An empty bag of Doritos sat on the desk next to Red, and there was a full bowl of fresh popcorn on his right. The air smelled like it. Popcorn, grease, the faintly ozone scent of plastic and wiring, and something floral.
Jonah scanned the room as if he’d find some evidence of Cas, gaze lingering on the purple leather sofa where he used to find him sitting cross-legged with his computer balanced on his knees, contentedly plugged into his own world and oblivious to the one around him. He’d startled sometimes when Jonah had passed a hand in front of his face. Jonah had once asked what the allure was for Cas, why he got so caught up in a world that only existed in binary. Cas had sucked on his plump lower lip for a long moment before explaining that building an entire universe from the ground up using a language the average person couldn’t even begin to comprehend was the closest thing to a godhead he could understand. Jonah had thought about that for weeks.
As Red’s keystrokes grew more frenetic, Jonah dropped onto a chair shaped like a high-heeled shoe next to the sofa. It was clearly built for aesthetic impact rather than comfort, but he settled determinedly into it. Arching his back in a stretch, he exhaled a satisfied groan as his spine popped. “I don’t have anything to do this afternoon, which means I have plenty of time to sit here and see what comes out of your mouth.” Two more satisfying pops as he tilted his head from side to side. “And fuck knows something will at some point.”
Red extended his middle finger without turning around, one hand still flying over the keys. “What do you think of this nail color?”
“It’s a nice shade of fuck you.” If Jonah had had a rubber band on him, he’d have taken pleasure in shooting it at the back of Red’s big head. “I know Cas was here. I saw him.”
“Must not have been a very good blowie you were getting, then. Surprising, since I remember Pierce being quite talented.”
Jonah grunted. “Still getting your voyeurism fix in your own club I see.”
“That’s right.Myclub.”
Jonah exhaled through his nose, losing patience quicker than he’d anticipated. But Cas had already turned his life upside down once in the past twenty-four hours, and now he was presumably out wandering the city. Or possibly on the run. “I didn’t come here for a gossip session.”
“That’s exactly what you came here for. Rumors and apparitions. Tales of friendly little ghosts. But I haven’t seen anything. Real or otherwise.” Red attacked his keyboard with renewed fervor, and Jonah stared at the screen, briefly transfixed by the dizzying scroll of code. He used to watch Cas at the kitchen table sometimes, or where he’d sit on the floor with his back to the couch, fingers flying over the keys, speaking those languages Jonah couldn’t even fathom. Sometimes, Cas would go still, deft fingers slowing, and he’d turn his head, find Jonah, and smile or smirk or grin, depending on his mood.
Jonah rubbed a hand over his chest and rested a steady gaze on Red. “Cas trashed our old place. I want to know where he is so I can let him know he can feel free to come clean up the mess he made anytime.” Jonah’s attempt to chase down Cas had been sidetracked when he’d walked out of the hallway and been pulled into the VIP area by James, one of his contacts, to meet some visiting bigwig Jonah initially didn’t give a shit about. Until he learned the guy was part of a Turkish network, and shit, it was always good to network, right? Besides, he hadn’t been certain the face he’d glimpsed had been Cas’s in the first place. Or, at least, that was what he told himself through three vodka tonics with the men.
By the time Jonah had left the club, dawn was threatening the horizon in moody grays. He’d gone to the old apartment immediately, half-drunk, and with a buzzing expectation layered over his skin like goosebumps.
The moment he’d stepped through the door, he could smell Cas. For one brief second that set off a maelstrom of emotion churning through him, Jonah was sure he’d find him curled up on the couch, dark hair askew over his eyes, covers tangled around his knees.
And then he’d seen the bat. The shattered glass. The goddamn TV. Even the fake fucking plant that’d been there when he’d first moved in. He could feel Cas everywhere, and even in the midst of all the destruction, it made his skin come alive, his bones hum. Jonah had almost forgotten what that had felt like. And that Cas was one of the very few people in the world who could make him feel it.
Jonah cleared his throat. “Did he seem upset when you saw him? When did he get back? Was he with anyone?” His voice roughened a bit on the final sentence, and he rubbed a hand over his eyes, regretting those last two vodka tonics. “Don’t bullshit me. I know he was in here. There are threads all over the carpet.” Jonah had spotted the scattershot white strings when he sat down. Cas had a habit of plucking them from the seams of his jeans when he was keyed up.
Red’s mega-screen went blank and then refreshed. No response came, which just proved what Jonah had always suspected: Red favored the boy over him. Jonah had known Red longer, but Cas had been his beloved protégé almost from the start, when his eyes had gone wide and dizzy the first time Red showed him his lair.
“He peed in a potted plant. Killed my dog. Set fire to the embassy,” Jonah fired off in monotone.
Finally, Red swiveled around to face him and folded his arms over his chest with a slow blink. “You don’t have a dog.” As if that was the most unbelievable of the three statements.
“Icouldhave a dog. You’d have no idea shut up in here like a hermit all day.”
Red snorted. “Dogs are for humans with souls. You could have a cat, maybe.” He narrowed his eyes, like he wasn’t quite convinced that was a possibility, either.
But Jonah grinned because now he’d gotten Red’s attention. “Caspian is a dog person,” he mused.
“Definitely a dog person.”
“Golden retriever?”
Red seesawed his hand, face bunching up. “I could see it, I guess. Or maybe a greyhound. Hyper and quick, like him.”
“Maybe one of those hairless kinds. So, is he staying with you?”
“No. He—” Red clamped his mouth shut, nostrils flaring as he shook a finger at Jonah, whose grin widened. “You drive me absolutely up the wall with that bait and switch shit. I should have Stu turn you away from now on.”
“You won’t do that. You’d miss me too much. So, where’s he staying?”
Red exhaled a resigned sigh. “I don’t know. But I get the idea he wouldn’t want me telling you either way.”
“Do you have a contact number? Anything? I need to talk to him.”
“Youneedto leave him alone,” Red snapped.
