“I was at no pointaskedto help him,” I stated, which was a fact. “Now, Rider Evanov, I will remind you that I am a Flight Sergeant. Your superior officer. There are rules about the way lower ranks should respect their superiors.”
His lips pressed together.
“Leave now and drop the attitude and there will be no need for more to come of this.”
I wasn’t a fool. Even as the man stomped away, I knew Evanov would still want his revenge. Men like that always did. My guts tightened because I knew that the likeliest target for his revenge would be Fin. It was all I could do to complete myreports before I rushed back up to my rooms and found Fin sitting there right as rain, studying.
“Hi.” I slipped into the seat opposite him. “How’s it going?”
“Slow,” he said. “Did I do something wrong?”
That surprised me. “No, why do you ask?”
“The Evanovs,” he said and the blood froze in my veins. “Lloyd won’t speak to me and Rider Evanov spat at me.”
Bastard.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I assured him.
“Is this about what happened on the mats?” he asked.
I nodded. “Rider Evanov blamed me today for not healing his son.”
Fin frowned. “Were you asked to heal Lloyd?”
“No,” I admitted. “But given that he was punished for an act against you, I’m not sure I would have helped much. I mean, I would have closed the wounds, because, well, I would have. But I would have left it at scabs to scar, too.”
He nodded. Twirled his pen between his fingers. Chewed his lip.
“Fin?”
He put the pen down and looked at me. “I asked Jimny about it.” It was like he was forcing the words out. “You know, what Lloyd did.”
“I see. And what did he say?”
Fin shifted in his chair. “He said that sometimes a touch like that is a calculated foul move to put an opponent off their fight.”
I could tell there was more, so controlled my reactions and waited.
Fin licked his lips and looked away, his cheeks growing darker. “He also said it could be a flirtation technique. If … you know … a boy likes a boy …”
His voice trailed off, but I found myself calmer than expected. “And which do you think it was from Lloyd to you?”
“It didn’t feel flirty. Or arousing,” Fin said. “It felt … premeditated.”
There was no loss of tension, no sense of relief or release. I was glad Fin hadn’t found it arousing, but suddenly, other issues pecked at me.
“Fin, I don’t like the Evanovs. They strike me as …” How to put it?
“Bullies?” Fin suggested.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “That’s as good a description as any. Bullies. If you start getting trouble from either of them, report it. Tell Flight Captain Shi about what Rider Evanov did.”
“Won’t that just make things worse?”
“A fair question,” I said. “I don’t think so, it’s more the case that I think Shi will be upset if you don’t tell him, but if you want to, tell him that you’re telling him as a … friend … not as a commander.”
Fin nodded. “I’ll think about it. You should know, I want to be a dad someday. Have a wife and family of my own.”
