like a sugared-up kid about something he obviously loved. It hit Henry. This was what he had felt missing from him for years now. It wasn’t a regular sexual partner or anything along that line. He wanted this. Like Beau, he just wasn’t certain Field would live long enough for him to enjoy it.
Chapter Six
Hunkereddowninthegrass with his eye against a scope, Field tried to keep his mind clear and his breathing even. This was his comfort zone—on his stomach, waiting to kill someone. He hadn’t been given his cue yet, but he never lost sight of his target. Tonight was one of those weird hits they got occasionally. Drop just one of the group, sending a message to the rest. They weren’t untouchable. It was jobs like this that kept his stomach churning every moment of every day. Because of what he did, and how easily he did it, Field knew how quickly it could happen to one of his crew. His family. Field never truly rested. His gaze was always scanning the horizon, looking for that telltale glimmer. He didn’t know how to relax, except the past few months had been different.
Since the night Henry burst into his life and tied him to the bed, things had been quiet inside his head. His dreams had been blissfully empty, letting him wake up refreshed. He felt healthier than he had ever been. It was strange. He never would haveguessed someone as intense as Henry could bring him so much peace. Not tonight. These jobs were on rotation, and it was on Field to put this guy down. He didn’t know what the man had done, but he knew he was a bad person. His team would never accept a job to take down an innocent. Their clients were always the worst handling the worst. This job was for Beau.
Since Beau had been slowly pulling back from his business dealings, people had gotten bold. Likely, there would never come a day when Beau could totally relax. He would always need these little reminders of who really held the power. Since this kept Field’s family safe too, he couldn’t balk. Not that he would. This was who he was. A killer was all he would ever be.
