Free A Just Deception by Adrienne Giordano Page A

up his chest and Peter laughed.
    “I love this,” his brother said. “Two Silver Stars and you can’t figure out how to make our mother happy.”
    Peter held out his hands. “What can I say? I’m not doing the people around me much good lately.”
    Stephen narrowed his eyes. “Oh, boo-hoo. I’m guessing we’re talking about Roy. And maybe Tiny. After all, you’re the Emperor of Fix-It Land. If you can’t keep two men from dying, you must be doing something wrong.”
    The smart-ass comment earned a flip of the bird. “I’m not the Emperor of Fix-It Land.”
    That seemed to amuse Steve because he let out a sarcastic laugh. “If that’s all you’ve got, you’re fucked. You are priceless. They were grown men who liked to live on the edge. Just because you were there doesn’t mean you were responsible for their safety.”
    Tell that to their families.
    Peter slouched against the chair. “What if Vic’s right? Maybe I’m losing it.”
    “I know Vic’s not laying that on you. It’s you doing this. After Tiny died you threw yourself into that overseas assignment. You’re kidding yourself, Petey. You can’t avoid thinking about your dead friends. I think, when Roy died, it knocked you on your ass. And now, with Vic putting you on R&R, you’ve got no place to run. And you’re destroying boxes.”
    Don’t forget the potted plant.
    But thank you, Dr. Phil. Stephen’s idea of a rough day entailed canceling his manicure. He’d like to tell him to fuck off. To get out of his sight, but something needled him, made his shoulders lock up. You’ve got no place to run.
    Fucking Stephen was right. Peter was trapped within his own mind. Afraid to admit the weakness.
    “I freaked when I saw the box. I thought someone might be hiding in it and grabbed for my non-existent gun. I’m losing it. I kicked over a fucking plant the other day.”
    Steve waved him off. “You’re tired. You just lost a good friend. Give yourself a break and take it easy.”
    “That’s your advice? When I tell you I’m going insane? You want me to take a nap?”
    “No. I want you to stop thinking you can fix everything.”
    “Fuck you.”
    “No. Fuck you .”
    A minute, maybe two passed until they reached the critical point of impasse. Stephen held up his hands, but Peter’s cell rang and he stood to retrieve it from the breakfast bar.
    Vic. They’d been voice mailing all day. “Yo.”
    “What the fuck?” Vic said. “I give you one simple assignment and all hell breaks loose.”
    “One simple assignment? You are whacked, my friend. She laid that asshole to waste last night.”
    After a healthy slug of his beer, Stephen looked over, curiosity most likely eating him alive. Good. He deserved it for telling him to take a goddamned nap instead of offering some semblance of actionable advice on retrieving his mental stability. A nap .
    “She’s tough our Isabelle,” Vic said.
    Our Isabelle. Peter liked the sound of it.
    “Is she okay?” Vic asked.
    “Yeah. I just left her. The alarm is hooked up. It’s like Fort Knox over there now. He won’t bypass that system unless he knows the code.”
    “I feel horrible she had to deal with that.”
    Peter shrugged. “What are you gonna do from Chicago? I was here and wasn’t much help. He’s one sick bastard.”
    “No shit. Thanks for taking care of her. I’m not going to tell her dad about this. She asked me not to. I don’t know how I feel about that, but I’ll make some time this weekend to see her and I’ll get a read.”
    “Yeah, about that. You’ll get plenty of time. She’s going to the wedding with me.”
    “You fucker,” Vic yelled, and Peter laughed his ass off. Vic would fume about him hitting on Izzy.
    “Gotta go.” Still laughing, he hung up.
    The phone immediately rang again. He assumed it was Vic, but checked the ID anyway just in case it was Izzy. Nope. Vic. No way he’d answer.
    Peter headed back to his chair. “That was your buddy Vic.”
    “What’s