Page 10 of Artifacts

“Nothing,” Darrell told him. “Planning your bachelor evening.”Let that worry Travis.His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. “Oh, I gotta take this. One minute.”

He walked away to relative privacy to answer. “Mateo?” They never Facetimed. Had only called each other once. Their communication was the quickest of messages. “What’s the matter?”

“How’s it going with the family?” Mateo’s tan face and bright blue eyes filled the screen.

“Huh?”

“You said you were meeting up to have an early dinner. Didn’t seem too keen on it. But it’s going okay?”

“I…” He’d mentioned this personal detail, when they’d met at Cesar’s two nights ago, before going to Mateo’s to fuck?

“Want me to drop by, really give them something to talk about?”

“Jesus, no.” Darrell’s horror wasn’t just at the thought. It was fine for Travis and Ryan to bring home girls or bring them to Bricks’ meals, but he could not imagine Chief Williams’ reaction to a son of his seeing a guy.

But he wasn’t. Didn’t. Any guys he hooked up with were just that, fuck buddies.

“Okay. Jeez.” Mateo looked a little affronted. “Wanna meet later, talk about it? Or…not talk?” he added, when Darrell’s silence stretched.

“No. I don’t know. I have to go. I’ll text.” He cut the call and eased his way out of the space behind the top of the staircase.

“Oh, hi!” Leah stood and waved at a girl who’d just reached the top of the stairs. She beckoned her and Darrell, just behind her, over. “This is Brianna from work. She has an appointment nearby, right, Bri, so she said she’d drop by and say congratulations and hi to y’all. Can you stay for a little while, Bri?”

Darrell’s heart plummeted, more so when Ryan added, “Move around there. Can we get an extra chair?” with a meaningful smile at Darrell. His reaction to the new arrival screamed foreknowledge and even rehearsal.

Darrell got through it. Through Brianna being pressed to stay to eat. Through his father and Luke discussing the big football game coming up and how they’d all be going to support their old high school, and Darrell was coming of course, no argument. He could have predicted the invitation to Brianna to come along too, if not Leah’s exact, heavy-handed, “Darrell, Bri’s a recent transplant to the Military City and needs someone to help her experience its flavor!”

They’d reached the stage of looking at the dessert suggestions on the menu, even though they’d all go for an ice cream at The Parlor, the traditional end to a Williams meal, when Darrell’s radio buzzed. He excused himself to answer and had rarely been so happy to get a call.

“Son!” Jack reproached.

“I got a couple of hours off, with time banked, but I’m on call.” Darrell smiled at Bri. “Have my ice cream for me. Mint choc chip.” In that, he was unchanging. God alone knew what would ever have happened if he’d tried out tutti-frutti.

On the way to where Sean was picking him up, he dropped a quick text to Mateo, saying he thought they should cool things down, give each other a rest. Mateo’s call had made him realize that the other guy was assuming that their relationship was evolving beyond Darrell bending him over any available surface and fucking his brains out—and that Darrell was in danger of falling into that trap too.

Better to disarm that ticking bomb now, before it went off in his face.

Chapter Five

“Mister? Sir? Are youdead?”

“Oh shit, I think he is! The dude’s, like, croaked, right here in front of us. I’mfreaked, man!”

“No, look—he’s breathing, see?”

“No, I don’twannasee. What the hell youdoingto him?”

“I’m trying to feel a pulse in his neck, like on the cop shows. Yeah, I got one! He’s okay.”

“Call that okay? Jesus! I’m calling nine-one-one. Hey, maybe we’ll be on the news for saving the dude!”

Aldric figured he couldn’t be dead, since he was hurting so much. There was no way he could even open his mouth to tell anyone this and doubted his voice would work even if he could. He tried to open his eyes instead and groaned as pain ricocheted around his skull.

“Mister, just take it easy.” Something patted his shoulder. “T’s calling for help. You got a signal, T?”

Panic zipped through Aldric and he couldn’t get his mind to work the way he wanted it to. He opened his eyes and yelped, then cringed at the pain he’d caused himself by being loud.

“Dude, chill. I swear we aren’t gonna hurt you.”

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