“But I made you a promise.”
“Yes.” There was no remorse in Chris’s eyes. A promise had been given, and now he was collecting.
Smart man.
“Do you have a gun?” Jay asked.
“No.”
“We’ll need to get you one.”
Chris opened his mouth to protest, but ended up nodding. “Good idea.”
“Best thing would be if those two tried to break into your house and we ended up taking them down. Self-defense is a beautiful thing.”
“I agree, but you can’t be with me around the clock.”
That was true. “Talk with Mickey tomorrow. Maybe he can come up with something.”
“Mickey?”
“Can you think of anyone better? The man’s a rotten snake, but he likes you. Use that.”
Chris nodded, some color back in his cheeks. He truly had been in the process of accepting his upcoming death, Jay realized.
Not on my watch.
Jay leaned back and shook his head. “You must be the unluckiest son of a bitch I’ve ever met, and I’ve been to prison.”
Chris finished his beer. “This unlucky son of a bitch needs a new shiny gun.”
“You want it to be shiny? Damn, you’re picky. Let’sgo.”
4
ANTHONY
“I think there’s something wrong with Jay,” Ethan said after hanging up the call.
“What did he say?”
“He didn’t say anything specific, just something I picked up in his voice.”
“Do you want to call him again? We can invite him over.” They were sitting on Ethan’s couch, the living room warm and cozy, with soft rock music playing in the background. The flowers Anthony had brought lay on the table.
“Nah, I’ll speak with him tomorrow,” Ethan said. “I think that my brain is unintentionally searching for drama.”
It made sense to Anthony. They’d experienced enough drama lately to last for a lifetime.
“Tonight, this is a drama-free zone,” Ethan declared. “Besides, I have something important on my mind.”
“I bet. Are you nervous about tomorrow?”
“Yes, but I’m talking about something else.” He winked.
Anthony pushed back a smile and rubbed his palm over Ethan’s thigh. It felt both natural and strange to touch him freely, but the strangeness had been subsiding lately. He reached higher, rubbing his thumb against Ethan’s growing bulge, using just enough pressure to tease.
“Are you being naughty with me, Anthony?”
