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As Qhuinn stood in the stiff wind and watched Blay hook up the Huht gradually obscuring the steel-toed tops Glancing down, he had the vague thought that if he stayed where he was long enough, he would be coodda of the flatbed&039;s engine brought his head back up, his eyes shifting over as the winch began to drag his ruined ride off the snowpack

Blay was the one working the pull, theand controlling the speed of the draw so that no undue stress was put on the various mechanical components of this automotive Good Samaritan production

So careful So controlled

In order to seem casual, Qhuinn went over by Tohr and pretended that he, like the Brother, was just ress of the lift Not It was all about Blay, of course

It had always been about Blay

Trying to add to all the nonchalance, he crossed his arain as his bruised shoulder hollered "Lesson learned," he said toback, but da but Blay Not for a blink For a breath For a beat of the heart

Staring across the swirling snow, heabout, who lived down the hall, who ate with you and worked with you and slept at the saer

Then again, and as usual, that was about the emotional distance, not the sa was, Qhuinn felt like he wanted to explain things Unfortunately, and unlike his slut cousin, Saxton the Cocksucker, he had no gift ords, and the co that rind, the Huround on the bed, and Blay started running chain in and out of the undercarriage

"Okay, you three take this piece of junk back," Tohr said as flurries started to fall again

Blay froze and looked at the Brother "We go in pairs So I need to leave with you"

Like he was beyond ready to bounce

"Have you looked at e got here? An incapacitated hunk of junk with two dead humans in it You think this is a play-it-loose situation?"

"They can handle it," Blay said under his breath "The two of theht"

"And with you they&039;re even stronger I&039; to dematerialize home"

In the stretch of silence that followed, the straight line that ran from Blay&039;s ass up to the base of his skull was the equivalent of a h

Qhuinn knew exactly who it was for

Thingssecured, Tohr departing, and John hopping behind the wheel of the flatbed Meanwhile, Qhuinn went around to the truck&039;s passenger-side door, cranked it open, and stood to the side, waiting

Like a gentle through the snow His face was like the landscape: cold, shut down, inhospitable

"After you," the guy old lighter

Qhuinn ducked his head briefly in a nod, then shuffled inside, sliding over the bench seat until his shoulder brushed John&039;s

Blay got in last, sla the lit end of his coffin nail right at the opening to keep the s for a good fivein bethat used to be his two best friends, Qhuinn stared out the windshield and counted the seconds between the intermittent swipes of the wipersthree, twooneup-and-down Andthree, twooneup-and-down

There was barely enough snow loose in the air to require the effort -

"I&039;rowl of the engine in front of the of a chain in back when they hit a bulanced over, and what do you know, Blay looked like he was chewing on ruffly

"Yeah I aize for" Blay stabbed the cigarette out in the dashboard&039;s ashtray And lit another "Will you please stop staring at h his hair and gave the shit a yank "I don&039;tII don&039;t knohat to say about Layla - "

Blay&039;s head snapped around "What you do with your life has nothing to do with me - "

"That&039;s not true," Qhuinn said quietly "I - "

"Not true?"

"Blay, listen, Layla and I - "

"What makes you think I want to hear one word about you and her?"

"I just thought that you "

Blay simply stared at him for a moment "And why exactly do you think I&039;d want &039;context&039;"

"BecauseI thought you "

"And ould that be?"

Qhuinn couldn&039;t believe the guy wanted him to say it out loud Much less in front of someone else, even John "Well, because of, you know"

Blay leaned in, his upper lip peeling back froEvery day You and arette "We work together That&039;s it So I want you to do us both a favor before you think I &039;need&039; to know soers at McDonald&039;s, would I be telling the fucking fry guy this?&039; If the answer is no, then shut the hell up"

Qhuinn refocused on the windshield And considered putting his face through it "John, pull over"

The fighter glanced across Then started shaking his head

"John, pull the fuck over Or I&039;ll do it for you"

Qhuinn was vaguely aware that his chest was pu up and down and that his hands had become fists

"Pull the fuck over!" he roared as he punched the dashboard hard enough to send one of the vents flying

The flatbed shot to the side of the road and the brakes squealed as their velocity slowed But Qhuinn was already out of there Deh that crack in the , along with Blay&039;s frustrated exhale

Almost immediately, he re-formed at the side of the road, unable to keep hi way too high for that Putting one shitkicker in front of the other, he trudged through the snow, his need to a pain in both sets of knuckles

In the back of his head, soistered, but there was too h

No idea where he was going

Man, it was cold

Sitting in the flatbed, Blay focused on the lit end of his cigarette, the little orange glow going back and forth like a guitar string

Guess his hand was shaking

The whistle that went off next to hiet his attention, but he ignored it Which got him slapped in the arned

"You&039;re kiddingkidding , and he&039;s knocked up a Chosen - I&039;d say this is a great - "

No, here, right here John pointed out to the asphalt Here

Blay shifted his eyes to the windshield only because he was too tired to argue Out in front of the flatbed, the headlights illuly white, the figure walking at the side of the road like a shadow thrown

Red drops of blood marked the path of the footprints