After dinner, Dale relaxed on the sofa, TV turned on with the volume low. Riadh leaned against Dale’s shoulder, his fingers threaded through Dale’s. They had done this many times before but tonight it seemed oddly tense.
“Waiting for the other shoe to drop?” Dale asked.
“The past couple of days have been…”
“Hellish?”
“That’s a halfway adequate word.”
“It’s done. You’re safe. Damn, I feel like I keep saying that, and you have this look like you’re not sure if it’s true.”
“My life, my existence has changed quite a number of times before. I keep expecting…something new to blindside me,” Riadh admitted.
Dale put an arm around Riadh and hugged him close. “I’m sorry. I should have protected you better.”
“You didn’t know, and we thought the house was guarded well enough after the first br
