Chapter 17

Gideon walked out of the apartment without another word, but Jesse didn’t feel like he had the energy to make it to the bathroom. He went as far as the kitchen to find a towel and wiped his chest clean before stumbling back to collapse on the couch. Careful not to aggravate his back, he curled up on the oversized sofa and tried to figure out what was to be done.5

The entire time Gideon cooked breakfast, he heard Jesse’s even breathing coming from the living room. He had returned from his night out right before dawn to find Jess asleep on the couch, and all he had felt was guilt. He’d been angry at the trick, and he’d acted without thought, without care that this was his best friend he was toying with. As Jesse had known he would. As Jesse had hoped he would, though Gideon suspected he’d envisioned an encounter a little less bloody.