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should have thrown away the key."
"I don't think they'll get it. Not this time. I'll go over to
testify and everything."
"You going to have to go over what they did to you again?"
Not that he knew the full story Harry'd asked that they not
be there when he'd testified at the trial.
"Yeah. I figure I'll do it, get really shitfaced, spend the
night in a hotel, and drive home the next morning."
He shook his head and grinned. Harry's one exception to
the not drinking rule, apparently. "What are you going to tell
Jason?" He couldn't imagine Jason letting Harry go through
that alone if he knew about it. Jase had developed a really
fierce protective streak.
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"I'm not. I'll tell him I have to go for work. It'll just upset
him." Of course, having to do it alone wouldn't upset Harry,
not at all.
"You honestly think you can do this without him finding
out?" Jason obviously knew something was up; he was much
subtler than Sammy with the fussing, but, nonetheless, he
was doing it.
"I hope so. I don't want him there." Harry's mouth set into
hard lines, the look brutal, harsh, one he hadn't seen in a
long while.
Peter sighed and made an offer that was partly against his
better judgment. "I'll arrange for something for him and
Sammy to do that day. If. If you agree to have me along. I
don't need to sit in on the hearing, but I'll be there when you
get out."
"I'll be fine, man. It's just another day on the job."
"Sure, Harry. You're not sleeping because it's just another
day on the job." He shifted, feeling lazy in the sunlight. "I'm
still going with you. Or Jase is."
"Don't bulldoze me, man. I'm bigger and meaner." The
words were almost gentle, Harry not posturing at him.
"You are, but Jason, man, he'd kill me if he found out I
knew you were going to do this and I let you go alone." He
shook his head. "He'll be pissed off enough I didn't tell him. I
don't know if you've noticed, but he's a little protective,
Harry."
"Yeah, well, you don't do what we went through without
changing a little, I guess."
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"A little?" Jesus, if Harry called this a little ... Oh, they'd
come through it, but Harry had such a tight rein on his control
... It wasn't healthy, and Peter was convinced Harry hadn't
truly come through it yet; he was still holding on too tightly.
Harry just nodded, face up toward the sun. "We'll talk
about it in a few days. The parole hearing's in two and a half
weeks. Their lawyers have already been requesting files and
shit. Say they're changed." Bright blue eyes met his, laser-
sharp. "Part of me wants all three of them out, so I can hunt
them down."
"They're not worth going to jail for, man."
"I know. If I didn't have Jason, I'd..." Harry's voice trailed
off. "It doesn't matter."
He reached out and touched Harry's shoulder. "But you do
have Jason." He knew that had made all the difference when
it had happened.
"I do." Those hard lines softened, and Harry smiled. That
was how Harry had done it, had survived. Under all the
bullshit, there was pure love in his friend.
"So trust him, Harry. He's stronger than he looks."
"I do trust him. I just ... He made it through all the
ugliness. I'm not dragging him back through it."
Peter shook his head. "He's going to be pissed off, Harry."
Because the odds of Jase not finding out were pretty slim.
The man was persistent when it came to Harry. Like a dog
with a bone.
"About what?" Oh, that was a growl. "It's not his job to
deal with this shit. You really think I believe you'd include
Sammy if the shoe was on the other foot?"
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"It's an entirely different situation, Harry." He loved and
adored Samuel. But his dearest did not have the same
strengths that Jason had.
"Why not? Sammy's not helpless. Hell, I've seen him take
a punch in a bar fight and pop right back up cussing."
"You can do anything you want to Samuel. He deals with
the physical hurts very well." Needed them, in fact, if they
were given in love. His hand itched at the thought. "He has
less faith in himself than Jason has."
"He just needs to breathe every so often. He's always
gotten himself worked up."
"Yes. The matter is to convince him of that." Peter sat back
and looked up into the sky. "We are well-matched with our
lovers, you and I. And I imagine it would do us both well to
remember that."
He squeezed Harry's shoulder. "At least consider telling
him, Harry. Please."
"I'll think about it."
It was all he could ask. "Thank you."
A bird flew by, landing by the flowers at the far end of the
garden.
"Is that all that's bothering you?" Peter asked.
"I never said anything was bothering me." Stubborn, hard-
headed ass.
"No, you didn't." He grinned over. "But I have eyes in my
head. And the curiosity of a hundred cats."
"Butthead." Harry swatted him lazily.
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He chuckled. "Well, some things just never change, Harry.
And you don't have to tell me. But I bet you'd feel better if
you did."
"I can't, Laffy. This isn't something you can help." Harry
shrugged, offered him a smile. "I'm good, man. Solid."
"All right, old friend. You remember where I am if you ever
need to talk, though." Because he didn't believe it for a
moment. He'd bet good money Harry never bottomed
anymore, and he knew for a fact the man used to enjoy it;
Jase and Samuel chattered about everything with each other.
"I know."
"There you both are!" Jason and Samuel appeared at the
edge of the shed. "I told you they'd be hiding out back here."
"Aren't you two hungry?" Samuel's hands landed on his
shoulders, rubbing. "Jason got tired of waiting. Such an [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]