“Mmm.”
We lay quietly breathing, just reveling in each other’s presence. “Hey, do you like…want to get married again? Ya know, like, for real?” he asked.
I huffed a laugh. “We are married for real.”
“Yeah, but…if you want, we can do the whole thing – cathedral, white dress, crowds of guests…”
I shuddered at the thought. “No thanks. Everyone I needed to be at my wedding was already present the first time around.”
“Mmm, me too.”
I hesitated slightly because I didn’t know if this was a hot button. “Um, Morgan told me your mother’s still alive.”
He stiffened at once. “And?”
“Well…um, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He sat up and turned to look down at me. “My mother isn’t exactly…maternal. Her major concern with me is that I send her enough money to feed her habit.”
I blinked at him in surprise. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
He shrugged. “I don’t generally share that story with anyone who doesn’t already know.”
I reached out and snagged his hand, squeezing it. “Thank you for telling me.”
He shrugged again and got to his feet, practically running away from me. He looked back as he headed, bare-assed, for the bedroom. “Well, are you coming? We gotta save water, you know? Shower with a friend.”
I laughed, getting to my feet as I shook my head. “I’m all about environmental conservation,” I murmured as I followed him.
23
Domenic
We went back into the city the next morning after Leyland called to tell me that the board was scheduled to come to a decision in the course of the day. Nico tried to persuade me that she should go back to work since we were in the city, but I vetoed that idea.
“You can go back tomorrow, after the verdict is in. I don’t trust Roman one bit.”
“But isn’t that why you have all that security? Why you gave me this watch that has a tracker on it? And this new snazzy phone as well?”
I looked away because she’d been protesting about us going ‘overboard’ since Morgan had sent the items over. “Yeah, but-”
“No buts! Either I’m safe with these things or I’m not. Which is it?”
“It’s not that simple and you know it.” I turned away from her because I didn’t want this to turn into an argument. Thankfully, my phone rang, although I was less grateful when I saw it was Tank.
“Yo.”
“Dom, some crazy shit you’ve been through lately. You got some time for me today?”
‘Yeah, of course. I mean, I kinda owe you.”
“Nah. I just… well, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Been meaning to do it for some time actually.”
“Shoot.”
“So we’ve been trying to set up a program for a number of years. Actually, inspired by you and what you did. It’s been hard to get it off the ground and we thought maybe, with your help…”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah, sure, maybe send me the details.”
“Yeah, okay, if you give me an email address, I can send you a proposal.”
My jaw dropped as I repeated what I’d just heard. The Lost Boys had proposals now? “Yeah, uhh, of course. I’ll text you.”
I texted him my personal email as soon as I hung up and it was barely ten minutes later that my phone dinged.
Might as well get it over with.
I opened the attachment with a sigh and began to read.
The next day, the buzzer went off and I clicked on the app on my phone that connected to the cameras outside the door of the building. To my surprise, I saw Leyland waiting to be let in. After pressing the admit button, I sat back with a frown. If Leyland was coming all the way and not calling, it was probably not good news.
I took a deep breath as I waited. Nico wandered into the room. “Who’s on the way up?”
“My lawyer.”
She gasped. “Is this it then?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I’ll get drinks.” She crossed to the bar and poured out some whisky. She brought me a glass directly and I downed it, realizing that I was kind of nervous. The doorbell rang and I went to open the door. Leyland stood on the other side, looking solemn.
“Domenic,” he said with a nod.
“Leyland, come in.” I stepped back, letting him in. “What’s the news?”
He turned around. “Well, the board has apparently heard some very disturbing things about both candidates this week. They heard about Roman’s…shenanigans, but also, the implication that you’re associated with biker culture. They’re questioning whether either of you would be qualified to run Tech Dyne.”
“Goddamnit!” I turned away in annoyance.
“It’s not over yet. We have options.”
I whirled around to glare incredulously at him. “What options?”
Leyland sighed. “You have to understand; these people are skittish. But we can turn this around.”
I sighed tiredly. “I don’t know if I want to, Leyland, if I’m being honest.”
“Come on, man, you can’t give up now.”
“No. I mean, of course I would have wanted this, but there are more important things. I shouldn’t have to contort myself into strange shapes to get a job I can do with one hand tied behind my back. These people need to realize that it’s their loss, not mine.”
“Well, that’s all very well and good, Domenic. But the truth is, they hold all the power.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Do they?”
Leyland took a step closer. “Yes, Dom, they do,” he said irritably. “You know it and so do I.”
I just shook my head slowly. I could not convince Leyland and I had no intention of trying. He came from the same world as these people. He thought the same way they did. He had the same expectations, the same attitude, the same biases.
“In any case, I might be focusing on something different in the near future.”
“Oh?” He pursed his lips and tilted his head. “What is that?”
“A proposal has run across my desk for a non-profit. It’s piqued my interest.”
“Oh, I wasn’t aware that was an area you were interested
