are subversively feminist, but what’s feminist about a book where the woman has no say in her own security?”
“They’re doing what’s best for her for now,” Mack grumbled.
“Who is he to decide what’s best for her?” Gavin countered.
“But that’s the point of the book,” Mack argued. “Their journey is about learning to trust each other and overcome the adversity that the author establishes in the beginning.”
“But why write a book that puts a woman in that position to start with?”
“Maybe because shit like that happens in real life? Bad shit happens to women all the time, and it’s usually because men look the other way.”
“So it’s a metaphor?” Malcolm prompted, stroking his beard. “Interesting. I’ve never thought about it that way before.”
Mack shrugged. “I’m just saying that if we’re going to end violence against women, it’s up to us to do it. We have to get after our own.”
Hop groaned.
“Something to add, Hop?” Del asked.
“Yeah. Reading this shit has made you soft.” He picked up The Protector and turned it over.
“Or maybe your generation was too hard,” Mack said.
Hop bristled, and Malcolm stepped in to stave off his response. “What Mack is trying to say is that you’ve been raised to believe in a certain type of masculinity—”
“My brand of masculinity was crawling through the jungles of Vietnam, getting my ass shot off before you were born.”
“And we appreciate your service, but what we’re saying is that your brand of masculinity is tied to the inevitable degradation of women. And no one is the better for it.”
Hop rolled his eyes. “Political correctness.”
“What if someone made a sexual joke about Rosie?” Mack asked.
“I’d kill him.”
“You think that’s the right answer, but it’s not,” Mack said. “You shouldn’t have to care about a woman to recognize that the sexual degradation of all women is a problem. You should recognize that it’s wrong simply because they’re humans.”
Hop snorted.
“You don’t believe in equality among men and women?” Malcolm asked.
“Sure I do.”
Mack raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Hop started to tick off a laundry list. “I think women should get paid the same as men for the same jobs. I think women should have equal representation in Congress. And there better be a woman president before I die. But I also think we should be able to tell some fucking jokes.”
“Did it ever occur to you that the reason women don’t have equal pay or that no woman has ever been elected president is because when men get together they bond over these jokes?”
Hop shrugged.
“Can we get back to the book?” Gavin asked.
“Go ahead,” Malcolm said.
“It’s like she just, like, up and forgives him,” Gavin said. “I had to beg on my knees for a month just to get Thea to let me back in our bedroom.”
“I don’t think she forgave him,” Mack said. “I think she realized the reality of the situation and dealt with it. You’re missing the subtext.”
“Bullshit,” Gavin said.
Mack felt a vein pop near his temple. “This is different.”
“How?”
“You two going to let the rest of us get in on this?” Del asked.
Mack bit his tongue.
“I think her anger is justified,” Malcolm said. “But I don’t think she’s only mad about his actions. She feels like she has no control. She’s been at the mercy of men all her life. First her father. Then her Secret Service agents. Now this stalker and Chase’s lie. It’s a metaphor.”
“For what?” Derek asked.
Malcolm shrugged. “The suffocating ways that modern women are controlled without their consent every single day.”
“Well, in this case, maybe it’s for her own good!” Mack blurted.
“And I still think this book is bullshit,” Gavin said. “He’s obviously still lying to her. I don’t know. I don’t like this dude.”
Mack toyed with a creamer packet. “Maybe there are strong emotions involved.”
“So?”
“So strong emotions can make you do things you wouldn’t normally do.” And Mack totally, one hundred percent was not talking about himself.
“Yeah, but he’s still lying to her.” Gavin shrugged.
“Because he was trying to protect her.”
“I’m just saying that I learned the hard way that even well-intentioned lies have a way of destroying things.”
Mack slammed his mug down. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to protect someone you care about!”
Mack’s outburst made the guys jump in their seats and even caught the attention of people two tables over. Great. He plunked his elbows on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. He shouldn’t even have come this morning.
“Dude, what’s up with you?” That was Derek.
He was saved from answering when the