“Josh?”
“Yeah?” Joshua called from the kitchen.
“C’mere a minute.”
Joshua emerged from the kitchen and moved to where Colin lay. “Yeah?”
Colin held out his hand, and when Joshua took it, Colin drew him down to the couch. “I know you’re pissed at me for confronting Alensworth today.”
“I’m not.”
Colin tilted his head, his face quirked in disbelief. “C’mon, Josh.”
“Colin, I’m not.” He drew in a deep breath. For a moment he stared past Colin, his expression thoughtful, then met his eyes. “What would be the point? Do Ilikewhat you did?No!It scared the hell out of me. And I was a little hurt when you said my feelings weren’t a consideration. But...no. I’m not pissed.”
“Baby, do you understandwhyI said that?”
Joshua smiled down at him, his deep brown eyes warm with love. He laced their fingers together and lifted Colin’s hand to press his knuckles against his lips, rubbing his mouth against their rock-hard surface. “I do understand,” he whispered finally. “It’s...” His eyes dropped, and he shook his head. “He threatened someone you love. You can’tnotrespond to that.” He kissed Colin’s knuckles again then nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you.”
One shoulder lifted, his eyes crinkling in happiness. “I’ll get over it.” He bent and pressed his lips to Colin’s. “Promise me that’s the end of it.”
“It is. I warned him. He’s been served. That’s the end of it.”
“OK then.” He tilted his head toward the table. “Ready to eat?”
Chapter 12
Down the Rabbit Hole
Later that week Colin was bent over his desk and surrounded by open case files when a light tap on his door drew his attention. “Hey, Donnie!” he said in greeting. “Please tell me you have good news!”
“We found the sister—how’sthatfor good news?”
“It’ll be better news if she actually has information on Page.”
Donald flopped onto the chair facing Colin’s desk and peered at him through half-lowered lids, his expression grim.
“That bad, huh.”
“It’s not like she’s fond of the guy,” Donald began, consulting his notepad. “They haven’t been close since childhood. As you know, he was actually a student at UVA about six years ago but was expelled for drug use.” He glanced up at Colin. “Hell,youmight have collared him, Colin.”
“Could be,” Colin muttered. “Not worth checking on.”
“She told us she’s worried about his mental state.” Donald scowled down at his notes. “Which was not good news forus.” He met Colin’s eyes. “She thinks that right now he may be homeless, which sorta takes him down a notch as a suspect. I mean, he took those kidssomewherewhen he abducted them. Could he do that if he was homeless?”
“Hell, Donnie, he could haul them to an empty warehouse or an apartment building. They had a hood over their eyes the whole time, so how would they know?”
“I suppose,” Donald replied. “In any case, Shannon and I are going out tomorrow to check homeless shelters in the area—see what we can dig up.” He pressed his lips together. “We might catch a break. You never know.”
Colin nodded. “Be sure to put all of this in your report so I can forward it to Clayton.”
Donald laughed and rolled his eyes. “What a douche!”
Colin nodded. “He can be, no question about it. But...” He eyed Donald, brows lifted. “He helped me get that restraining order for Josh, and he did it in a hot second. I appreciated it.”
“Any more contact withthatasshole?”
