Mal and Nico exchanged looks, and Mal shrugged. It was clear they weren’t going to get anything else out of Jason. At least, not with an audience.
“Fine,” Nico said. “Thanks, I guess.”
Jason smiled benevolently as he stood. “My pleasure. Make sure you tell the Dai Lo I cooperated fully,” he said.
“Yeah, sure,” Nico retorted.
Jason was almost to the back door of the restaurant when Nico called out, “Oh, and if you ever touch my boyfriend again, I’ll carve out your eyes and make you fucking eat them.”
The woman behind the counter gasped. Jason stared blankly at Nico for a solid thirty seconds before throwing his head back and laughing.
Mal bit back a smile as he heard Nico mutter, “Fucking asshole.”
“So, what now? Check out Frankie’s place, then question him?” Mal asked.
Nico sighed. “It’s not like we have any better leads. At all. It’s like she’s just vanished into thin air.”
Breaking and entering Frankie’s high-rise wasn’t quite as easy as opening a sliding glass door, but it wasn’t exactlyOcean’s Eleveneither. Once Calliope established that Frankie wasstillat the gym—who worked out that much?—she’d called the front desk and, using some kind of voice-disguising app, told the main desk that Mal and Nico were expected. This proved to be unnecessary as the guard didn’t even look up at their arrival, intently focused on whatever he watched on his phone.
It was helpful that the building seemed to be a mirror of Jericho and Freckles’ place, expensive and pristine. There was marble everywhere and shiny gold accents with huge, expensive bouquets that, upon closer inspection, were actually fake. The interior of the elevators was entirely mirrors. Looking at a hundred versions of Mal was dizzying and gave Nico some very kinky ideas.
When they got off on the sixth floor, Nico inhaled deeply.
Mal looked at him with both confusion and amusement. “What are you doing?”
“It smells really good in these buildings. Like when you walk into a Bath & Body Works.”
Mal huffed out a quiet laugh as they located Frankie’s apartment. Calliope had the door code ready. Thank God for computerized locks and Calliope’s insane hacking skills. He watched as Mal typed in the code, fighting the urge to wildly scan their surroundings. That would look far more suspicious than two guys who knew Frankie’s door code.
Nico’s insides unclenched as the door swung open. They had barely managed to enter and close the door when a sharp noise, kind of like stepping on a squeaky toy, scared Nico enough to almost dive into Mal’s arms. It took him longer than it should to realize that the small ball of fur staring them down was not a toy but an actual living, breathing creature.
“What the hell is that?” Mal asked, looking spooked.
Nico crouched down, holding his hand out. “It’s a dog. What do you mean?”
The dog’s barking increased, its little body practically levitating with the effort. It was so…cute. But the yapping was jarring.
Mal clearly didn’t share Nico’s evaluation. He gazed at the puppy, lip curled as he slow-blinked like a lazy panther. “Why does itlooklike that?”
“Look like what?” Nico asked, exasperated. “It’s just a tiny, fluffy white dog.”
Mal narrowed his eyes, backing up a step. If he had a tail, it would be flicking with irritation. “Why’s it so small? Are you sure it’s not, like, a…robot or something?”
Nico snickered. “I guess cats and dogs really do hate each other.”
“Are you implying I’m a cat? I thought I was a bunny?” Mal muttered, not taking his eyes off the dog.
“You’re a cat-bunny. My little alien cat-bunny in a human suit,” Nico said.
“If anyone else said that to me, I would shoot them,” Mal said calmly.
Nico closed the distance between them, smacking a kiss on his lips. “Well, nobody else said it but me.”
Mal didn’t acknowledge the kiss. He seemed frozen in place, eyeing the puppy with the same wariness one might give a rabid Rottweiler. The puppy was looking at Mal the same way. Nico made a noise of exasperation, scooping the dog up and holding it toward Mal. Mal recoiled.
The dog began to snarl and growl, snapping its tiny teeth onto Nico’s fingers. He barely felt it, focused on his ridiculous boyfriend. “What is wrong with you? It’s not a cobra. It’s a teacup yorkie. A baby, by the looks of it.”
Its barking increased as it got closer to Mal. He hissed in retaliation, which only further agitated the ball of fluff. Nico shook his head at Mal. “You’re an idiot.”
