Chapter 9 #2
Micah flops down on the couch as Cayenne tries to shower him in kisses and Sarge scowls at him, much in the same way Leland is. Micah throws a blanket over himself and nods approvingly even though his tall stature means his legs are draped over the armrest. “Good night.”
“He’s going to murder us in the middle of the night, isn’t he?” Waylon asks.
“Waylon, people can’t murder you if you murder them first,” Leland says, as though this is some sage advice.
Waylon nods like he understands. What has Leland done to him to make him “understand” that?
We leave Micah to his couch and head upstairs, but when Waylon reaches his room, he hesitates.
“Thank you both. I just… I’m not sure Cam would have made it out if you guys weren’t there to help.
I… I saw some really horrible things when I was younger…
and all I could think about was Cam ending up like that. ”
“You’re welcome. Are you doing okay?” I ask.
“Yeah… just tired. And… thinking about the people who know about me. And what will happen when they come for me.” He’s wringing his hands and I notice Leland is fixated on them.
“We’re not going to let them take you,” Leland assures him. “Batilda and Maple won’t let them touch you.” He pulls out two guns and kisses them both. “The way you’re looking at me… is that jealousy? Would you like a kiss upon your head like Nathan did to his son?”
“No, the look is obviously a ‘What the fuck is happening’ look! Good night!” He hurries inside before Leland can tease him anymore.
Leland appears to have enjoyed the teasing, and it seems to rejuvenate him since he smiles, proud of himself as he walks into our bedroom. I can tell he needs something to distract himself because the only thing he can focus on is why the man at the estate was interested in him.
“How much was set up by that man?” Leland asks. “Like was he the one who told Teo about us?”
“I do wonder,” I say.
“He knew we’d be there, so was he waiting for us? Did he work with Teo and know we were going to be there? Or did he flash us in front of Teo so he would try to drag us in?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. We’ll be careful. We’ll make sure Waylon is with us at all times. I don’t want to see something happen that we could have avoided.”
“I should have shot him.”
“I… don’t know the answer to that. You can’t just shoot someone because they give you a bad feeling,” I say.
Leland gives me a “Sure I can” look.
I narrow my eyes, and he sighs before slumping against me and throwing his arms around my neck. “I know. I know.”
“I also have a weird feeling about it. I didn’t like how he was in control of the situation,” I admit. “Not to say that you weren’t. But I feel like he was confident that he was safe. Like he knew that you weren’t going to shoot him or that he wasn’t going to get hurt.”
“I got that too,” Leland says. “But how? Did he have a second person watching his back? Or was it primarily his confidence that made me feel like he was untouchable? I don’t know.
I sent everything I picked up about him to Tucker.
I’ll see if he comes back with anything.
This guy knows my face. He knows your face…
nothing good is going to come of this. But trust me, if he comes for either of you, I will have my bombproof human-sized hamster cage ready for you and Waylon.
You won’t get lonely with Waylon joining you. ”
Why are we back on this? And why am I now also in the cage? “You’re not putting us in a… hamster cage!”
“Would it make you feel better if I made it big enough to put the Mistress in there with you? You can cuddle her sleek interior and stroke her steering wheel every time you feel lonely. The contractor will be here bright and early to start on it, so we should get some shuteye.”
I try to peel Leland off as punishment for wanting to put me through all of this shit, but he hangs on tightly.
“You’re not getting rid of me.” It really comes out of him sounding like a threat.
“You deserve it.”
“For trying to keep you safe? Honey. Love. My sweet Sasquatch… I will do what it takes to keep you safe.”
I grab his head and tilt it up so I can at least show him the look on my face. “Did you forget the talk we already had today?”
“Which talk? The one where we talked about how sometimes I want to smack your ass?”
“The one about working together.”
“Never heard that.”
“You sure did. Working together makes each of us…?”
“Horny?” he tosses out.
“Ooh, let’s see if that fits. ‘Working together with Tavish makes me horny.’ Do you think it fits? Your expression tells me it doesn’t. Let’s try again. Working together makes each of us…?”
“Irritated.”
“Working with Cassel makes me irritated. Does that one work?”
“There is no word that fits, but I forbid you from ever saying Tavish’s name again.”
“Working together makes each of us safer! Safer, Leland! Safer!” I exclaim, but I can tell he’s already moved on from this topic. Honestly, why do I even try when it comes to this man? He’s always just off doing his own thing.
