Page 86 of Hold On

“You think I’d walk out on you? We’ll just be careful. I’m not leaving you on your own. Though I did wonder what you intended to do with the rope and duct tape.”

“You’ve been through my bag?”

“I was looking for something to eat. I helped myself to four biscuits. Sorry.”

“Are you?”

“No.”

Oh God, you make me laugh when…But he had to harden his heart.

“Don’t even try to think about pushing me away. I can see you considering it. Don’t.”

“It’s for your own good.” Dominic started the mattress deflating and began to put things in the bag. Ren stayed where he was as the mattress went down under him.

“Can I come to the stable block? Please say yes. I don’t want to go back to sharing a tent with my brother. Take pity on me. You have a TV.”

“I don’t want you to get trawled into my problems.”

“I can handle myself in a difficult situation. I’m more capable than you might think.”

“You’re not a good advert for that, Mr I-was-thrown-off-a-cliff-after-being- stabbed.”

Ren frowned. “The odds were against me then.”

“And they’ll probably be against you now. It’s not a good idea.” Dominic couldn’t bear the thought of Ren getting trapped in his mess.

Ren helped him fold up the mattress and get that and the tent back into their respective bags. Dominic suspected he’d have spent a lot longer wrestling with the tent in particular if he’d had to do it on his own. Ren just twisted and it complied.

“Need a hand carrying everything?” Ren asked.

Dominic could have said yes but he shook his head. Doing the right thing was painful. It wasn’t fair. Not to Ren either.

But Dominic had spent so longwanting.So long that it overruled his common sense.Oh fuck it.Before Ren had moved more than a few metres, Dominic called, “Come for dinner.”

Ren spun around, his eyes bright. “What time?”

“Six thirty? If there’s nothing in the fridge, we’ll have to get pizza.”

“Should I bring my toothbrush?”

“You’re not using mine.”

Ren smiled.

Dominic was piling the camping gear in a corner of the garage because he wasn’t exactly sure where Theo had got it from, when James came up to him.

“Everything all right?” James asked.

“Yes.”

“Col and Theo have left. Thank you for agreeing to do this.”

“Will it be okay if Ren stays here with me? He knows about Kilic.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want? You’d be putting him in danger too.”

Dominic flinched. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to be in any danger?”

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