Page 99 of Rough Fantasy

He settled his head on Rory’s chest and snuggled closer. “So what do we do?”

“We can’t do anything right now. She’s in pain and she’s hurt. Yelling at Maura will not work.”

“You yelled at me and it worked.”

“You’re an asshole, she’s not.”

Rory couldn’t argue with that. “So we just wait?”

“She needs some time.”

“How much?”

Zee looked up at him a small smile playing over his lips. “Not sure, but we have to be there when she figures it out.”

“What if she doesn’t figure it out?”

“Then we yell at her.”

Rory smiled. “That, I can do.”

“You have to understand that Maura was not raised to confront and that is part of her personality. Well, she does confront, but not in the way other people do. She thinks things through, then goes for what she wants. She doesn’t do much without thinking it through.”

“And so we wait.”

“For a little while.”

The phone rang and Rory saw the number. “Shit, probably Conner.”

Zee picked it up. “Hey, Conner. Yeah. I was busy, that’s why I didn’t answer my phone. What? Oh, so...the threat is over?”

“Okay.”

He hung up.

“Well that was short and I am assuming not so sweet.”

Zee clicked the phone off. “Yeah. Well, apparently Conner found out that Petersen’s been taken into witness protection.”

“He found that out?”

“Officially, he seems to have been killed in an accident, but Conner still has a few connections. He’s turned state’s evidence. They got some little nobody to turn on the big guy. We’re no longer in danger. So, that’s that.”

“You think he called Maura?”

“Yeah. Probably before us.”

“You should call her still.”

He glanced at Rory. “Why don’t you?”

“She needs you more.”

He frowned. “That’s an asinine thing to say. She needs both of us. She’s being stubborn, which is nothing new. As Jillian pointed out, she hates anyone to know that she is weak.”

Rory said nothing to that, just stared up at the ceiling.

“I talked to her before you got home.”