Page 74 of Twisted Shadows
It would be better for everyone if he went somewhere that kept other people safe.
He took another breath through his nose, then blew it out. “When this is done,” he said quietly, “I’ll go to the safe house.”
If you come with me, he wanted to say.
But he didn’t. Grayson was the Dead Man. He had responsibilities to the entire country, not just to a single empath. By rights Grayson should just send Reece up wherever the Stone Solutions facility was in Canada and leave him there, and every minute he hadn’t was a minute Reece didn’t deserve.
But it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Grayson had to be so alone, that he wasn’t supposed to share pictures of himself, that he didn’t have a home. He’d given up his entire life, given up hisheart, so that he could do the dirty work that governments and corporations couldn’t be trusted to do.
Come with me.
Let’s really run away.
Maybe your emotions aren’t completely gone.
Maybe I can find out.
Reece bit it all back. “Vancouver first, though. I’ll go undercover into Stone Solutions with you—”
“Reece.” Grayson put his hands on the tailgate, on either side of Reece. And Reece’s breath caught in his throat as he was suddenly boxed in between Grayson’s arms, their faces level with only inches between them.
They weren’t touching. But they were so close, close enough he could feel Grayson’s warmth, smell that faint cologne, hear his breathing.
“You paying attention to me?” Grayson said.
Reece swallowed thickly. “Undivided,” he promised, his voice too high.
“If you think you’re coming with me anywhere but the hotel, you’re gonna have to convince me I can trust you,” Grayson said, and he wasso damn close. “You understand? We came here to investigate someone who literally tried to empath-nap you last night and we still don’t know why. I can name a lot of moments you should’ve stayed put, but today had a big neon sign sayingsit your lemming ass down and talk to Evan.”
Grayson’s arms were almost touching his on either side. Reece could have easily closed the inches between them and kissed him.
“I am trying to keep you out of trouble, but you are making sure I got my work cut out for me,” Grayson said. “So tell me you’re gonna at leasttryto make a good decision now and then, okay, Care Bear?”
“Okay,” Reece agreed dazedly.
“Good.”
Grayson suddenly seemed to realize how close he’d come. He stilled, and with so little space between them, Reece could sense the way his arms and shoulders had tensed and flexed.
Reece ran his tongue over his dry lips, and Grayson’s gaze darted straight to them.
Want to make a bad decision with me?
Reece didn’t say it. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Should we start our great Canadian adventure?”
Reece watched Grayson’s chest rise and fall, his breath a vibration between them. “Yeah.” Grayson straightened up. “Come on.”
The picture of perfect manners as always, he held out his hand to help Reece down from the tailgate.
And Reece took it.
Their fingers interlaced as their palms pressed together. Grayson’s hand was big and warm, calloused at the bases of his fingers, and at the touch of bare skin every part of Reece, from his suddenly alight nerves to his empathy, was automatically reaching, searching, desperately wanting—
Oh shit, he remembered, just as Grayson said, “Where’s your glove—”
And then everything was black.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
