AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Every so often, one would crawl up on my lap and accidentally kick my leg where I’d been shot. I tried my hardest not to grimace and frighten them all over again.
“When do you have to go back?” Nance asked when she and her husband announced it was time to go home and were met with groans from their kids.
“Tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Don’t stay away so long next time, all right?”
“I won’t. I promise.”
She raised a brow. “You don’t usually make promises you can’t keep.”
“So, you know I mean it.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I miss you so much, Henry.”
I kissed her hair and pulled her into an embrace. “I miss you too. All of you.” And Verity. I missed her the most.
“You’re back,”said Magnet, greeting me when I walked in the next morning. He embraced me but cringed first. “Who did that to you?”
I laughed. “Some arsehole.”
“Let me know if you want me to have a go at him for you.”
“Yeah? What makes you think you can take him when he couldn’t take me?”
Mag put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Zep.”
“Don’t be. I deserved it, and what’s more, I needed it.”
“How’s the family?”
“All happy and healthy. Nance has three kids now, and while they didn’t say, something tells me James and Jane might have another on the way.”
“I’d like to see them sometime soon.”
“They’d like to see you too, Mag.”
“Listen, there’s something Schön wants to talk to you about.”
“You didn’t?—”
“If you’re about to ask if I told her what you’d said, I would never. It wouldn’t be about protecting you. It would be to protect her.”
I nodded. “I get it, Mag, and I’m sorry I said those things.”
“She’s a lot different than you think, Zep. You should give her a chance.”
It made me think about Verity and how much time I’d wasted with her. I’d spent months arguing with her when I could’ve spent that time getting to know her better.
“What does she want to talk to me about?”
“I let her tell you.”
“Right. Let me just alert Nem I’m back?—”
Magnet shook his head. “You should talk to Schön first.”
“All right,” I said, cocking my head.
