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John Matthew came awake, sensed Xhex beside him, and panicked
Dream was this a dream?
He sat up slowly, and when he felt her arht it before it hit his hips God, what he held with care arhted and
"John?" she said into a pillow
Without thinking, he curled around her and smoothed her short hair The instant he did, she seeht back to sleep
A quick look at his watch told him it was four in the afternoon They&039;d slept for hours, and if the growl in his sto as well
When he was sure she was out like a light again, he slipped free of her hold, andon his leathers and T-shirt
In his bare feet, he padded out into the hall Everything was quiet because there was no training here anymore, and that was a daym and the drone of lectures in the classroo shut in the showers
Instead, silence
But he and Xhex weren&039;t alone, as it turned out
When he got to the office&039;s glass door, he froze with his hand on the pull
Tohr was asleep at the desk well, on it His head was down on his forearm and his shoulders were sluer toward the guy, it was a shock to have nothing of the sort light hi sadness
He&039;d woken up next to Xhex this ain He was never going to roll over and so to the kitchen to bring her so her or kiss her
And he&039;d lost a baby along the way
John opened the door and expected the Brother to snap up, but Tohr didn&039;t The etting back into shape, eating and working out twenty-four/seven, and the effort was showing His pants no longer hung off hi But clearly the process was exhausting
Where was Lassiter? John wondered as he went by the desk and into the closet The angel usually stuck pretty close to the Brother
Ducking into the hidden door in the supply shelves, he walked through the tunnel toward the house As he went, the fluorescent lights in the ceiling stretched out far, far ahead of hi the is were going was a comfort When he came to a shallow set of stairs, he ht E into the foyer, he heard the TV in the billiard rooel was
No one else in the house would be watching Oprah Not without a gun to his head
The kitchen was e soet First Meal made and set for the household Which was just as well He really didn&039;t want help
Moving fast, he snagged a basket froels Ther of OJ Cut fruit Danish Danish Danish Mug Mug Glass
He was going for high calories and praying she liked sweets
On that note, he made a turkey sandwich, just in case
And for a different reason he slapped together a ha roorand staircase--
"Lot of food for two," Lassiter said, his usual smart-ass routine dialed down
John wheeled around The angel was in the doorway to the billiard rooainst the ornate archway He had one boot crossed over the other and his ariving the impression there were eyes all over hi
Lassiter ss frole now, are you"
As recently as the night before John would have thrown back a fuck off, but noas inclined to nod Especially as he thought of the cracks in the hallway concrete that had been caused by the pain Tohr had been through
"Good," Lassiter said, "and about damned time Oh, and I&039;m not with hiot to have el turned away, his blond-and-black hair swinging "And you can shut it Oprah&039;s awesome"
John shook his head and found hiht be a ht Tohr back to the Brotherhood and that orth soh the tunnel Out the back of the closet Into the office where Tohr was still asleep
As John stepped up to the desk, the Brother woke up on a full-body spas off the desk Half of his face was mashed in, as if someone had hit him with a round of spray starch and ironed his shit badly
"John" he said roughly "Hey You need anything?"
John reached into the basket and took out the ha it on the desk, he slid it toward the male
Tohr blinked as if he&039;d never seen two slices of rye pulling a cinch on some meat before
John nodded down at it Eat, he mouthed
Tohr reached out and placed his hand on the sandwich "Thanks"
John nodded, his fingertips lingering on the surface of the desk His good-bye was a quick knock of his knuckles There was tooconcern being that Xhex not wake up alone
When he hit the door, Tohr said, "I&039;lad"
As the words drifted over to him, John&039;s eyes latched onto those cracks out in the corridor That would have been him, he realized If Wrath and the Brothers had rolled up to his door with bad news about his feood kind, he&039;d have reacted the exact same way Tohr had
Tore up fro outtie
Over his shoulder, John looked at the pale face of theto a father he&039;d ever known Tohr had gained weight but his face was still hollow and e, no matter how many meals he ate
As their stares locked, John had the sense that the pair of theh so much more than just the sum of years they&039;d known each other
John put the basket down at his feet I&039;ht
"Yeah?"
I&039;rew up
Tohr sed hard "You want the keys to my house?"
John recoiled He&039;dwith hi shit between them
I didn&039;t expect to take her there--
"Go It would be good for you to check it out The doggen get over there just once a month, maybe twice" Tohr shifted and pulled open one of the desk drawers As he took out a key fob, he cleared his throat "Here"
John caught the keys andhis chest He&039;d been busy shitting on the guy lately and, even still, the Brother manned up and offered what had to be a killer for hilad you and Xhex have found each other It makes cosmic sense, it truly does"
John shoved the keys in his pocket to free up his hand We&039;re not together
The suy&039;s face seeether"
Jesus, John thought, guess his bonding scent was obvious Still, there was no reason to go into all the why-nots that were surrounding the pair of the to Our Lady?" When John nodded, Tohr reached down to the floor and picked up a Hefty bag "Take this with you It&039;s drug ht it back Figure they could use it"
As Tohr got to his feet, he left the loot on the desk and picked up the sandwich, peeling back the Saran Wrap, and taking a bite
"Good ith the mayo," he murmured "Not too much Not too little Thanks"
Tohr headed for the closet
John whistled softly and the Brother stopped, but didn&039;t turn around "It&039;s okay, John You don&039;t have to say anything Just be safe out there tonight, &039;kay?"