It took a while for Dillon to realize Top wasn't pissed off, he just made a lot of noise and liked slamming doors.
For all his bluster and rough curses, there was a gentleness about Top that Dillon found fascinating. The women of Perdition all adored the older man, the men all respected him, and no matter what they were running with, they always made sure to clear it with Top and give him the last word.
Dillon also noticed Top seemed to move carefully in the early mornings, and some days the heels of his ostrich cowboy boots scuffed along the floor instead of striking the concrete in his usual, loose-limbed stride as he did his phone call laps.
Today, it was already over a hundred degrees in the shade, the humidity made it feel even hotter, and Top came toward them wearing a sweatshirt beneath his heavy leather vest.
“My man is out there without his shirt on,” Athena chortled in delight. “Of course I am.”
Munch gave a yip of delight and zoomed toward Top at warp speed, running circles around him in wild abandon until Elka ripped off a rabid bark, like an older sister yelling at him to knock it off.
Munch immediately went belly up, his tail a blur as it whipped back and forth, tongue lolling out the side of his wide gator jaws.
“Now that's a neat trick,” Top drawled, using his foot to carefully wiggle Munch's belly. “I didn't even have to holler at you, psycho boy. You're here awful early, Athena.”
Athena lifted her shoulder and wiggled her fingers at her man, “We stayed over last night here at the compound. Raid was working late and didn't want me to be at home alone.”
Top grunted in understanding. “You got any extra chloroform on hand? I'm outta that alfalfa ass juice you're making me drink.”
Dillon's eyebrows slid up in surprise, but Athena only huffed in annoyance. “Top, it's chlorophyll. We're trying to boost the oxygen in your blood, not incapacitate you.
"And yes, I've got some in my bag, along with some spirulina I want you to start adding to your vitamin routine. In fact, why don't I mix you up a smoothie right now? You're looking a little gray this morning.”
Athena hopped up and clucked at her dogs to follow, the humid breeze catching the hem of her flouncy hippie skirt. Top lowered himself into Athena's vacant chair with a grumble.
“Spirulina, ha!” Top muttered darkly. “A man's shit ain't supposed to be green.”
Dillon nearly spat a mouthful of her smoothie across the patio table. Top patted his belly, and Elka got up to lean against the side of his chair with her head on his chest.
“You're bad to the bone, pretty girl. Yes, you are,” Top praised, giving Elka's scruff a deep massage. “I bet your mama wouldn't feed you stuff that turns your shit green.”
“Green poop would be a small price to pay if she were having health problems,” Dillon assured him. “Cancer?”
“You been talking to the girls about me?” Top asked it with a wide smile on his face, as though the girls could do no wrong. The affection in his voice came through loud and clear.
“We've talked mostly about the mystery of why guys can't pee inside the toilet bowl, swapped paleo recipes, they've told me about their businesses, and what it's like from their side of the fence regarding the Leviathans. Nothing about you, except to say they absolutely adore you and love being part of the crew.
“I've noticed you move a little slower, and your breathing gets a little rough going up or down the basement stairs.
"Raid was bitching the whole drive back from Dallas about Athena making him go paleo and eat kale because of his back injury, so if she's making you juice that tastes like alfalfa, I assumed it was for health reasons.”
Top shot her a sly, sidelong look and a manly grunt. “I've always said women have a natural talent for deductive reasoning. Lung cancer. S'what happens when you smoke two packs a day since you were eight.
“The shit Athena has me drinking tastes like fresh cut grass with a squeeze of lemon, but between her herbal hippie shit and the diet my damn doctor has meon, my tumors have shrunk enough to push back my expiration date. You're gettin' cozy with my boy, huh?”
Dillon fought to keep her face expressionless, but she felt the heat in her cheeks all the same. He couldn't possibly know that less than an hour ago, she'd had Nasa's hand between her thighs.
When she didn't immediately respond, Top continued, thumping on Elka before the huge hound retreated to lie back down beside Dillon, stretching out in the shade.
“Out of all the women in the world, I see how you compliment Nasa. Y'all have a lot in common. You get his need to prepare, and considering your line of work, you get why he's so over the top when it comes to security. How are you handling having Tobias up in your space?”
Top slid that question in while Dillon was still off-balance, wondering if Top could tell what all had gone on in the basement.
She looked out onto the field where Tobias was on his back with his legs up in the air, ankles crossed while he did a series of crunches.
It was the third time she'd seen him without his shirt on, and the scars on his back were a constant reminder she would likely be dead if not for his intervention.
“I still have a knee-jerk reaction if he comes around the corner and I'm not prepared for it, but it's getting better. He's a good man.”
Top laced his fingers over his stomach and turned his gaze to watch his guys on the field, “Takes some kinda woman to forgive the guy who had a hand in her abuse.”
Dillon's mouth ran dry, but
