The foyer was a frenzy of activity, with Roger climbing up on Crybaby’s shoulders while Mickey shook hands with Alistair and Mace. Everyone was talking at once and very excitedly, and Erasmus emerged from the back hallway to join them.
For the first time, Noah saw Erasmus smile.
Alistair noticed Noah hovering near the door, and he excused himself from the little crowd to approach him. “I take it your work is all done?”
“Done enough,” Noah grumbled. “How about you, huh?”
“Oh, everything is fine.” Alistair took Noah’s hand and kissed it, though he wrinkled his nose a bit.
“Yeah, you don’t even wanna know,” Noah cautioned. “Those gloves were not enough. Like, at all. People are nasty.”
“Perhaps a shower, hmm?” Alistair nudged his cheek with the side of his hand.
“You coming with me?” Noah leaned in close.
“No.” Alistair smiled. “I have to attend to my guests, dear Noah. Go on, freshen up.” He bit hislip thoughtfully. “Wear something green for me.”
“Again?”
“Please.”
“You got it.”
Alistair waved for Crybaby to escort Noah, but she was not alone. She still had Roger riding on her back.
“Where are we going?” Roger asked cheerfully.
“I gotta work, you fuckin’ nutcase!” Crybaby laughed, trying to shove Roger off.
Roger landed on his feet with a manic grin. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. We can catch up later. Scram.” Crybaby ushered Noah up the stairs.
Alistair was leading Mace, Erasmus, Junior, and Mickey toward the living room. Roger was still following Crybaby, and Noah trudged to his room. He wanted to get a quick shower and rejoin the rest of the group, curious if he could glean any interesting information from a group of gangsters hanging out.
“I don’t wanna scram! Later is forever away!” Roger complained. “Ugh, come on. You gotta tell me about you, your life, your dogs! And oh! Alistair’s club. I wanna know if it’s worth taking Mickey there.”
Then again, this could prove useful as well.
Noah purposefully slowed down so he could listen.
“Which one?” Crybaby asked. “He’s only got like a dozen now.”
“The old one. The one he named after Cold.” Roger whistled as they stepped onto the second floor. “Wow, this place is fuckin’ nice.”
“Kiss the Rod?” Crybaby snorted. “You’ve seriously never been?”
“It’s not like me and Mickey ever come out here for non-business purposes.”
“What do you call this then?”
“Ah! It’s business that’s about to be concluded.” Roger laughed.
“Right. That you could have handled with a phone call.”
“And not see your beautiful face?” Roger purred. “As if.”
“And not get some fuckin’ tiramisu is what you mean,” Crybaby scolded.
