Josh understood. At least his eyes got soft for a moment before he squared his shoulders and addressed his father. “We’re not staying to eat. We’re here because we need some Volcax.” He jerked his head at Nero without looking at him. “He’ll pay you well for it, but we need it now.”
Nero didn’t miss the “pay well” part, but he had no room to argue. And though there was a limit to what Wulf, Inc. would fork over, Nero wasn’t going to quibble over a few thousand dollars. Or tens of thousands, as the case may be.
“What?” gasped Nero’s mother as she came through the kitchen doorway carrying a casserole dish. “What do you mean you’re not staying?”
Josh turned to his mother, and from this angle, Nero got to watch Josh’s profile as he all but begged his mother to understand. “I can’t, Mom. We came for Volcax. Rush order. Super secret. Have to get back to—”
“The lab. Yes, so you always say.” She lifted her chin as she set down the dish on the table. “Well, whatever the reason, your father can’t get it while he’s eating. So you will sit right down there and join us. Your… friend too.” Her voice broke on thefriendpart. Clearly she was uncomfortable with the idea that he and Josh could be lovers, but she was trying. And then, lest he think he’d distracted her from the main secret, she pressed ahead. “And you will explain to me where you have been all this time. Savannah came here last month worried sick. We all were.”
Mr. Collier reached out and patted his wife’s hand. “He’s here now. He’s fine. You can stop worrying.”
She turned to stare at her husband and her jaw tightened with anger. No words were spoken, but Nero could hear them, even without the sounds.He’s not fine. He’s gay.
Ivy came out with two extra place settings and quickly made up seats for Josh and Nero. And when Josh stuck out his hand to stop his sister, she hissed to him under her breath.
“Sit. Eat.Talkto them instead of running away.”
Josh’s gaze landed heavy on his sister, but she didn’t so much as flinch. And again, the subtext was easy to read off Josh’s face. His expression said,Why? It always ends the same way.
Ivy wasn’t buying it, and as she pulled out a chair for her baby brother, Josh gave in. Then Ivy gestured for Nero to sit as well. He took the seat next to Josh and smiled warmly at Mrs. Collier.
“Thank you so much for sharing your meal with me. And to answer your question, Josh has been in a classified facility—”
Bruce interrupted. “Doing classified work. You said that before, but we need specifics. Exactly who are you and—”
“Unfortunately we can’t say, and it will do no good to press Josh. I’m here to make sure he doesn’t spill the beans.” He gestured to the spread of food. “This smells fabulous, Mrs. Collier.”
“Well, um, thank you,” Josh’s mother said. Again, it was an automatic response when her mind was clearly on Josh. But at least it got her to sit down. And as Ivy took her seat as well, everyone linked hands for prayer.
Everyone, that is, except Josh, who glared at Bruce’s upturned hand like it was a venomous snake. But when everyone stared at him, Nero included, he snatched his brother’s hand in a white-knuckled grip. In contrast, he barely touched Nero, extending his last two fingers to interlink with his. No-go. Nero used his werewolf reflexes to snatch Josh’s hand fully and hold it upright as if he was in a revival tent praising Jesus with all his might.
Mr. Collier went through the Sunday prayer, his words perfunctory, the message one of thanks done by rote instead of intention. But as he was saying “Amen,” Josh’s mother added to the prayer.
“Thank you for bringing Josh home to us. See to his health, dear Lord, and shine a light on his path so that he may walk it with clarity and joy. And maybe find him a nice young girl to help him with that task. Amen.” Clearly she was the religious force in this family, and right now she wanted Jesus to show Josh that he wasn’t gay.
Everyone but Josh echoed “Amen,” including Nero. He could get behind the words, if not Mrs. Collier’s meaning. He did want Josh to find his path with clarity and joy. He just hoped it was with Wulf, Inc. and not in this homophobic pocket of America.
Everyone unlinked their hands, and Bruce held up his, shaking it out as he tried to get blood flow back into his fingers. “Damn, little brother, you’ve gotten strong.”
Josh jolted. “What?”
Ivy snorted as she explained things to Nero. “My brothers had this childish game of seeing who could crush the other’s hand during prayer. Everyone’s going, ‘Thank you, Lord,’ and they’re sweating and grunting like they’re at a WWE match.”
“He held his own all through high school, but this time I thought he’d break my fingers,” Bruce said as he looked at Josh. Then, when Josh continued to gape at him, Bruce’s expression tightened. “Did you think I wouldn’t admit it?” There was a long pause as Josh clearly debated how to answer. Fortunately Bruce saved him the trouble. “It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to prove my manhood against my baby brother.”
It was a friendly overture, and everyone waited to see how Josh would react. And though it took a moment, Josh finally nodded. “I… uh… yeah. I’ve gotten stronger.”
“Back in that place you can’t talk about? Doing things—”
“I can’t talk about. Yes.” His gaze went to his father. “Designing something that needs that Volcax. Please.”
Mr. Collier grunted as he scooped up mashed potatoes before passing the bowl to his wife. Ivy was tucking into her beef like a werewolf—or someone who’d been eating Army food for way too long—but she managed to smile around her fork. “Do we call you Dr. Collier now? Did you get hooded and everything?”
“Um….” Josh grabbed the potatoes and started plopping them on his plate. “Not exactly,” he mumbled. “Not yet.”
There was nothing wrong with Mr. Collier’s hearing as he scooped up his own mouthful of beef. “Seven years and no degree? What the hell have you been doing?”
Nero smiled. “He’s been working for me.”
