“I only had a few minutes’ notice, the guys had less. Colson kept it to himself.”
“Why?”
We all exchange glances until Specter speaks up again. “They’re friends. They talk. Bellamy wanted to come by and see…everyone.”
Shadow’s jaw clenches, but he nods. “I see.”
My gaze shifts to Stealth, who is standing next to the boss, his arms crossed over his chest, his face a careful mask of neutrality. This situation is getting more interesting by the minute.
“You’re happy to see him though, yeah?” Whisper asks.
Shadow nods, but it’s curt. “Of course.” He turns on his heel and leaves the room quickly.
Stealth drops his arms, shuffling over to an armchair. He looks very conflicted now.
“Is Shadow okay, Stealth?” Phantom asks.
“How the fuck would I know?” Stealth’s tone is sharp and dripping with frustration. “He’s not exactly an open book.”
“Not even with you?” Ghost asks.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“No offense, dude,” Pax says, “but I’m new here and even I can see that you and Shadow have a different dynamic.”
Stealth glares before huffing a breath. “He’s not open with me either.”
“Well, this is fun,” Ghost says before leaving the room and heading for the kitchen.
“Maybe Colson does know what he’s doing,” Whisper says.
Stealth grumbles but ends up nodding. “It’s good for Shadow to see Bellamy. They have some unresolved shit. Obviously.”
So do he and Shadow, I think to myself, but keep my mouth shut. I don’t know what’s going on, but something is. Lunch should be interesting.
I turn back to Whisper’s computer. “Anything?”
“Stopped for five minutes. On the move again.” He pats my shoulder. “We’ll find him. Even if we can only get a rough vicinity, that’s a start.”
I nod as my thoughts spiral. I promised Rue I’d find him, and even though I don’t know shit about him, I know trouble when I see it, and Leon Nowak is big trouble. I’ve got to find Rue before he gets hurt. Or worse.
If I have to drive all over this goddamn city, that’s what I’ll do. What happens after that is anyone’s guess.
Sitting around the dining room table with my brothers should be familiar and uneventful, but that’s not what’s happening here. Bellamy and Colson are chatting about fashion and the new boutique that opened up in the posh shopping district of Crestvale while Shadow pretends he can’t hear and Stealth stares at his meal like he’s expecting it to attack him.
I share a look with Specter, who subtly shrugs, fighting back his grin. Ghost and Phantom are watching the interactions like a one-sided tennis match, waiting for someone to address the obvious elephant in the room. Well, if chaos is on the menu, then I’m the waiter.
“So, Bellamy…” I say. He looks over at me, smiling. “What have you been up to since we last saw you?”
“A little of this, a little of that.”
Vague. I like it. “Dating?”
Shadow closes his eyes, his jaw tensing before he calmly opens his eyes again and resumes eating.
“Nothing worth discussing,” Bellamy says, glancing at Shadow. “There was this one guy… He reminded me of someone and I thought maybe I would go out with him.”
“Where did you meet him?” Specter asks.
