Haz shrugged. “They offered the job to Kieran, but he told them to eat shit and die.”
The green top of the strawberry splat onto the counter when I dropped it. “He said that to the Salvatore brothers?”
“Yeah. And then he bought me the Neon Reef.”
Just who was Kieran? And how did he and Hiro know each other?
Haz pushed away his empty plate and cleared his throat. “So now that you know I’m basically a Salvatore,” he began, fidgeting in his seat, “uh…” He stalled, nibbling on his thumbnail. “Do you still want to be friends?”
“Kieran said I was family now,” I blurted.
Haz straightened, a hopeful shine in his eyes. “He did?”
I nodded.
“And what did you say?”
“…Okay?” Was I not supposed to say that?
Haz leaned forward, the stool he was on teetering on two legs, so he could hug me. He smelled like maple syrup and fabric softener from the oversized dress shirt he wore. I hugged him back, squeezing my eyes closed.
The stool slid out from beneath him, clattering to the floor. Haz would have fallen with it, but I tightened my arms so he just sort of dangled over the ground.
“Hazard!” Kieran bellowed from the bedroom.
I set him down, and he yelled. “I’m fine!”
“Good save,” he whispered, picking up the stool and climbing back on.
“What do you think they’re doing back there?” I asked, gazing down the hallway, already hungry for a glimpse of Hiro. I guess my stomach had the ability to get full, but my eyes never did.
I knew everyone else called him Ghost, but that wasn’t who he was to me. Well, okay, he did ghost me so hard I would have called a medium if I had the cash, but when I thought of him, that wasn’t at all what came to mind first.
To me, he was a hero. My Hiro.
Before he made off into the night with my heart like a dirty thief, he’d saved me. More than once. I’d been sick and vulnerable, and he’d taken care of me. Even though he’d been little more than a stranger, I trusted him instantly. I’d never felt so safe and secure in my entire life, so even later, when he was gone and my heart hurt, my instincts refused to believehe’d betrayed me.
“Probably plotting some murder.” Haz’s nonchalant reply snapped me out of my own thoughts.
“What?” I thought maybe he was joking, but his reaction was not to smile or laugh.
He shot upright. “Uh, w-what?”
“You said they’re probably plotting murder.”
“Did I?”
“I definitely heard it.”
Haz looked sheepish. “Sometimes my tongue is like a Slip ‘N Slide, and inside thoughts fly out before I can stop them.”
Was he serious? “Haz?—”
“They work for the government,” he rushed out as though I’d been torturing him for the information.
“Kieran and Hi—Ghost?” I asked, correcting myself before I could call him by his first name. For some reason, that felt like just mine. There was a lot in this world that wasn’t just mine, so I wanted to protect this.
Haz nodded. “I’m probably not supposed to tell you, but Kieran said you’re family.”
