Page 68 of The Devil You Know
Nelson shook his head. “Don’t care. I’ll probably be out again as soon as I lie down.”
Once the cop settled into his bed, Evan came over and propped his pillows against the headboard so he could sit next to Seth. “Figured I’d read while you watch TV,” he said, reassuring himself with a glance that Seth was alive and here.
“I like that plan,” Seth said with a tired smile. He yawned, and Evan wondered how far Seth would make it before he fell asleep. Half an hour into the movie, Seth had drifted off, sliding to one side and resting his head on Evan’s shoulder.
Evan closed his eyes, leaned his cheek against Seth’s hair, and said a silent thank-you to the universe for deliverance.
11
SETH
Early the next morning,Evan had barely parked the truck before the RV’s door slammed open, and a man Seth didn’t know ran out, plowing into Evan and nearly knocking him off his feet before wrapping him in a bear hug.
“Oh, my God, Evan! Are you okay? Are you hurt? The video cut out, and I didn’t get to see what happened.”
“Seth, this is my brother, Parker,” Evan managed in a strangled tone. “Parker, meet Seth. The only reason you aren’t flat on your ass with a knife at your throat for jumping me is that he’s feeling a little under the weather.”
Parker let go and stepped back, casting a nervous glance at Seth, who had moved forward protectively with a dangerous scowl. “Um, hi. I’m Evan’s little brother. Glad you’re both back safe.”
Evan clapped a hand on Parker’s shoulder. “The cameras gave us an important heads up, but they’re fragile in a fight. Something to work on for next time.”
Evan and Seth followed Parker back into the RV. Everything was right again—the photos of him and Evan, the dish towels in the kitchen, the gun in the drawer, and—he was sure if he went to check—the lube in the nightstand. All the things he had missed in the hallucination that Osborn’s magic used to pacify him while his life drained away.
Mom, Dad, Jesse—they weren’t real. So why do I miss them so much?
“Hey, you okay?” Evan asked, and Seth realized he had zoned out.
He nodded, fighting back tears. “Yeah. Just a little spacey from everything. I’ll be fine.”
The glint in Evan’s eyes told Seth that his boyfriend read the lie for what it was.
Evan looked at the mess of spare parts strewn across the table. “What’s that?”
Parker grinned. “Already working on a way to make the cameras more durable and fasten them better. And that—” he pointed to a small heap, “is going to be a drone you can send in before risking your neck.” He shrugged. “I had to do something after I lost the video feed because I was climbing the walls.”
Evan turned to Seth. “Parker is a whiz-kid engineer. He rigged up battle cams for us so he could watch and relay info with comm links. They got broken, but it was a good first try.” Parker glowed at his big brother’s approval.
Engineer. Jesse was going to be an engineer.Another wave of grief hit Seth.
“Parker wants to be our gadget guy,” Evan continued. He looked happy, not just relieved, and after his own “reunion” with Jesse, Seth understood. “He can come up with high-tech stuff that keeps us from getting killed. Around his classes and job, of course,” Evan added.
“About that—” Parker went into the kitchen and filled coffee cups for Seth and Evan, then refilled his own. “I don’t want to go back to Columbus. I want to stay in Cleveland. Now that I know there arethingsout there in the dark, I feel safer with your friends around.”
“Thanks for sparing me an awkward conversation where I was going to try to convince you to do that,” Evan chuckled.
“And I’m not going back to Oklahoma to visit,” Parker added, with a defiant and resolute expression. “I had a lot of time to think while you were gone. Nothing’s changed with Dad. Once you left, he found things to pick at me about. I’m sorry he’s sick, but he’s got Mom, Jim, good insurance, and money to hire help if they need it. I’ll just be a piñata if I go home, and so would you. We don’t owe him that.”
Evan looked proud. “We can do a video call if we need to—assuming he’d even accept the invitation. Let’s worry about that later.”
Watching Evan and Parker together made the ache worse in Seth’s chest. As glad as he was that Evan and his brother had reforged their bond, Jesse was lost to him forever.
Evan’s phone rang. “Hey, Joe. We’re safely back home. Everything okay? I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Just checking in. Jenna gave me her side of things, but I like to hear it from the source,” Joe rumbled.
“I’m fine, Seth is doing better, and Parker has some second-generation gadget ideas you’ll want to see,” Evan replied. “You and Johnny okay? I was so busy with Seth and Nelson I forgot to ask.”
Seth was content to let Evan do the talking. He hadn’t met Joe or Johnny before the battle, although he knew the names. Evan had called in the cavalry, and Seth felt proud of how far he’d come in barely a year of hunting.
