Air Brushed

A Hard Bargain

Chapter 12: A Hard Bargain

I stare at Tats, not knowing what to say.

How does he know Liam is a police detective? How does he know I told Haz that he is just my protective neighbor? HOW had he gotten in here?

Some of those questions are less pressing than others, but all of them burn through my thoughts simultaneously. Any words that my mind can find are caught in my throat, refusing to come out around the lump that sits there.

“I asked you a question,” he prompts, voice becoming even quieter, deadly.

A chill erupts from my spine and spreads outwards towards my fingertips, “I…”

“Answer me,” he hisses and the laundry basket clatters to the floor, spilling the clothes like one would imagine a dam breaking in slow motion. My hands are left shaking, empty.

Tats finally turns toward me, just a fraction, just enough for his dark eyes to meet mine. I want him to yell, to shout so Liam will hear. He suspected something was wrong. Why didn’t I listen? WHY didn’t I-?

“Tats?” Haz’s confused voice breaks the tension, or more adds to it, but in a different way.

How much had he heard?

If Haz finds out that I lied to him about Liam… will he still help me? Or will I lose his vote? The thought of being in a life threatening situation reenters my mind.

Will they hurt me?

“Hey Haz,” Tats replies smoothly, giving a smile. “You look about five shades lighter.”

I turn towards our new companion, who does, in fact, look lighter in skin color. It is weird, how much a shower can change a person’s physical appearance. A towel is wrapped around his waist, exposing toned abs and biceps. His curls cling to his forehead and his skin glistens slightly with drying beads of water.

How long did he spend in the shower?

Suddenly, I stop and almost laugh at myself.

How silly to think these thoughts NOW-

My mind seems to implode as I realize that we had all stayed completely silent since Tats’ comment about Haz. The latter’s eyes keep flicking between me and his friend and back. My face must be paper white. He knows something is wrong.

Haz slides an easy smile on his face, settling his eyes on the other guy in the room, “What brings you here?”

The tenseness that I thought had faded earlier has certainly changed, but instead of fading, it has thickened. Its new disguise had hidden this from me until now. This isn’t solely about me anymore.

Tats is on the hot seat too.

The only difference is, as far as I can tell, Haz is on MY side.

And yet I still feel as unsafe as a rabbit staring up the muzzle of a fox.

“I was just checking on you two,” the darker of the two replies smoothly. “Making sure my friend was okay.”

I note that the use of ‘friend’ is singular.

Then again, do I expect anything different?

Haz lets out a laugh, “It’s not like Ozzie would kidnap me or anything.”

It does not escape my notice that he immediately thought that Tats was blaming me for a potential risk to his safety.

“Ozzie’s not the one I’m worried about,” Tats’ dark eyes remain fixed on me.