Heart in Wire: A by a Thread Companion Novel (8 page)

He sighed and said nothing. He couldn’t think. He wasn’t there yet. He still had this tug in a different direction; it was the same tug that made him run to Millie in the first place.
I want more.
And he did want more, but not with Millie. And that was the end of the discussion; she turned away from him and went to sleep. She had a slight purr to her breathing; it was endearing. There wasn’t anything about her that irritated him. She cooked, cleaned, and did his laundry. Millie was beautiful, funny as shit, and smart too. Maybe he could marry her; he did love her in a way. He could definitely be okay with Millie on his arm, even if he didn’t feel…he wasn’t even going to finish that thought. He loved her and he didn’t want to lose her. He slept and dreamed of wavy black hair and scars.

Chapter Five

WHITE KNIGHT

Patrick stared at the photo of El, George, and Jesse at a steakhouse in Atlanta that Millie had showed him on Twitter. The picture was months old, but El’s bruises in the picture were just healing and covered by makeup. His El looked like a deer in headlights, but Jesse and George appeared downright jovial.
What did they have that he didn’t have?
She was his person, his best friend, but Patrick hadn’t heard from El at all since the quick call she’d made when she was in Atlanta. The quick fluttering in his gut was stamped out as Millie put her hand on his shoulder.

“Patrick? Did you hear me?” She was standing next to him, letting him look at El’s Twitter account. The picture had about 200 favorites and tons of comments about how El was fucking both men. “This picture was taken when they were in Atlanta. I can’t believe I’m just now seeing it. That was so long ago.”

Shaken from his thoughts, he laughed. “Look at El’s face.”

“She looks like someone just flashed her,” Millie commented as she ran her hand down his arm, squeezing his biceps. “I wonder what that’s about; she’s never been able to hide her emotions very well.”

“El has no ability to hide her emotions. It’s sort of awesome.”

The front door opened and Billy burst in, face flushed and panting. Millie and Patrick both looked toward the door and Billy bent over at the waist, his hands on his knees.

“What’s wrong, Billy?”

Billy peered at them, sweat making his sandy blond hair stick to his forehead. “So…I was walking home from the metro station when a fucking pit bull started following me. I started walking faster and it grabbed my fucking pant leg. I had to sprint the entire way home in these dress shoes.”

“Oh, right. It’s the dress shoes that got you out of breath.” Patrick laughed and handed Millie back her iPad. He felt an irrational anger at El’s bruises and the fact the George and Jesse had saved her in Key West. Without him.

“Have you ever run in dress shoes?” Billy asked.

Patrick laughed. “No.”

“Well, I’d like to see you try.” Billy sat down and pulled off his shoes before his suit coat. “Fucker.”

“Billy, are you still headed to Houston next week?” Millie asked.

Billy scratched his head. “What day is it?”

“It’s fucking July 31, man.” Patrick changed the channel on the television.

“Oh, yeah. I’m going to Houston the first week of August. I need to remind Kayce about that.”

Patrick raised his eyebrows at Billy’s mention of Kayce. “Is this becoming serious?”

“Serious enough to fuck her brains out…”

“That has nothing to do with whether it’s serious or not,” Millie piped up.

“It doesn’t?” Billy faked horror.

Millie laughed. “Asshole,” she said as she walked back to her and Patrick’s bedroom.

“So…Kayce, huh?”

“Oh, Patrick,” he moaned. “I’m talking size D boobs, size whatever everything else. Her ass is perfection.”

“I do like a perfect ass,” Patrick agreed.

“She’s also smart and funny.”

“That sounds too good to be true.”

“Well, I’m hoping that it’s not,” Billy said, his eyes animated.

“Women are…complicated.”

“We’re not that complicated!” Millie yelled from the back room.

Patrick and Billy both looked to the back room at the same time.

“We just want to be taken care of, respected, and fucked like a whore in the bedroom!”

“A whore huh?” Billy asked.

“A whore,” Millie confirmed.

“A whore,” Patrick mouthed to Billy. “Who knew?”

They both laughed.

“I do love a good whore, babe!” he called out.

It was the middle of August; George called Patrick and asked if he would watch Cooper. El had been a real jackass about him and Millie coming to the trial. He’d planned on going anyway until he realized what that would look like to Millie if he went when El had been adamant they not go. Millie didn’t even know the specific day El was testifying, but Patrick did, based on the talk at the office. She’d told George not to come either, but George was going anyway. Patrick did give him credit for that one.

Patrick was sitting in his running shorts on the couch in the den with his running shoes on the coffee table. It was Saturday and he’d just gotten back from working out and was thinking about what he would do for the rest of his day. Billy was playing a video game and they were talking about who they thought would be in the National Championship game for college football.

“I’m running over to El’s,” Millie said in a rush as she ran through the kitchen. “She’s freaking about what to wear for the trial. She’s being an asshole about not letting anyone go with her, but she asked me to help with her clothes.”

