Page 49 of Oddly Fine

“We were not told to expect anyone else. The lateness of the hour combined with the use of the basement door made her arrival suspicious.”

“Also—we’d watched Shrek before bed, and that always gets me a little antsy,” Beckett said, because he was a fucker that way.

Gill pointedly ignored him and kept his gaze firmly fixed on Hayes.

“I went upstairs and took cover in the bathroom, where I had a perfect view of the staircase while remaining hidden. Beckett headed to the basement,” Hayes explained as if practicing for the report they’d no doubt have to write after this little shit show was over.

“Why not call me? Or the cops?” Gill said, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

“It could have been nothing,” Hayes replied, with a shrug.

Gill just sighed.

“I went downstairs to assess the situation. I found—” Beckett stopped. He looked up at Gill, his expression broadcasting guilty loud and clear.

“You found—” Gill prompted impatiently.

“A physically-imposing assailant searching along the walls. The lights were off—I thought they were trying to locate a safe, so I—I silently eased my way over and—” he stopped, shot Hayes a speaking look that asked, “How do I say, I held your mother-in-law at knifepoint, in professional terms?” to which Hayes merely shrugged in response.

“I maneuvered the assailant into submission,” Beckett stated confidently.

Gill frowned and looked perplexed.

“Into submission?” he repeated slowly, as if searching for some hidden meaning.

“Yes,” Beckett confirmed.

“Explain,” Gill said, not fooled for a moment by Beckett’s efforts to gloss over his attack on Donna.

Beckett shot Hayes another look, but his boyfriend had no clue how to save him. He hadn’t been there to see that particular incident, so he wasn’t inclined to add anything.

“I put the assailant in a head lock, and pressed my blade to their jugular to assume control of the situation.”

Beckett had said a lot of stupid things in his life. He loved to antagonize people. Get on their nerves. Hayes had watched him run off at the mouth at the wrong time more than once.

This—was close to being the dumbest explanation he’d ever given. Somehow, he just kept digging himself in deeper.

“You held my mother-in-law with a fucking knife to her throat!” Gill yelled in a never-seen-before display of anger that seemed to stun Beckett into silence.

No doubt, Hayes’ boyfriend probably wished he could simply disappear into his chair’s padded upholstery.

“Is that why she’s patched up? Did you cut her?!” Gill barked angrily, leaning towards Beckett, more intimidating than he had ever been before.

“Sir, with all due respect, Beckett was only trying to—” Hayes swiftly jumped to Beckett’s defense.

“Shut up!” Gill barked angrily as he yanked off his tie. “Do you know how long I’ve tried to get that woman to like me?”

“She still doesn’t,” Hayes stated with a grim smile.

Gill went very still and looked over at Hayes.

“I’m sorry?” he asked, his brow furrowed in consternation.

“With all due respect, she spent about 20 minutes last night pointing out your failings. I’m not saying we helped matters any, or that she seemed to believe that we were plumbers. Regardless, her opinion of you has far less to do with us, and a lot more to do with the fact that you made her son gay—”

And maybe it was Beckett rubbing off on him, but Hayes was doing a bang-up job failing to control his runaway tongue, as well.

Gill fell back in his chair like he’d been smacked with a board.