Page 17 of Broken Wheels

“So, what do we do now?”

Michael’s question launched Dix back into the moment, and he forced himself to leave thoughts of Doc alone.

For now, at least.

“Well, I’d say Doc needs to stay here, but I’m not sure how well that would fly with him. He’s hurting over the bomb at the mall, and I’m not talking about his cuts and bruises. I tried to tell him they might have killed people just for spite. They obviously don’t care about collateral damage.”

Gary gave a thoughtful nod. “So you think he was the target?”

Dix arched his eyebrows. “Of course. Too many coincidences, which y’all know I don’t believe in.”

Goddammit. When he started sounding like a redneck, it really was time to get some sleep.

“Why don’t you crash in Josh’s—I mean, Doc’s lab?”

Hearing that name from Michael’s lips irritated the shit out of Dix. “Don’t call him that, okay? That’s my name for him.”

Michael blinked, but recovered quickly. “Noted. And sorry.”

Dix scraped his fingers through his thick hair. “No, my bad. Ignore me. I’m all out of sorts after what happened. He could have died, and?—”

No. Better to keep quiet about the blow that would have dealt him.

“And we need to prevent that from happening, so here’s what we’re going to do.” Gary’s voice was reduced to a rasp, which led Dix to believe he wasn’t healing as well as he pretended. “Starting tonight, Josh will have a bodyguard around the clock. I think Jacobs is available and?—”

“I’ll be watching him,” Dixon ground out. He didn’t want anyone else looking after his Doc.

Possessive much, asshole?

“But what about your duties here?” Michael asked, an amused lilt in his voice.

“Well, with the two of you back, I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it until we get this all taken care of, yeah?”

Michael snorted. “Look at him. Give him a promotion, and it goes to his head.”

Then Dix realized he’d been giving orders to his bosses. “Sorry,” he blurted out. “Just overly tired.”

Michael’s eyes twinkled. “I’m kidding, Dix. Yeah, we can shoulder some of the responsibilities until this is all settled, but then we expect you back at your job, got it?”

He knew Michael was teasing, but it felt good to know they trusted Dix enough to guard Doc.

“You got it. As soon as this is over, I’ll have my nose pressed firmly against that old grindstone, same as always.” Dix yawned so hard, his jaw popped. “And I think I’m gonna take you up on that nap. I’m whipped.”

Michael smirked. “Not yet, but you’re probably heading that way real fast.”

Dix ignored whatever Michael was trying to say. It irked him that he’d been that obvious. Well, no more.

I need to stop mooning over Doc and get my head back into the bodyguard game if I’m going to protect him.

He also needed a few hours of sleep, before he could figure out how best to keep Doc safe.

For both their sakes.

Chapter 6

He drummed his fingers on the desk.

How long does it take to read a message?