Chapter 3
Tiguan
The entire time Chaos stood outside with Lyrical, I watched them without flinching. I knew Oz and Sapo logged my interest, but I couldn’t stop myself.
When she wasn’t around, all I felt was a dull ache inside, her presence a sort of misty vampire, draining my energy and will. Everything was dull and murky.
But now that I’d seen her in person again? Actually held her in my arms? That dull ache was a sharp pain, repeatedly stabbing my heart and thrashing my gut.
As soon as Chaos plopped back down in his chair, he asked, “What are you guys doing today?”
“Nothing,” Sapo said. “Probably just go down by the lake and walk around. Maybe go to the art museum. I want to see the brise-soleil Calatrava designed.”
Oz shrugged. “No actual plans until tomorrow. What do you need?”
“That woman is running herself ragged. Came in here because she forgot to eat breakfast.” He shook his head.
“Lyrical runs the women’s center a few blocks from here.
They’re having a fall festival to raise funds, and they need some help with setup.
I’ve got an errand to run after breakfast, and then I’m headed over there to give her a hand.
Sounds like she could use a few more strong hands to do some heavy lifting. ”
Nodding, Sapo said, “Sure. Won’t need to work out today if the jobs are big enough. I’m down.”
“Me too,” Oz said. He flashed a look around the table. “Gonna have to watch this one carefully though.” He nodded his head in my direction. “He took one look at Lyrical, and tweeting birds appeared around his head.”
“Oh, for the love of Mike,” I muttered.
Frowning, Chaos asked, “Who’s Mike?”
I waved him off. “It’s better than saying ‘god.’ He’s busy solving other problems. I don’t need to call on him and distract him.”
The guys all chuckled, which was the reaction I’d hoped for. With any luck, it would distract them from Oz’s comment.
“I’ve got the bill,” Sapo said, picking up the check. “Text us the address.” He and Oz got up from the table, leaving me with Chaos.
“Tweeting birds, huh?”
You should know Chaos never gets distracted, my friend.
Great. Sounded like Mayhem was going to be sticking around in my head for a while.
“No tweeting birds.”
“But you couldn’t take your eyes off her.”
I felt my body freeze up. This was not good. “Chaos, I—”
“Relax. I’m just giving you shit. Lyrical couldn’t do better than you, Tiguan.”
Stunned, I stared at him. What the hell? First, Mayhem rattling around in my head, and now Chaos giving me his blessing to make moves on his sister-in-law? How badly did I want to justify my feelings for her?
No justification needed, Tiguan.
“Look,” he said. “I’ve known her since we were teenagers, and Lyrical has had shit thrown at her most of her life.
That she’s back home, and my parents didn’t invite her to this stupid thing they’re doing for my brother?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. But if you’re interested in her, don’t let me or the fact that she was married to Mayhem slow you down. He’d approve, and so do I.”
“Chaos, I…”
“Dude. We all know.”
They knew? Knew what? That sentence allowed for many interpretations.
“You all know.” It was less of a question and more of a feeler to gauge what they knew.
“That you had a crush on her. And… how Mayhem felt about it.” He paused. “And you.”
Awkward didn’t even begin to cover how this conversation was rolling. “I never… I mean, he never…”
“He wouldn’t have. And I know you didn’t. But you focused hardcore when he got letters from her, especially when he shared them with us. And you always seemed to be in the communications area when they video-chatted. You weren’t terribly subtle. Not to us, anyway.
“As for how Mayhem felt about you?” He shrugged. “You held as big a piece of his heart as Lyrical. Her happiness determined every choice he made from the moment he met her. Knowing that you loved her the way she deserved would make him happy.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Just be gentle with her, okay? She’s an incredibly strong woman, but she takes hits hard, even if she gets back on her feet quickly. I know you’re a stand-up guy; otherwise, they’d be finding your body in a dumpster tomorrow morning.”
His grin said he was teasing, but I wasn’t so sure there wasn’t a thread of truth in his threat.