Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“You would have been. Yeah.”
“And because I’ve just gone along with everything, he probably thought I was submissive and pliable and would just do what he wanted.”
“Agreeable was the word Angie used.”
“Yeah. Agreeable.”
“What’s funny is you’re so not that guy.”
He met my gaze.
“I mean, we’ve had knock-down drag-out fights about Fig Newtons.”
“Because it’s not a cookie, Jed,” he was adamant, immediately picking up the discussion from the last time we’d dropped it. “A cookie is by definition small, flat, and made from flour and sugar.”
I chuckled because he was so serious. “Fig Newtons have all that in there.”
“And fruit! There’s no fruit in cookies.”
“What about the kind with a cherry in the middle?”
“That’s a tart.”
“No, like shortbread cookies.”
“Do you even know what you’re talking about right now?”
I did but it hardly mattered. I was so happy just to have him with me.
“Remember the time we fought for three days about ninjas versus samurai?”
“Which was stupid too. Ninjas are assassins, samurai are warriors.”
He shook his head.
“Whatever, that’s not the point,” I grumbled. “The point is that you are not now, and have never been, agreeable.”
“Well, I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
“Me neither,” I told him, grinning.
He was quiet for a moment. “Do you think they wanted me to be some kind of beard?”
I scoffed. “That’s not how a beard works, love.”
“No, I know, but…you get it. Like a blue-collar guy was what he was looking for. Here’s my husband the law-enforcement guy? Was that what he was trolling for?”
“No,” I assured him, certain as always that anyone who met Bodhi would want him because, very simply, there was no one better.
“You can’t be trusted,” he said dismissively. “You’re crazy about me, so you have no objectivity whatsoever.”
“Yeah, but c’mon, why would Hayden want—”
His gasp was sharp as he pointed at Sutter and Stiel. “That’s what it was. That’s what all this was. Me and Hayden were a younger them. Can you imagine how good it would have looked with Sutter endorsing him? Jesus Christ, Jed, I—did you just call me love?”
“What?”
“Focus.”
“I can’t with how you’re lookin’ at me,” I snapped at him.
“Oh?” He smiled lazily. “How am I lookin’ at ya?” He copied my drawl perfectly.
“Like I’ve been hopin’ you would for a long time.”
He shook his head. “I really like your place. It’s got a very warm vibe over there.”
“You do?” I asked hopefully. “It does?”
“It does. Mine is sterile and upscale, and it’ll sell fast. Just you watch.”
“Which means that—”
“Which means that after we find Gabe Brodie, whom I never liked but didn’t actually think was a psychopath, we’re gonna get the guys to help move me into your place.”
I nodded. “Yes. Let’s do that.”
“And I want a cat. It’s mean to have a dog with our shitty hours, but a cat is good because they like their alone time.”
“A cat sounds good.”
“Okay,” he said, exhaling deeply. “We’re good.”
And we really were.
TEN
As soon as we landed, after thanking our hosts profusely, Bodhi and I went to long-term parking and got into Bodhi’s Army-green 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62. He’d owned it as long as I’d known him and now, since I didn’t have my own car, I would have something to park in the garage that my house sat over. I called Kage, even though it was nearly five in the morning. He, of course, was at the office but directed us to go to the hospital where Ian was, Northwestern Memorial, and so we drove there.
Normally, visiting hours did not start so early, but Ian Doyle was a deputy US marshal, so there were extenuating circumstances. Plus, Ian had a big private room, so they could herd all of us in there and close the door. And really, when all was said and done, the hospital simply could not tell the chief deputy no. I couldn’t imagine anyone ever saying that word to Kage.
When we walked in, I was met by Ian’s wide grin. “Who knew fuckin’ Teddy-Bu was gonna be something I’d need to save my life?”
I walked over to the bed, bent and put my good arm around him.
He hugged me back with more strength than I thought he’d have. “You look like hammered shit, Jed.”
“I was in a different time zone, you’ll remember.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he said, hugging Bodhi when he leaned in after me.
Ian looked pretty good. Tired but good. There were bandages, but his coloring was healthy and his smile was all him, mischievous and wild. “You hopped up on the good drugs?”
Instant scowl. “Absolutely not. You have to feel some pain so you know when you’re healing, am I right?”
“What is that, some scary-ass Green Beret shit?” Bodhi teased him.
He shook his head. “In the field, you get sewn up and you go on. Hospitals, man, who has the time?”