Page 34 of Hardline Torque
Tane huffed a soft laugh.“Could’ve fooled me.You were out.”
Tane shifted closer, draping an arm over Victor’s chest as if it belonged there.The contact sent a sharp, grounding jolt through him—confirmation of what he’d already realized.
His body had made a decision.
Tane’s fingers traced idly over his skin.“You okay?”
Victor met his gaze.There was no suspicion there.Just concern.Open.Unarmored.
Dangerous.
“I will be,” he said.
It wasn’t a promise.It was a deferral.
Tane studied him for a long moment, then nodded, as if he understood more than Victor had said.He always seemed to.That, too, was a problem.
“You’ve got that look,” Tane said quietly.“The one that says your brain’s three steps ahead and none of them are good.”
Victor snorted despite himself.“You make it sound so flattering.”
“It’s not,” Tane replied.“But it’s you.”
The words landed heavier than they should have.
Victor glanced back at the comm, then powered it down with a flick of his thumb.For now.The intel wouldn’t go anywhere.The threat would still be there in an hour, in a day.
But Tane was here now.
He turned fully onto his side, facing him.“Things are shifting,” he said carefully.“People I’d rather not have paying attention ...are paying attention.”
Tane didn’t flinch.Didn’t pull away.If anything, his grip tightened slightly.
“Because of me?”he asked.
Victor considered lying.He was good at it.It would be easy.
Instead, he shook his head and placed his palm against Tane’s chest.“Because of us.”
That earned him a slow breath, Tane’s expression sobering.“So, what does that mean?”
Victor held his gaze.“It means staying isn’t neutral.”
A beat.
“And leaving?”Tane asked.
Victor’s chest tightened.“That would be safer.For you.”
Silence stretched between them, thick but not hostile.Tane searched his face, as if weighing something internally, then shook his head.
“Don’t decide that for me,” he said, not harshly, but firmly.“I don’t need you to disappear to protect me.”
Victor swallowed.“You don’t know what they do.”
“I know what you do,” Tane replied.“And I know you’re not running.”
Another truth, laid bare.
