Page 51 of The Housebreaker's Assistant
Whether it was the intensity of the moment, being taken by surprise, or Greer’s half-asleep blur when they’d been assaulted, the farmer’s attack must have ignited old, horrible memories. The beating Greer had sustained and their immediate flight must have been too similar to what had happened to Greer as a boy.
“You’re safe,” Penny said, glancing around, then leading Greer to the tree. “You’re here with me, and all is well. Sit for a moment and breathe.”
He maneuvered Greer to sit with his back against the tree, then crouched beside him so that he could study his love’s face and stroke away the tears and grime from the hayloft. It was too early for anyone else to be out on the road with them, which was a blessing, so Penny took the risk of cupping the side of Greer’s face and leaning in to kiss him.
Slowly, with each new breath and the whisper of the dawn breeze around them, Greer calmed himself. His tears stopped, his breathing steadied, and eventually his shoulders dropped. Once that happened, Penny let go of his own tension and sat beside him.
“I’m sorry,” Greer said after a few more minutes of silence. “You must think me a right fool.”
Penny shook his head. “No, I think you are a wonderful, strong man who experienced something horrific as a child and who wasn’t expecting it to make a return at an inopportune time.”
Greer turned his head to stare flatly at Penny, like Penny was either teasing him or giving him something he didn’t deserve.
“Do you think I don’t have anything that would upset me beyond reason if it snuck up on me like that?” Penny asked him, his tone as incredulous as Greer’s expression. “Because I do. I most certainly do.”
Greer looked surprised by that statement for a moment before puffing out a breath and sagging further. “I’m weak. He always said so.”
“Stop right there,” Penny said, voice raised. “I’ll have none of that. You’re far from weak. You’re Greer O’Toole, the best housebreaker in all of England.”
Greer sent Penny a tired, sheepish smile. He didn’t seem to have any words to go with the smile, though.
“The moment is over at any rate,” Penny said, slapping Greer’s thigh, then leaving his hand there. “And your father is dead and gone, decades in the past.”
“His ghost isn’t,” Greer said softly.
“Fuck his ghost,” Penny said, digging his fingertips into Greer’s thigh, then using that leverage to stand. “Ghosts are merely shadows, and you are Greer O’Toole. You’re stronger than shadows.”
He offered his hand to Greer, who took it and used it to pull himself up to standing.
Once they were both on their feet, they took a moment to just stand there, studying each other.
“It’s why I agreed to come here,” Greer said. At first, Penny didn’t understand and could only frown. Then Greer continued with. “It’s why I accepted this mission from Brutus and Titus. As soon as they told me Lord Fabian was a prisoner, probably abused and terrified, I knew I had to do whatever I could to help him.”
Penny nodded slowly, beginning to understand. He had similar motivations for taking the job, so much so that he suspected Brutus and Titus were aware of his past.
“I know what that sort of fear feels like,” Greer continued in a voice that was barely more than a whisper, his eyes haunted.
“I know it, too,” Penny said, his stomach turning at the secret he didn’t feel comfortable keeping from the man he loved any longer. “I was almost Lord Fabian.”
Greer jerked his head up to stare at him in disbelief. “You were?—”
“Almost kidnapped and sold off,” Penny finished in as few words as possible. “Years ago. I managed to escape once they left me alone, but whatever is happening to Lord Fabian, it could have been me.”
Greer could only stare at him for a moment. “I…I can’t imagine.”
“Don’t.” Penny shook his head. “It’s not worth thinking about. It never happened. We’re here now, working to save another man, because we were strong enough to overcome the evils people did to us.”
“Penny.” Greer rested a hand on the side of his face.
“It’s in the past now,” Penny said, touching Greer’s face in turn. “All that matters right now is rescuing Lord Fabian.”
Greer was silent for a few moments, his thoughts flittering through his eyes, before he said, “I know what we’re doing is nearly impossible, that we’re risking our lives for a man we do not even know, but I remember what terror feels like.”
Penny tried to smile. “Yeah, so do I.” He reached for Greer’s hand and squeezed it.
“I had to come here and at least try to free the man, but I didn’t want you to come with me,” Greer went on.
“Why not?” Penny asked, fighting the urge to be offended in favor of seeking out Greer’s reasons.
