Page 88 of Keep

“That’s not⁠—”

“I know.” Hank set his glass on the table. “I know that’s not what you meant.”

Silence. The hum of the refrigerator. Traffic below.

“I just keep waiting for the catch,” Chad said finally. “Mac was great before he completely blindsided me. Jonathan felt like the real deal, and he was in federal prison days later. And then you. You were so—” He shook his head. “When the photograph happened, I just figured I’d save us both the trouble.”

“By disappearing.”

“By letting you salvage what you could.”

Hank stood. “I punched a United States senator today. On camera. In front of a tour group from Ohio.”

“I saw.”

“Do you know why?”

“Blake said the rumor was the other guy said something about me.”

“He did.” Hank’s jaw tightened. “He called you a pretty little bartender. And then he implied you were only with me because⁠—”

“Don’t,” Chad said quietly. “It’s not true.”

“I know. But I couldn’t let him—” Hank’s voice cracked. “I couldn’t stand there and let him say ugly things about you. So, I threw away twenty years of composure in less than three seconds. And I don’t regret it one bit.”

“Hank—”

“So don’t tell me you were protecting me. Don’t tell me you’re a liability.” He met Chad’s eyes. “I don’t need protection. I need you. I just need you.”

Silence.

Chad set down his glass, crossed the distance between them, and kissed him. Slow. A kiss that said both I’m here and I’m sorry.

When they stopped, Chad’s forehead rested against his.

“Forgive me?” Chad whispered.

“I do.”

“I won’t do it again.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

Chad pulled back enough to look at him. Almost smiling. “You punched a colleague.”

“I did.”

“In the Capitol.”

“Yep.”

“On camera.”

“Multiple angles, apparently.”

“Blake played the remix at the bar. You’re trending. Top five on TikTok.”

Hank blinked. “Remix?”