“Well, she is an asshole,” Billy confirmed from the couch.

As Millie walked past Patrick, he grabbed her arm, pulling her into his lap and kissing her. He could forget about El when he kissed her…sometimes.

Millie slapped him playfully, but then ran a hand down his chest.

“You guys are gross,” Billy commented.

“Can I wine you and dine you tonight?” Patrick murmured in her ear.

“When have I ever said no to that?” She giggled, pushed herself out of his lap and bounced out the front door.

“So every time you wine her and dine her do you end up with a 69?”

“Pretty much.”

Billy shook his head. “My God, you are a lucky fuck.”

“That I am.” Patrick gave him a shit-eating grin and leaned back in the chair.

“So any word on Jamie?” Billy asked.

“He hasn’t surfaced yet, still relying on the fact that he contacted Burns in December and told him that El blew his cover.” Patrick rubbed his head three times really quickly. “Burns is trying to cover his own ass too. I have a really bad feeling about what will go down when he surfaces. I don’t know what it will mean for El. He’s trying to say that she’s the reason why he had to run.”

“She’s not your responsibility.”

“I feel like she is,” he admitted.

“That’s…” Billy clamped his mouth shut.

“What?”

“You need to watch yourself with all that shit. Millie isn’t stupid and I don’t see her putting up with you trying to be El’s white knight.”

“But, she’s…El.” Patrick knew he was walking a fine line. He was with Millie, wanted to be with Millie, but there was something between him and El. Something that he was powerless to fight. Something that was innate in him. He wanted her, wanted to protect her. He wanted her to want him. All of those feelings were buried deep somewhere within him and unwelcome, but they were there. Patrick knew if he ever allowed those feelings to bubble to the surface, he’d dive too deep, losing himself in love and lust for the woman who’d changed his entire life without even knowing she had that power.

“Yeah, yeah,” Billy dismissed. “I’m just telling you. You should listen to my ass every once in a while.”

Patrick was quiet for a minute, contemplating. “Millie wants to get married.”

“Big fucking shocker, dude. All girls want to get married.”

“El doesn’t.”

“That’s because her fiancé pretended to die instead of dumping her. You’d be a little gun shy after that too, wouldn’t you?”

“You think she’ll get married?”

“Seriously? I don’t sit around and ponder whether El will get married. When I ponder things, it’s when I’ll get laid next and if I need more beer.”

“We
are
getting older, should we be thinking about shit like this?”

Millie’s constant talk about moving into their own place and getting married was starting to get to him.

“I think you’d be thinking about it if you wanted to,” Billy responded.

“You’re so wise,” Patrick said sarcastically and got up, moving into the kitchen.

“You’re welcome.” Billy laughed. “Get me a beer.”

Patrick slowed a bit to let Cooper catch up with him while he was running through Del Ray, a neighborhood over from Old Town. Unfortunately, Cooper was starting to slow down. Patrick guessed he was getting older; he didn’t know what El would do when she lost him. Cooper had been with her through everything, longer than anyone. He leaned down and rubbed Cooper behind the ears.

They jogged down to the dog bakery that Cooper loved. He walked in and smiled at the cute girl behind the counter.

“What kind do you want, Coop?” Patrick asked.

Cooper wagged his tail so hard his ass shook. Patrick laughed and pulled a few bucks from the pocket of his shorts. “Carob bones, please.”

“Sure,” the girl said and bent to pick out the cookies. Cooper moved to stand in between Patrick’s legs. “Your dog is cute,” the girl said, not looking at Cooper at all.

“Thanks, but he’s not mine. I’m just watching him for a few days.” He looked at his phone. El would be testifying today. He hoped she’d be okay. She liked to make everyone think she was so tough. One solid poke and she’d crumble, or at least she seemed that way to him. El hadn’t let him get close to her lately, which had actually helped his head.

He texted her quickly.

You’re going to be great. How do I know? You’re my person. I know you.

“Here you go.” The girl handed him the cookies and his change.

He gave Cooper both cookies at the same time. “Thanks.” He smiled and winked at the girl, who responded by giggling.

Cooper ate both cookies in a few seconds while they stood on the sidewalk outside the shop. Patrick took it easy on the way as they jogged back to the house, but noticed that a pep in Cooper’s step appeared that was missing earlier.

“They’re back,” Millie said, looking at her phone after she received a text.

She and Patrick had taken the day off so that they could take Cooper back to El’s and make sure she was okay after the testimony. She’d looked fragile on the news last night as she left the court room, her scars showing above the shirt she wore under her suit. Patrick rubbed his hands over his face and swung his legs over to put his feet on the floor. He’d taken full advantage of a late morning and a naked Millie. He peered at her over his shoulder and smiled as he watched her pull on short pink shorts and a white bra.

“You’re not going to shower?”

She shrugged. “I’ll shower later.”

“I love it when you smell like sex, like me.” He stood up and stretched his entire body.

She took in his body, obvious with her staring. His dick twitched.