Page 69 of Commit
“Fine. You want to tell me what this was all about yet?” I motion to his face and see him shut down.
“I told you it was a football thing.”
“You want to know how many people I’ve beaten the shit out of? More than years you’ve been alive. I know the difference. You don’t want to tell me, fine, don’t tell me. But if you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable.”
I refill my travel mug before turning back to him. “We don’t know each other, like you said, but I’m really good at fixing problems. You ever get to the point where you can’t handle it, all you gotta do is let me know. I’m not a good dad. I’m never gonna be one. It would be too little, too late, and it would be an insult to both of us if I tried. But that doesn’t mean we need to be enemies.”
I’m not convinced that’s the truth, but something tells me Abbot’s the key here. If he leaves, I might very well lose Starling too. Well, assuming she knows how to hide, because I would leave no stone unturned searching for her.
He swallows, but instead of lashing out, which seems to be his usual MO, he nods.
“Good. I’ve gotta go.” I head out, feeling his eyes on me as I leave.
Thinking about him on the way to the airfield, I go over the things Starling has said and their interactions and can’t help but feel like there’s something off about them.
There was no mistaking him coming home reeking of sex the other day. That helped me justify taking Starling from him. He doesn’t get to cash in on her youth if he isn’t willing to treat her like a treasure. I get it—when I was his age, I was no angel either—but Starling is one of those rare ones that only come around once in a lifetime.
His cheating aside, there’s an odd dynamic between them. There’s clearly love there. Starling would never have let me get away with half the shit I have if I wasn’t dangling Abbot over her head. Abbot, I’m not so sure about. Maybe I’m not reading between the lines enough. But underneath it all, he’s protective of her.
I still haven’t figured it out by the time I get out of my car and walk over to Kenzo, who’s beaten me here. I put it aside for now.
“Let’s get this show on the road. Trix has a doctor’s appointment later, and I don’t want to miss it.”
“Is she okay?”
“It’s just a regular check-up to make sure both her and the baby are good. She’s anxious, though she thinks she’s hiding it well.”
“I’d say it’s normal. She went through something horrific, and now she’s happy again. She’s probably waiting for something to come along and pull the rug out from underneath her.”
He looks at me. “Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?”
I give him a look and climb on board, nodding to the new flight crew. I take a seat near the window and strap in. “Wake me up when we get there. I need to grab some sleep while I can.”
“Wifey keeping you up?”
I flip him off, and that’s when he sees the tattoo.
“Jesus, is that your wedding band?”
“I wanted something she couldn’t take off.”
He looks at me, considering.
“You’re gonna get tattooed wedding rings, aren’t you?”
“I mean, it makes sense. She can’t lose it, right?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t dragged her to Vegas already.”
“She doesn’t want to be the size of a house—her words—and she wants to wear a white dress.”
“Well, she won’t be pregnant forever. Plan the wedding, and once the baby’s born, surprise her.”
“What the fuck do I know about planning a wedding?”
“You managed to figure out how to dismember someone and get them through airport customs undetected so you could collect the recovery fee. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Now let me sleep.”
He grunts but, thankfully, shuts up.