“What about transportation? I don’t wanna call Slade back just for this.” Meridian said, waiting for Ex to finish tucking his weapons into his holster.
“I have a little beater around the back. It still works.” Ex tilted his head towards the rear of the cabin.
“If it’s that old piece of shit I saw you tinkering with near the tool shed earlier today, you can forget about it,” Meridian scoffed when Ex stared blankly.
“That was my first car, bought it when I was sixteen. I worked two jobs after school to pay for it. Evan fixed the few electrical problems it had, and I did the rest. He was supposed to take it with him to college.”
Ex took a set of keys off the hook in the kitchen. He wouldn’t meet Meridian’s eyes while he put on his coat and led them out the back door. Meridian had never felt regret or remorse for what he said. But he did now. He’d disappointed Ex and he could feel it deep inside. And it stung.
He didn’t say anything else as Ex navigated the sputtering, late-model Hyundai Excel towards the outskirts of town. His partner’s mouth was set in a firm line and his blondish-brown eyebrows were drawn into a frown as he angrily shoved the stick shift into the necessary gears. Meridian knew he’d fucked up and he wasn’t sure how to fix it. Maybe he should try the same approach normal people did when they hurt someone they cared about and... apologize.
Meridian turned away from the window at the insane thought and stared at Ex’s profile—his mysterious gray eyes, his sharp jaw, the faint dusting of stubble that matched the soft-looking strands of hair on top of his head. His nose had been broken twice in combat and he had a jagged four-inch scar from an enemy’s serrated blade that started at his temple and stretched towards his earlobe. Imperfections that made Ex real... and sexy. Shit. Now it was Meridian’s turn to hold his breath.
The streets were dark and quiet, the only sounds Meridian could hear were the rumbling and backfiring of Ex’s muffler. He didn’t make a snide comment when Ex fought to get the clutch back into first, cursing and grinding the gears loudly. He battled with the car as if he was battling something inside. Meridian had to turn away from the exposed emotions, unsure if Ex was even aware of how he was behaving. It seemed his brother’s death was proving to be too much for him to keep up pretenses.
There was nothing to watch for on the roads, no potential threats lurking around every corner. They weren’t on foreign soil. They were home and supposedly safe. But Meridian never felt that way, he was always on high alert. He was satisfied that Ex’s hideaway cabin was away from the city, nestled in such a small town that ninety percent of the businesses closed at five in the evening and its residents were in their beds watching primetime television by eight. So, it was quite modern of Monticello, Georgia to have a diner that stayed open until midnight.
Ex pulled into the empty lot a half hour before the diner was set to close. He turned off the car and slowly removed the key from the ignition. Meridian didn’t speak as Ex stared straight ahead, looking but not seeming to notice anything. He flexed his palm against his thigh, not sure what to do to fix his partner. Ex was grieving the loss of a loved one—that he wasn’t even supposed to have—and Meridian had no words to comfort him. He was so far outside his comfort zone it didn’t make sense, the program had made him that way, to reject feelings and affection. But Ex’s obvious aching was making him feel as if his body was rebooting, as if he needed to do something.
Ex reached for the handle, and before he knew it Meridian shot his hand out and gripped Ex’s forearm. His tongue got caught in his throat when Ex turned and glared at him through those startling gray eyes. Meridian glanced down at their connection for a moment before he released his hold and slowly pulled his hand away.
“Hey,” Meridian said, having to clear his throat.
“Yeah,” Ex mumbled.
Meridian’s chest tightened painfully. What the fuck was this? He didn’t like the stubbornness he saw in Ex’s jaw or the way his eyes now shone bright and wet in the darkness of the car.
“I’m sorry, Ex. I didn’t mean to insult what you and your brother had built together,” Meridian managed to say around the boulder in his throat.
Ex’s frown deepened as if he didn’t comprehend what he’d just said. Then his face relaxed and he dropped his chin, his voice quiet when he responded. “I know, Mere.”