Dimitri turned to glance behind him, a bark of laughter escaping as he saw Arlo’s perfect boot prints a quarter of the way up the wall. “That’s your problem. You’re opening with her tomorrow.”
Arlo shook his head. “Uh-uh. I’m gonna call out sick.”
Dimitri picked Arlo up, tossing him over his shoulder. “You’re only delaying the inevitable. Besides, it’s not like she’s actually going to fire either of us. Nobody else wants to work here.”
“I’ll just blame you,” Arlo said, slapping Dimitri’s ass.
Dimitri swatted his ass back a little harder. “What was that?”
“I’ll blame you,” Arlo said louder, as if Dimitri were hard of hearing.
Six months ago, Arlo would have panicked over being questioned, over Dimitri’s casual swat on the butt. But there was trust there. Trust that Dimitri had earned.
Arlo snagged their bags as they walked past the bench. “Put me down.”
“Nope,” Dimitri said, swinging the back door open to the warm night air.
The heavy door slammed shut behind him, and he stopped short. A tall man leaned against Dimitri’s Toyota, arms crossed over his chest. Even obscured by shadow, he looked familiar.
As he moved closer, he realized he knew him. Another Mulvaney. One of the twins. And he wasn’t alone. There was a thinner man beside him, with blond hair and large wire-rimmed glasses that shouldn’t have looked good on anybody but looked right at home on him.
“What’s wrong? What’s happening? Why did you stop?” Arlo asked. “I’m getting dizzy.”
Dimitri carefully set Arlo on his feet before turning him to see their guests. Arlo gasped, backing directly into Dimitri, who put an arm around his chest to steady him.
“What are you doing here?” Dimitri asked.
“We need a favor,” the twin said.
Dimitri squinted. “Which one are you?”
The man moved forward until he was no longer in the shadows. “Asa. This is Zane. We need your help.”
“What kind of help?” Dimitri asked.
“Does it matter?” Asa countered, the question weighted.
Dimitri gave a heavy sigh. No. No, it didn’t. When somebody’s family helped you get rid of a body, that family had the right to ask for favors. “Have you cleared this with my mom? I really can’t afford to get on her bitch list again.”
Asa’s responding grin was unsettling. “My dad cleared it with your mom. All parental units are in the loop. Let’s go get some food. I’m starving.”
Arlo glanced over his shoulder at Dimitri. “Are we really doing this?”
“What choice do we have?” Dimitri shrugged.
Asa nodded. “Exactly. Glad we’re all on the same page. We’ll take my car. It’s right over there.”
As they watched, Asa snaked an arm around the waist of the other man, Zane, who didn’t look thrilled about the gesture, but he didn’t protest either.
“What do you think their deal is?” Arlo asked.
“I think it’s none of our business,” Dimitri whispered, lacing their fingers together.
“So much for getting fucked tonight,” Arlo said, forlorn.
Dimitri tugged Arlo up under his arm, their fingers still intertwined. “Oh, we might still get fucked tonight, but not in the way either of us was hoping.”
“Christ, you two are giving me a toothache with all the cuteness,” Asa crowed from ten paces ahead.
