Page 82 of Missing Piece
Chapter Thirty-One - Adam
Adam tried to eat the food Matteo left outside the door, but something had been off all day, leaving his stomach in knots. At first, he brushed off the feeling. So what if Vincent just wanted to lay in bed next to him for hours, his head resting on Adam’s chest in silence as he listened to his heartbeat? That was kind of romantic, right? Just peacefully enjoying each other’s presence. At least that was how he convinced himself to stop being so suspicious of it. After all, he was hardly the go-to source for a healthy relationship.
But there was something about the way Vincent looked at him that continued to nag at him. There was a hint of sadness, or maybe even regret? It lingered over him, even when he smiled.
The more Adam paced back and forth in Vincent’s bedroom, anxiety churning in his gut, the less convinced he became that everything would be alright. Vincent had been gone for over two hours now after saying he had to “handle something” at the club.
He chewed his lower lip as he glanced at the clock again, watching the minute hand tick closer to midnight. Unease slithered beneath Adam’s skin. He wanted to go ask Matteowhat was really going on, but he had locked himself in the basement to “meditate”—which Adam assumed was a euphemism for fighting his bloodlust, and Vincent had left Tariq to guard the door just in case “he finally snapped”.
What if Richard found him?The thought made him stop mid-stride. Things had been eerily quiet since their first encounter with him. From what Adam understood, Richard was still out there with an unknown number of followers, possibly still picking off people who lived out in the country, and waiting for another shot at Vincent for some ancient perceived slight.
After Vincent told him about their history, they both had avoided bringing it up. He only ever said it was “being handled”, then insisted they go back to watching a movie or taking each other’s clothes off.
Shit.What if he found Richard?That would make more sense. But that also meant Vincent could be walking into a trap by himself. If Richard managed to get ahold of his mind again, he could make Vincent join his insane conquest, or worse, just tell Vincent to walk out into the sun just for the hell of it.
He was already moving down the stairs before his mind caught up with him, his panicked heartbeat echoing in his ears.What are you going to do about it? You’re human. You couldn’t stop Richard before, how are you going to stop him now?
Adam decided he didn’t give a damn if he was human and couldn’t match Richard’s strength. Living with the guilt of not trying, not fighting, was worse than dying.
Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he reached the foyer and began lacing up his shoes, only to see Tariq approaching from the den. He was wearing a huge smilethat didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Hey, Adam. Where are you going?” he asked cheerfully.
Adam hesitated, his heart pounding in his chest.Slow down,he told himself.You need a plan. Figure out where Vincent is, then find a way to get there.But there was no way Tariq would tell him. Matteo, maybe?
“Just getting something to drink,” Adam said as he moved past Tariq. “Matteo left me a note that Vincent made the food, which makes sense because it was dry as fuck. He’s a terrible cook.”
Tariq chuckled as he followed Adam into the kitchen. Dammit. He eyed the keys and cell phone on the table as he went over to the fridge. If he could get those keys, that would handle the transportation, but the bigger issue was distracting the bubbly man long enough for him to get to the basement, convince Matteo to tell him where Vincent was, and then take off before being noticed. He was sneaky, but he doubted he could come up with something convincing or elaborate enough to allow himself the time he needed to pull that off.
Think man, think. You’ve pulled off some insane shit while high. What would fucked up Adam do?Something dangerous and stupid, of course.
He opened the fridge, leaning inward to appear as though he were indecisive about what he wanted to choose, but mostly he wanted to peek at Tariq through the gap between the door. Tariq was tapping his passcode into his phone, but from where Adam was, he couldn’t make it out.
“When you’re done babysitting me, what are your plans for the rest of the night?” Adam asked as he began pushing things around in the fridge, quickly averting his gaze as Tariqlooked up from his phone.
“Hah, well, I’m not babysitting you, per se, I’m babysitting Matteo. Though given his likelihood of biting, I guess it would be dog-sitting? Puppy sitting? Bitey-animal sitting?” Tariq scratched his beard as he looked for the right word. “Whatever, after this I was going to just go home and have a night in since the club is closed tonight.”
Adam grabbed a bottle of soda from one of the shelves and shut the fridge. “That sounds boring,” he said as he untwisted the cap slowly, watching Tariq’s face for any reaction.
“You’d think that, but I’ve had a lot of years to run around and have fun, sometimes it’s nice to just sit indoors and wait for gossip while crocheting.”
Interesting.“I like gossip, got anything good?” he asked, moving over to the island and leaning on it. He nibbled the inside of his lip as the phantom tingle of an itch began where his right foot should have been.
When Tariq grinned at him, it seemed genuine, a little mischievous sparkle in his dark eyes like he had been dying to tell someone a sordid secret. “I’m waiting for an update on my boss’s date,” he said, glancing down at his phone. “You remember Marcus, yeah? Well, he’s on his first date in like, 18 years and there is a betting pool going on how the night is going to end.”
“Why?”
Tariq stroked his beard. “What’s the best way to phrase this? He’s like one of those dogs that has a history of biting people but goes through doggy rehab or whatever, but you’re kind of always waiting for it to bite someone again? That’s Marcus. He’s been behaving for a long time, but some of the others have a ‘can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ attitudeabout him.”
“I can’t imagine he’d be happy with everyone referring to him as a dog,” Adam said before taking a sip of soda, stealing another glance at the keys on the table when Tariq scrolled through his phone.
Tariq shrugged, still smiling as he typed into his phone. “He’d groan about it, but he’s really chill. Ah! Okay, so the movie let out over an hour ago, and Petrov texted that they left the diner thirty minutes ago, so now it’s just a waiting game to hear from Ophelia. I have a hundred dollars on Marcus being a gentleman and walking Caleb home.”
Tariq looked up from his phone, his eyes wide and a grimace forming on his face slowly, as though he was realizing his own fuckup in that moment. “Wait, I don’t think I was supposed to mention that. Shit.”
“It’s fine. I’m just…uh, surprised that he’s still working there,” Adam said before taking another swig.
“Yeah, I would have quit if I were him, but the kid is tougher than he looks, and Marcus is super into him. It’s kinda’ cute if you ignore the massive age gap,” Tariq gave a nonchalant shrug, like he was trying to reassure Adam with his demeanor.
