I came unstuck, moved to my bed, pulled back the covers, and got in cross-legged. I took off my glasses, set them on the nightstand, grabbed my tub of moisturizer, and commenced moisturizing my face.

Face moisturized, I sucked up the courage to ask, “When I came in, what was on your mind?”

To my surprise, he didn’t hesitate to answer.

“What was on my mind was that Calhoun was the lead on the investigation into Heller. Calhoun is a good man. A dedicated man. He and a lotta guys spent three years building up to that takedown. They made twelve arrests with that sweep and ten of those twelve are major players in Heller’s operation. That takedown was huge. Planned and orchestrated with precision and the man-hours behind it are incalculable. No case is rock solid but what they got on all those guys is the closest I’ve ever seen. And I was thinkin’ that if that asshole fucks with you and I do what I had the near overwhelming urge to do tonight when I looked at his motherfucking face seeing he had the balls to be standin’ right at your front door at ten o’clock at night, I’ll fuck all that.”

I was watching him as he spoke.

When he stopped, I asked, “What urge?”

Brock blinked up at me.

Then he asked a repeated, “What urge?”

“Yeah, what urge?”

He stared at me three seconds before he leaned into me, grabbed the tub of moisturizer out of my hand, and leaned deeper, half tossing, half placing it on my nightstand. With his strong arm tight around my belly and hip, he pulled me into the bed and into him.

Once he had me settled, arm still firm around me, he said softly, “I am not a normal guy, Tess.”

I’d already got that.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“I’m the oldest boy. I got two sisters, a brother, and Mom got us all in the divorce. Dad’s a decent guy but that didn’t mean he didn’t jack her around. He did. A lot. Too much. He and I have come to uneasy terms and, since he jacked her around so much, this took a while but because of his shit, I grew up bein’ the man of the family. I did not learn to be the man I am from my dad. The man I am was ingrained in me, starting at seven.”

I wasn’t sure I understood what he was saying but I was sure I thought it was fascinating, and furthermore, I very much liked lying pressed close to him in my bed with his arm tight around me while he told me stories of his life.

“Okay,” I whispered again when he didn’t go on.