Leland hums in thought. “We’ll use Tavish’s body to keep you safe. I bet his body is as dense as his brain, so there’s no way a bullet is going through him and hitting you.”
Why do I even try?
I just sigh and head toward the bathroom to brush my teeth while Leland continues to cling to me.
“I’m not hugging people who won’t listen to me,” I state.
“I understand. But you will grow to love your hamster cage. I will make it fun, I promise. I’ll sprinkle little things in there to keep you entertained for hours. You. Will. Love it.”
“I have a weird feeling I won’t,” I say as I reach the bathroom, Leland still clinging to me, even while we take a quick shower.
And even once I escape, it becomes clear I’m not getting away from this, so I ready his toothbrush and aim it for his mouth.
He seems to think I should also brush his teeth so he can avoid removing a single hand from me, but it’s definitely not going to happen, so I force the toothbrush into his mouth and leave him to it.
I brush my own teeth while he sacrifices one hand to brush his, but now he’s realizing that there’s no good way to spit out the toothpaste while hanging on to me like this.
“Cup your hand,” he mutters through the toothpaste.
“You are not spitting that into my hand. You are out of control. First, thinking you’re going to lock me up, and second, thinking I’d willingly let you spit toothpaste into my hand.”
He finally pulls free to spit out the toothpaste. “Didn’t know you were so against spitting, my love.”
“I would love to know if I actually cupped my hand whether you’d have spit into it.”
Leland grins at me. “Only one way to find out.”
I hold my hand out, even though he’s already spit out his toothpaste. He takes my hand and leans forward, looking like he’s going to kiss it, before sticking his tongue out and licking it.
“Why?”
“I don’t know, Jackson. A kiss seemed like too much.”
“But a lick wasn’t?” I ask as I wipe it off on him.
That makes him laugh and hurry off to the bedroom.
“You’re not even going to question why Micah is here?” I ask.
“It’s like a fly that you ignore in the hope it just goes away. And if it doesn’t, that’s when you dig out the flyswatter and just dispose of it.”
“Don’t dispose of your friends. We’ve talked about this. Do you want me to ask him?”
“I mean, if you’re bored, you can,” he says as he climbs into bed and turns out the light before I can even reach the bed.
I walk over and slide in next to him, but I only make it ten minutes before I slip out, pull on some sweats, and head out the door.
There’s no way Leland hasn’t heard me and there’s no way Leland wouldn’t be nosy…
unless he knows something I don’t. And what if it’s something extremely concerning?
Which is how I end up so paranoid I can’t sleep.
I move down the stairs and reach the living room where Micah is dead asleep. Like… who the hell falls asleep that quickly on someone else’s couch? And he’s crammed into such an uncomfortable position.
“Hey there, bucko. Do you like watching strange men sleep?” a creepy voice says from behind me.
I jump and spin around because of course the voice didn’t come from Micah but from Leland, who I hadn’t even heard follow me. “My heart.”
“All for me,” he says, like I was declaring my love for him and not indicating that he nearly gave me a heart attack.
“Hey tiny nuts, wake up,” Leland calls as he throws a pillow at Micah. He catches it without even opening his eyes, which is… dare I say, ridiculously impressive?
“What?” he groans.
“My dear husband wants to know if something is wrong and that’s why you’re here.”
“Nah, I just did an all-nighter and didn’t feel like driving home. It’s sweet he’s concerned about me. I’m concerned about you too, Jackson. About you having to live with this man,” he says with a wink at me.
“Don’t make me hurt you. Remember, if anyone breaks in, throw your body in front of them.”
“Hey, Leland,” Micah says.
“What?”
“My job… I was at Harley’s Bar for a job I’m on and the weirdest fucking thing came up. Someone mentioned the Sandman.”
Leland stares at him for a long moment. “Yeah? Did you get a good look at him?”
“I did. But what are you going to do about it? Your name used to flitter around that joint a long time ago. Might have just been some kid bringing old ghosts up again.”
“You were concerned enough you came here,” I say.
“I’m not sure concerned is the word I’d choose. How about… my interest was piqued,” he replies.
“That all?” Leland asks.
“Probably.”
Leland throws another pillow at him.
“My information doesn’t come cheap.”
“Neither does my couch,” Leland says as he starts for the stairs.
“I’d watch your back, Sandman.”
“I’m watching it for him,” I tell him before following Leland.
“How sweet,” Micah calls after us.