“And wouldn’t you agree that giving him a list of Glenn’s belongings inside would be a wonderful way of apologizing for the mess you nearly created this morning?I’m sure your clan leader would appreciate an apology from you, as you put him in a very embarrassing and tight spot.”
Jarek grunted an acknowledgement.“Yes, I think you do owe us all an apology.Your thoughtless actions really would have brought a great deal of trouble down on our heads, and danger as well.You were not wise, Séverin.”
Séverin, the emo vampire, immediately ducked his head, abashed.
Ross pulled out his phone and unlocked it, handing it over to the vampire.“Put in your name and number.You too, sir.We shouldn’t linger here any longer.It’s freezing, and we’re acting suspicious as it is.We can coordinate all of this by phone.”
Séverin meekly took the phone and started typing into it.
That’s right.Such a good, obedient little vampire.
Pretty Vampire didn’t look any happier, but he also meekly tapped in his phone number.Ross took it and texted both of them back.“Thank you, gentleman.Do try to get me a list within the next hour.I know you’ll need to sleep at some point today, and I’m sure you’ll want to be on hand tonight to verify your belongings when Eidolon has retrieved them.”
They both mumbled something like agreement and slunk off to a waiting vehicle.
Jarek pointed to Ross and asked Glenn seriously, “Where do I get one of those?”
Glenn chuckled, both amused and proud.“Pure luck, I’m afraid.I’ll be in touch, Jarek.Everyone, back to the clan.Come, a stór.”
Ross followed, pleased with himself, and everyone piled into various cars.Glenn chose to drive back so Ross slung himself into the passenger seat, barely buckling in before taking notes on his phone.“I’ll need you to text Eidolon about who I am, that way I can coordinate with him as he comes in.”
“I can do that,” Glenn protested.
“Unless this man is very touchy about strange people talking to him, I wouldn’t suggest it.You’re bleary around the edges as it is.You need sleep if you want to be sharp tonight.I can stay up and handle things while you snooze.”
“But that hardly seems fair.You also need to be sharp tonight.”
Ross eyed him sideways as they left the parking lot.Such a disobedient boyfriend.“Let me put this a different way.When we get back, I’m going to give you a lovely blowjob, fuck you nicely, then put you to bed for a few hours.I’ll wake you with another blowjob around dinner time, and you can take over then.”
Glenn’s attitude did an abrupt 180.“Let’s go promptly to bed, a stór.”
Better.
Ross texted Eidolon with an introduction, and that he would be point of contact.He got back a cheerful greeting, so apparently the thief was not touchy in any way.Eidolon indicated that he’d be there by nightfall, so he was apparently somewhere nearby.As the man prepped, Ross researched and found what information he could, which included forwarding the museum’s address, website, and so on.He had Pretty Vampire tell him about the conversation with the museum worker, and forwarded that on to Eidolon in case any part of it was useful.As the lists of things came in, he combined it all into one master doc, something he could email, although he had a printed version in case Eidolon preferred that.
To keep things on an even keel, he kept Jarek in the loop with the occasional text so the man wouldn’t feel left out, even though he was likely sleeping.
Not knowing what else to do to speed this matter along, Ross switched to the next task.Namely, the things he’d already slated to get done today during daylight hours.Finally, around five o’clock, he stopped and set it all aside.He needed to eat dinner, as it was getting close to that time.And he had a sleeping boyfriend to wake up as well.
Ross heated some chili, a quick and fast meal, then cleaned up, rinsing the bowl and stacking it in the dishwasher.It was just full enough to start the machine, which he did.Alright, wake Glenn next and—he flinched, head jerking back in surprise.
The man at the island, who was seated so calmly and reading through the list Ross had created, stared back at him.“Are you Ross?”
He knew the voice, the Russian accent.The brunette with the rangy build, wearing a black turtleneck and an innocent smile as if he’d not purposefully tried to give Ross heart failure?Must be their thief.“I am.You’re Eidolon.”
“Da, nice to meet you.You don’t scare easy.Anyone else I do this to, they jump a mile and swear.”
“I’m sadly unshockable.It’s part of the reason I was hired.You’re, uh, earlier than I anticipated.”
“Was in Boston when I got call,” Eidolon explained cheerfully.“Not much traffic, either.My hacker already at work taking security system offline.”
“Excellent news.Give me one moment.”Ross didn’t want to take his eyes off the man, so he texted Glenn.Get up.Eidolon is here.
“Glenn asleep still?”
“Yes, I put him to bed a few hours ago.Late day for him, as we had the nonsense this morning dragging him out of bed.”
“Long as I’ve known the man, he sleeps all day, stay up all night.”Eidolon shrugged.“I do same thing when I have jobs, though.”
