Jenny had been more than thorough after Big Tom’s declaration of war, and Nathaniel was still holed up at the Fuller estate, but it had been more than two weeks and none of Jethro’s informants had found any sign of a threat.
“Of course not. Darren’s in heaven. I think Lucia’s finally going to manage what I couldn’t in nineteen years and put some meat on his bones. I swear she hasn’t stopped cooking since the moment we stepped into the house. I only wish Eli was here to try some. You know she’s working on gluten-free food already? Ever since Hailey told her about him, she hasn’t shut up about making food for Doctor Eli. I’m pretty sure she’s in love with him.”
Who wasn’t? But instead, he said, “Just because of that phone call?” Because of course Eli had phoned the Fuller cook once he’d heard from Nathaniel about the arthritis in her wrists.
“Because ofyou, dummy. When are you going to get over your complex and call her already?”
He said nothing. Nathaniel sighed. “She doesn’t think of you as a criminal, you know. She never has.”
He couldn’t talk about this. Just thinking about Lucia had his chest closing up. He was trying to think of a new direction for the conversation when Eli’s hand touched his back.
“I’m handing you over,” he blurted into the phone and pulled away, but not before Nathaniel hit him with, “Okay. Love you, Sam.”
More than talking about sex with Eli, or people from his old life, it was those words that messed him up the most. Whydid the man have to end every conversation that way?
He ducked away from Eli’s touch and went to crouch near the wall. He always gave Eli a few minutes alone with Nathaniel whether either of them asked for it. Sometimes he gave them complete privacy, but other times, like now, he tortured himself with watching Eli, the way his mouth settled into a soft smile and his eyes crinkled up, his whole body relaxing as he spoke to the man he loved. He was convinced that it was only when Eli was talking to Nathaniel that the prison walls faded, at least a little. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was how his own face looked around Eli. He hoped not. It was too embarrassing. And yet, despite his best efforts, everyone in the prison was aware of just how much he cared about Eli. He’d gone from Mad Dog and Ice Queen to loyal pet and dutiful prince. It did have its upsides. Not only were there no attacks against Eli, but there weren’t even whispered comments. But perhaps that had nothing to do with him. Eli’s reputation had gotten to a point where the entire prison knew his name. He was so famous and so respected that a group consisting of his most loyal patients had established themselves as a sort of security detail. The group members had no previous affiliation with each other, coming from all kinds of groups. There was Arty from the kitchen, Leslie (a recovering methhead) Jabbers down in laundry and Bee, who had never belonged to any group, and whose presence still freaked him out. The giant man moved entirely too quietly for his size, and he only ever spoke to Eli.
Still, if it meant extra protection, he wasn’t going to send any of them away. Eli, on the other hand, had already tried everything to make them disperse. “I appreciate the offer,” he’d heard him say, “But your time would really be better spent elsewhere.” The group didn’t seem to think so. They hadn’t needed to stop any attacks, but they were useful at keeping potential patients at bay while Eli was trying to do everyday things like eat, work out, or spend time talking to his family. The four didn’t speak much to each other, but they seemed to haveworked a schedule out for themselves, because one was almost always somewhere in the vicinity watching and waiting for the doctor's privacy to be interrupted.
When they were done with their phone calls, they headed to the cafeteria for supper. As usual, Eli tried to get on the back of the line, and also as usual, he was propelled straight to the front.
“Will you stop trying to be a commoner like the rest of us?” he teased. “Just give up and accept your privilege.”
Usually Norm, as head of the kitchen, had the honor of being the one to hand over Eli’s tray, but today it was Cheese with his shifty smile. He was twitchier than usual, shifting from foot to foot, which only lent further support to his suspicion that the man was back on drugs. Honestly, he was shocked that it had taken so long. He couldn’t say he was disappointed to see the guy tweaking. He didn’t much care what happened to the others, and Cheese annoyed him more than most. But he did feel a pinch of sympathy for Norm. The man had risked his own reputation and called in too many favors on behalf of the man already.
Eli took the tray with a warm, “Thank you, Jordan.” Samuel said nothing to that and grabbed a tray for himself. Together they made their way to their usual table and sat. Nearby, Arty settled himself at another table, making room for himself by sending one of the prison’s skinheads packing.
Before his ass had even touched the bench, Eli already had his burger on Samuel’s tray.
“Will you stop it?” he said and put the burger back in its rightful place.
“But you like meat more than me.”
“Tough tits. I need you developing anemia like I need another predator in this shithole. Don’t you know you need more iron than me?”
Eli put a hand to his chest in a melodramatic show ofaffront. “Are you calling me old?”
It was true iron absorption decreased with age, but that wasn’t the issue. “Chronic inflammation impedes absorption.”
“How the hell would you know that?”
He shrugged. He could trace most of his newly acquired knowledge back to a single source. “Nat.”
Eli laughed. “So this is what you spend your time discussing. Why don’t you try having phone sex like a normal prisoner?”
A few weeks ago, the comment would have set his face aflame, but time spent in Eli’s company was helping him grow accustomed to such things. He was pleased to note that only his ears felt warm. “Just eat your meat.”
Eli gave that comment the wolfish grin a boy half his age would have made and ripped into the burger with a savagery that had Samuel grinning along with him. He reached forward to wipe away a spray of burger juice and paused with his touch on Eli’s cheek.
“Alright, puppy?”
He snatched his fingers back. Too late, he realized he must have been sitting there with his hand on the man’s face for quite some time, and who knew what ridiculous expression he’d been wearing while doing it.Idiot, he berated himself. How could he forget the cardinal rule? Eli was not to be touched.
He dropped his apple onto Eli’s tray. “Eat. If you get any smaller, I’ll start mistaking you for Hailey.”
That got a laugh, but Eli dutifully dug into his meal and Samuel tried to move past his embarrassment. He had finished his own food and was eating Eli’s brownie when he finally noticed he was carrying more than his fair share of the conversation. He cut himself off mid-sentence and swallowed what was in his mouth. “You alright?”
But he could have answered his own question. Eli’s brow was furrowed, and his fork dangled from his hand. Beads of sweat had gathered at his temples. Samuel dropped the brownie onto his tray and reached for his shoulder. “Eli?”
