MY FATE FOR YOURS

Chapter 25- EAMON

Eamon

 "Eamon, you got a minute?" Jerry says, leaning over my shoulder.

"Sure thing, boss," I say. I put up my torch and follow Jerry to his office. I know what he's looking for. An answer. And I don't have it for him. Not right now. As soon as the door shuts behind me, I open my mouth to tell him so but my phone in my pocket is ringing.

Jerry rolls his eyes. "Just get that, and then we'll talk. You'll never pay any attention to me if you're too busy wondering which one of your birds was on the other end of that call."

I smile and pull the phone from my pocket. TOBIN. I start to drop the phone back into my shirt pocket, but something doesn't feel right. Tobin should be on his way into work, and he knows I'm still here. So, why is he calling in the middle of the day?

I hold up a finger to tell Jerry I'll be just a second, step out of his office and answer the phone.

"Tobe, you okay man?" I ask.

"I will be if you come bail me out. You're my one phone call bro," he says. He doesn't sound panicked, he almost sounds...amused. I don't ask what he's done, because he sounds okay and shit that's all that really matters, right? I hang up, grab my keys and let Jerry know I'll be back at some point to continue our talk. Something about the look he gives me tells me he may be second guessing his decision to offer me a buy-in with the company, and I can't say I'm all that broken up about it.

***

"Thanks for bailing me out." Tobin runs a hand through his hair, and he's actually smiling. A real one.

"Eh, what the hell else am I going to do with my money?" I say with a laugh. "Glad you caught me, though. Mama doesn't need to know about this, especially it sounds like they won't be prosecuting.

"Yep, since I was traumatized over my friend's attack and all that." He smirks like he worked the system exactly how he wanted to.

I give him a half eye roll. "Right."

"I guess I'm pretty lucky about that. Last thing I need is a record if I'm looking to win back-"

I cut my eyes sideways at him as I pull out of the police station parking lot.

"Tobin, I swear to Christ, you've got to let that girl go," I say. I shake my head back and forth. "If I'd have known you were still pining away for her, I'd have let your ass rot in there."

"I'm not pining. I'm kidding. Mostly. Besides, you ought to be thanking me for what I did. You said you wanted that asshole brought down, and I took care of it. You even got to keep your pretty little hands clean." He sits back in his seat and rests an ankle on his knee. Smug. "Least you could do is take me by Carl's and buy me a beer."

He's right. The guy that attacked Rachel got out on bond today. Tobin happened to be picking up lunch at Missy's diner where he was eating lunch with his lawyer, bragging about how he'd never spend another day in jail. Family money was going to bail him out. Tobin gambled that his family money--mine that is, would bail him out, too.

He made a safe bet.

Even if I didn't have the money sitting around, I'd have found a way to get it. Doesn't matter what Tobin does, he's my brother and I'll always have his back.

His lawyer left first and then Tobin followed the asshole out and gave him a pounding he won't soon forget. My brother may be stupid in the head for Delia Gentry, but dammit, he's one of the most loyal people you'll ever meet. He did that for Rachel, because that's what you do when someone hurts a woman. He did that because she's important to our family--even if he doesn't know how important she is to me.

"You did good, bro. I think that deserves a beer or two," I say. I'm supposed to meet Rachel in thirty minutes, but I'll have to be a little late. If I don't take Tobin out, not only will I be a shitty older brother, but he'll ask why and where I'm going, and like hell I'm going to tell him.

***

When I finally get out to the lake, Rachel is sitting on the dock, her feet dangling down into the dark water. She has to hear me nearby, but she doesn't look up. My gut sinks a little as I wonder just how late I am.

"You're late," she says, swatting a mosquito away from her face. She doesn't bother hiding the annoyance in her voice, so I try to counteract it with charm.

"A little," I say.

"A lot," she mumbles, not amused.

"I text you," I say. It's a crap excuse. I know there's no service out here. She would've had to go back to town to get her cell to work.

      She cuts her eyes toward me, silently calling me on my bullshit. "For the record, I'm not super thrilled about hanging out in the dark alone, you know."

She doesn't have to finish her thought for me to understand. She's scared. Dammit.

"I'm so sorry, Rach," I say. I rush up behind her, kneel down and wrap my arms around her waist. I pull her in close to me and kiss her temple. "I am so damn sorry for not being there...here." I should have been both places. Wherever, whenever she needed me to protect her. What the hell else am I good for?

"Where were you?" she asks. "Never mind. You don't owe me any answers." I should tell her, but I don't want to darken the night anymore. I don't want to bring back anymore memories of the attack by telling her I was bailing Tobin out of jail. I just want to make her feel better. I want to make her feel safe.

"I was...with Tobin," I say.

"Course you were." I can almost hear her eyes roll.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." I kiss her head again, feeling almost desperate to be as close to her as possible. "Dinner tomorrow night?"

"I have to work," she says.

"Before that. Early dinner. Let me take you out. It'll be a nice change." I wrap my arms more tightly around her, loving the way her small, strong body feels in my arms.

"Somewhere hidden away, or somewhere in town?" she asks.

I don't know the answer to that. I don't know if I'm ready to have everyone at town looking at Rachel with pity in their eyes that she got suckered into being with me. They'll think she's lost her mind, and her morals. They'll all look at her like she's a notch on my belt, and dammit she's not. I don't want people to talk. I don't want to risk the chance that someday, she might start believing what they'll all say.

"Come on," I say. I stand up and hold out a hand as I hold my breath hoping to god she'll reach out and take it. Because suddenly, I can't imagine us not okay.