“They could have killed you, too,” Jonah muttered. “You could have died.”
“I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Life is messy, Jonah. You could die every time you go out on a job. You’re not infallible. I’m not a little kid. You can’t just wrap me in bubble wrap and stick me in a safe. I know how to take care of myself.”
Jonah seemed like he wanted to argue the last statement but asked, “Where’s the list now?”
“I have a copy encrypted on a thumb drive, and Red has another encrypted version over at Wired.”
“What did Red think of the list? Was he any help?”
Cas shook his head. “Nothing stuck out to him about the names, but he said he’d keep digging.”
“What about your system in Russia? Any way they could’ve gotten the list from your hard drive?”
“I killed the system as I dipped out of there,” Cas said. “But I made Brutus line the door with magnets after I built the system. If they tried to leave with anything, the hidden magnets would strip the data. The only safe window was the fire escape. So, I got my money and they got nothing.”
Jonah gave a low growl. “You also now have a contract out on your life, Cas. They want you dead. They want that thumb drive, and people willing to offer you half a million and a killer a hundred grand for your life aren’t going to stop until they have what they want.”
A tiny shiver ran along Cas’s spine. He didn’t want to die but refused to fall apart over the situation. He had a job to do. “Look, nobody can decode that list but me, so if they want those names, they need to keep me alive.”
“That doesn’t mean they won’t start hacking off body parts and then kill you after they get what they want. Dammit, Cas. I don’t know how we’re going to get you out of this one.”
“It’s fine—”
“Stop saying that,” Jonah snapped. “It’s not fine. I’m not going to sit here and wait until I find you hacked—” He broke off, clearing his throat. “I won’t wait to find pieces of you scattered all over the Hudson. We need to figure out why these people are important and to whom, so we can take the target off your back and try to negotiate our way out of it somehow.”
“I’ve been a little busy running for my life. It would help if I had a quiet place to work and my laptop, but that got ditched in Russia.”
“I have an old laptop you can use. Probably not up to your specifications, but it should do. We’ll go to my new place. I have to pick something up there anyway. I have a job today.”
Cas perked up. “What kind of job? Can I come?”
Jonah gave a humorless laugh. “You get that I don’t work at an ice cream shop, right?”
“Oh, come on, Jonah. You never let me have any fun. Come on. I’ll be quiet. I’ll stay in the car. Besides, you don’t want me left all alone and defenseless, do you?”
Cas could see Jonah breaking down.
“Fine, but only because it’s not a close contact job. It may take a while, so we’ll bring the laptop so you can work. I don’t want you whining that you’re bored.”
“Fine. Are we done with the serious talk now?” Cas asked.
“Yeah, for now.”
Cas launched himself at Jonah, barely missing the dishes on the tray as he landed in his lap and hissing as his staples pulled. He smacked an almost chaste kiss on Jonah’s lips and buried his face against his neck, inhaling deeply and trying to commit the events of the last twelve hours to his sense memory. Jonah was warm and strong, and Cas had missed him more than he’d ever dare admit, even with a gun to his head.
“What are you doing?” Jonah asked, sounding amused but perplexed.
“Smelling you. You always smell so good.”
Jonah’s arms closed around Cas, and he rested his head on Cas’s shoulder, stubble scraping across his neck and shoulder in a way that made Cas’s nipples harden, but neither of them tried for more, just held each other as the minutes ticked by. Part of Cas still couldn’t believe this was real, that Jonah wanted him, had wanted him so badly he’d jerked him off in the kitchen. It seemed impossible, but his heart floated in his chest, a happiness he never thought possible overriding any fear of a bullet with his name on it. No matter how temporary it might be.
“Hey, Jonah.”
“Yeah?” Jonah rumbled against Cas’s throat, making his toes curl.
“After you kill this guy, can we go get ice cream?”
14
