on the way. “I’ll be right back.”
He hadn’t told Hell why he stopped. He’d been worried about
Jill. She’d lost her mom to cancer a few months earlier and still hadn’t
bounced back. They’d weathered some rough spots before, but this one had lasted
longer than most. She’d stepped outside the ER and he’d handed her the necklace
he’d bought her as a surprise. She’d wrapped her arms around his neck and
kissed him right out there in front of everyone—including Hell, who’d no doubt
watched from behind the tinted patrol car windows.
When he’d gotten back in the unmarked sedan, his partner had
been silent for a couple minutes more.
“Your wife’s even prettier in person than she is in her photo.
You’re a lucky man.”
They’d been stopped at a light. Kevin looked over at Heller,
seeing something different in those dark eyes this time, something that—he
admitted now—had touched him. Loneliness, maybe. It certainly hadn’t been
jealousy, just the expression of a guy on the outside looking in. Whatever, it
had prompted his next words.
“I used to go out for a beer a couple times a week with my
old partner. You want to?”
Hell had sat stock-still. “I’d rather go to the gym—then
grab a beer or something to eat.”
Over weights and workouts, they’d forged a friendship. Over
burgers and beer, they’d talked. Kevin hadn’t kept in touch with either his
high school friends or his army buddies. He’d been so focused on Jill he’d
almost forgotten what having a guy to shoot the breeze with felt like. And
somewhere along the line, Kevin now realized, they’d forged some pretty strong
emotional ties in a short amount of time.
So when the question of watching another man fuck Jill had
arisen, Kevin had to admit, subconsciously he’d never really envisioned anyone
other than Adam Heller filling the role, though he’d been afraid to ask. What
he hadn’t expected was his own desire to touch and be touched by him too…or
that Hell would volunteer for the job.
“Jill,” he whispered, waiting for her eyelids to flutter
open. “I’m going to the gym.”
“Say hi to Hell.” She smiled and rolled over, already back
asleep.
It had been sheer coincidence Jill and Hell hadn’t met
during the past month. Kevin and Jill had talked about having him over to grill
steaks, but every time the opportunity had arisen, either Hell had a
last-minute change in plans or Jill had been called in to work. Kevin had
wanted them to meet, but now he was fiercely glad they hadn’t. He would give
Jill her one night. She would believe she was fucking Adam Gregory, a
stranger—which was what she wanted—and he would get what he wanted, the
security of knowing who was making love to his wife and the fulfillment of
seeing the two people he cared about most in the world together.
If his conscience pricked him that he was being less than
honest with Jill, then he soothed it with the knowledge they wouldn’t have to
worry about a nutcase in their bed. He’d worry about them eventually meeting
after the fact—and God, wasn’t he acting a bit Gone with the Wind -ish.
Hell was leaning against his car, gym bag resting on the
trunk, when Kevin pulled in next to him. Early Saturday morning workouts were
becoming the norm, since Jill slept in after pulling the night in the ER.
“Hey, dude,” Hell greeted him. “You’re looking loose. Not
anxious about tonight?”
Kevin smiled, tamping down whatever uneasiness he had. “No.
This is the right thing to do, for all of us.”
“All right. Want to go for a run?”
“Yeah. Now that the weather’s cooled off, getting back
outdoors would be great.”
They were changed and hitting the trail through a nearby
park in less than a quarter hour. Kevin had started to get soft working with
Dave, but Hell had turned him around. The guy was almost as religious as Jill
about keeping fit.
“What are you grinning for?” Hell asked now while they ran.
“Just