Page 87 of For All It's Worth
Chapter Thirty Five
Max
CharlieandIhadn’tbeen asleep long when I heard the sound of the door opening and Lucifer yowling.
“Shh, Lucifer, here puss.” An unknown voice spoke.
I went to shake Charlie only to see that he was raised up trying to listen.
“Who is it?” I whispered.
“No idea,” Charlie said in a low voice, more a rumble than actual words.
Whoever it was wandered into the kitchen and ran the faucet, opening cabinets before finding what they were looking for.
“Could it be Andy or Will back?” I asked quietly.
“No, they aren’t back for another couple of days.”
“Unless they came back early?”
“We’d recognize their voices.” Charlie pointed out. Then he moved to the nightstand and picked up his phone. “Fuck, it’s dead. I’m going to go look. Stay here.” He rose from the bed, throwing on a t-shirt to cover his bare chest. Both of us had slept just in our underwear.
“What? No! I’m coming with you.” I quickly got out of bed picking up my discarded shirt as Charlie waited for me at the door.
We crept along the hall towards the living space and quietly towards the kitchen where there was the sound of someone singing to themselves.
Red hair glinted in the low lights under the cabinets as Pete turned, startled, and dropped the glass he was holding.
“Holy fuck!” he screamed.
The glass shattering had Lucifer darting under the sofa and a whole litany of curses coming from Pete.
“What the hell? Why are you here?” Charlie demanded, frowning at Pete as the other man stood surrounded by glass.
Pete swayed slightly and I noticed that his blue-gray eyes were glassy. “Didn’t Andy call?”
“Phone’s dead,” Charlie muttered as he squatted and started picking up the glass.
I stooped to help, but Charlie stopped me. “Go check on Lucifer, don’t let him come through until this is cleaned up.”
Nodding, I searched until I found the poor animal looking balefully at me from where he had huddled.
“It’s okay baby, come here.” I got on my hands and knees to try and tempt him out with pats. The furry beast was a sucker for some loving and soon enough I’d tempted him into my arms.
Lucifer was calm enough by the time Charlie and Pete exited the kitchen that he stayed in my arms, not picking up on the tension between the two as Charlie stalked by.
“I’ll be back in a second,” he said tersely. I didn’t take offense, knowing I wasn’t the cause of Charlie’s mood.
Pete slumped into a recliner close to the sofa and I could see a small smirk on his pretty face. His features were delicate in an angular face, with sharp cheekbones. I wondered how he had fared in the military looking like he did, almost delicate. Pete had served with Henry for years, but I didn’t know what role he’d played in their squad.
He yawned and stretched, his sweater raising and showing a pale, firm abdomen. He was watching me as much as I was watching him. It was distinctly uncomfortable since I didn’t know what to say. We’d never actually met before, and here Pete was crashing Andy’s place while Andy was out of town.
A stale smell of alcohol surrounded Pete and his clothes were creased like he’d fallen asleep in them. At the apartment door was a beaten-up backpack that probably contained Pete’s other clothes. He was clearly here to stay.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, and if Lucifer hadn’t been comfortable, I would have retreated to the bedroom to hide.
Charlie returned, his expression carefully blank. “Andy says that he’s sorry he didn’t tell you that he couldn’t reach me. My phone had died. He also says to take his and Will’s room, the sheets are fresh.” He looked at me. “Could I speak to you for a minute?”
