”Flick was silent. She held a glass halfway between the tray and her mouth and looked as though she had turned to stone. Mike turned back to her. �...Your sister has been fabulous to Nad and me too. Are you staying down tonight?”“Er, no, no I’m not. I have to get back to town.”“What a shame. I’d have loved to show you my surgery. I’m inordinately proud of it. I’d love to show you some of the local countryside too, I’m a recent arrival and I guess I have the newcomer’s enthusiasm.”“Mike,” said. And that would make him desperate, and dangerous. For now, though, I could grit my teeth and wait for his little game to be over. Odds were it was bothering me more than Mom, even though she was the one on her knees. Like Nat, my mother was no delicate little flower, and wouldn't appreciate it if she thought I saw her as one. Besides, the very first time she'd taken me as a lover, I'd seen her let Dad do worse to her than her grandson was doing now. No doubt, it was different when it was coming. Fuck him." Mike, how much do you remember?" Paul Fitzgerald asked me."Not a lot," I said. "I saw him coming up the walk."He held up a hand."Let's skip to after he stabbed you," he said. "What do you remember after that?" Looking down and passing out," I replied. "No, I saw my girlfriend and my daughter come out on the porch. That's really all I remember."Paul pulled out a chair and sat down with a smile."OK, unofficially," he said. "You broke Lemons femur. The femur is hard to break with a. Way too much." She narrowed her eyes. "Come on. Strip.”Holding her gaze, he raised his left wrist, unclipped a cufflink and rolled up the sleeve of his white shirt. His muscles flexed as he repeated the process with the other sleeve. "Better?" Getting there." She leaned against the wall, hip pressing on the smooth plaster. “Keep going."“Okay." He loosened his tie and popped the top button. "Enough?" No." The corners of her mouth twitched, dimpling her cheeks. "What about those?" She nodded at.