He went outside and walked around a bit, then came back inside and stared at his phone for a while. Sometime later, he wiped down the kitchen counters even though they were clean. He stared out the window for an indeterminate amount of time, watching the clouds march across the sky, then texted Annabeth to ask for updates.
A few antsy hours passed, and Cade was relieved when Tristan finally rose from the sofa, stretched and turned to where he sat in the kitchen.
"I'm starving. Want some lunch?"
"Sure. What do you want?"
"Sandwiches? I'll make them."
"Sure."
Tristan served their meal and sat down to eat, his face haggard and his eyes dull. For some unknown reason, his appearance made Cade uncomfortable.
"No luck with your search?"
"No. I think it's a dead end."
"That sucks."
"Did you hear anything from Annabeth?"
"Nothing new."
"I just wish I could find some other angle. I feel like I'm missing something, like I should be able to look for the right things and find the clue that will lead me to her, you know?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have any other ideas?"
"Me?"
Tristan cocked his head to the side. "You said you've been doing this job for twelve years. What kind of stuff do you do to find these scumbags?"
Cade slid his eyes to his plate. "Annabeth does the investigation. I just get an address and do what I'm told."
"Oh."
Cade continued to avoid Tristan's gaze, telling himself again that he didn't care if he thought he was stupid.
"Well. I think I need to just step away and give my brain a rest. Maybe I'll take a walk in the woods."
"Okay."
As Cade washed his dish at the sink, Tristan reached past him to deposit his plate. He was close, so close that his chest brushed against Cade's upper arm.
Too close.
Cade scrubbed the dish to distract himself from Tristan's proximity, surprised when the other man leaned back but didn't step away. "Did that plate do something to you?"
Freezing, Cade blurted, "What?"
Tristan had that irreverent look on his face again. "You're scrubbing it really hard for just a few breadcrumbs."
Cade turned back to the sink to hide the blush he felt burn his cheeks. He finished washing the plate gently, then said, "I'm just being thorough."
With a chuckle, Tristan asked, "Do you want to come with me?"
"What? Where?" Cade was struggling to focus on the conversation while Tristan stood only inches away from him.
