Instinct has my knuckles turning white even though I know Preppy is no threat, but when it comes to my wife, I can’t help the rage I feel when it comes to another man touching her, no matter how innocently.
“You’re so cute when you’re all jelly,” Preppy comments, staring at my clenched fists.
I roll my eyes and ignore the instinct to beat the smirk off his face. The kid has been through enough in the last couple of years. He doesn’t need my baseless wrath. At least, not today. And he is my best friend, although my blood pressure currently thinks otherwise.
The sun’s last rays of the day beam through the mangroves, and I realize how early it is. “Wait, she’s in bed already?” I ask, concern crawling up my spine like a spider making its way back to its web. Even pregnant, Pup isn’t the sort who takes breaks, even when they’re much needed.
Preppy takes a deep drag and shrugs, the movement constricting a deep jagged scar on his neck. “She says she’s tired, but if you ask me, the kid don’t seem like her usual herself.”
I see my concern mirrored in his eyes and I sigh out of pure frustration. “Yeah, I know. Every time I ask her about it, she tells me she’s fine.”
“She’s stubborn as hell.” Preppy quirks an eyebrow at me. “Reminds me a lot of her husband.”
“Even so, it doesn't change the fact that I still don’t know what the hell’s bothering her, or better yet, why she feels like she’s got to lie to me about it.” I’ve been stabbed and shot, but my wife not feeling like she can be honest with me hurts a fuck of a lot more than a bullet piercing through skin and muscle or a jagged blade jutting against bone.
“Tell me this, Boss-man. Why does anyone in a relationship, one where they actually like the other person, lie to their partner?” he probes.
I’m too worried about Pup to try to answer a riddle right now. “Why?”
Preppy stubs out his smoke. “Ugh, you’re hopeless. She’s trying to protect you, you fucking caveman. Why else?”
“Protect me?” I scoff. “From what?”
He crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the banister of the stairs leading to the back door. “Let me put it this way. If she told you what’s really wrong, what’s the first thing you would do? Be honest.”
I shrug. “Easy, I’d fix it.”
He makes a finger gun and points it at my chest. “Bingo.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I growl.
“It means that maybe what she’s going through can’t be fixed with a punch to someone’s jaw or a bullet to someone’s head.”
“If it could only be that easy,” I mutter. I look down to the belts I wear wrapped around my forearms.
Preppy laughs. “Okay, or a belt around the neck. Whatever your girl is dealing with, she obviously thinks she needs to go through it alone because she doesn’t want to bother you with it. Or anyone else for that matter.”
“So...” I pause waiting for Preppy to say something. He doesn’t. “So, what the fuck do I do?”
He shrugs and takes a drag of his smoke. “Not sure. Maybe, you make her realize she’s not alone. That you’re not going to just try and fix it, but understand whatever it is.”
Preppy’s right, and it grates on me like a rope chafing my skin. “When did you get to be so smart?”
He takes a dramatic bow. “Death has a way of giving someone new perspective on shit. Things I never thought I even had an opinion on before. Like, don’t get me started on Oprah’s book club choices. Mainstream bullshit sponsored by a failing pub—”
“Do me a favor, Prep?” I ask, stubbing out my own smoke.
“Yeah, Boss-man?”
“You’re smart enough, so don’t go dying again. You being brilliant would be even more fucking irritating.”
Preppy claps me on the back and follows me back into the house.
“It’s a motherfucking deal.” He lowers his voice to a whisper. “What the fuck is going on with the shipment? Any word on who the fuck is involved?”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m gonna find out.”
Preppy cracks his knuckles. “Good, let me know when you do.” I see his eyes widen along with his smile when an idea passes over his face. “I’ve got the best idea ever.”
“Fuck, do I even want to know?”
“After you find out whose fucking with you, I know where we can take him. It’s been a while and I might have to spruce it up a bit, but it’s been way too fucking long. I’ll give you a hint. Three words. One of my favorite places in the world.”
I feel a smile spreading across my face. I can’t help but share in his excitement of what’s to come and where.