Page 47 of Psycho
Lucas’s brows went up, a half smile forming. “Ofyou? No. Afraid for everybody else, yes. I can’t let you burn the world down just for me.”
August studied Lucas’s face, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes. “You say that like you have a choice.”
“Fine,” Lucas said around a sigh, reaching for the soap. “But that doesn’t mean we’re getting married. We’re not in a relationship. Not yet. We haven’t even known each other a week.”
August frowned at Lucas. “What does that have to do with anything?” he pouted. Then asked, “Then what are we?”
Lucas pressed the soapy cloth to August’s chest, taking his time to scrub him thoroughly. “Roommates at whatever asylum we both end up in if things go sideways with Kohn.”
August’s pulse returned to normal when he realized Lucas wasn’t running away, that he was just teasing him. “We can buy matching straitjackets.”
Lucas slid the washcloth lower with a grin, cleaning August’s balls like he planned on eating off them later. “Do they make couture straitjackets?” Lucas asked.
August leaned down and kissed him, pressing himself into Lucas’s hand. “Of course. Only the best for the Mulvaneys.”
Cricket smiled when Lucas and August entered the coffee shop, smirking when she saw their fingers threaded together. This morning, her hair was acid green and she wore purple lipstick. She waved hello and immediately started to make their usual orders as they took a table near the door. The place was completely empty. Still, Lucas couldn’t help but note how August took the seat facing the door. It was such a cop thing to do. Ironic considering August was anything but.
Once their order was complete, August snagged it from the counter, dropping too much money into Cricket’s tip jar. He placed Lucas’s coffee and muffin on the table as he returned to his seat, tangling their legs together. They didn’t talk much, but it was a comfortable silence filled with glances that made Lucas blush like a fucking school girl thinking about what they’d done just hours before.
Lucas slowly dissected his chocolate chip muffin, tearing it into tiny pieces before popping them into his mouth. August had chosen a cheddar jalapeño scone, which he was eating with a delicacy Lucas found amusing, like he was concerned about getting crumbs on his jeans and t-shirt.
As they ate, Cricket watched them carefully, her gaze darting from them to something behind the counter, to the door, and back again. It wasn’t that she was behaving any weirder than usual, but something in her behavior was making Lucas uneasy, which in turn was making August scan the restaurant for whatever perceived threat might be lurking.
When August’s phone rang, he turned it over to view the screen, immediately picking it up when he saw who was calling. He placed the phone between them and hit the speaker button. “Morning, Calliope.”
August putting it on speakerphone seemed like a weirdly intimate gesture. Lucas rolled his eyes at the ridiculous thought, earning a confused look from August. Lucas waved a hand to let him know to ignore him.
“How’s the arm?” Calliope asked in lieu of a greeting.
August’s mouth formed a hard line. “Who told?”
Calliope chuckled. “Who do you think? Adam texted me before you two had even left the warehouse. You let that bitch get a hold of a scalpel? That’s not like you.”
“Thank you. That’s what I said,” Lucas interjected, giving August a superior look.
There was a long pause, and then, “Oh, my God. Are you him? Are you Lucas?TheLucas?” Calliope asked with the same reverence and awe she might give a celebrity.
August smirked at him, taking a sip of his coffee.
Lucas leaned closer to the phone. “Um, yeah. Hi.”
“Hi.Hi,” she said again. “I’ve heard so much about you. Is it true you’re psychic? I totally believe in all of that. Astrology. Tarot. Ghosts. My mother knew when people were going to die before they did. She said she used to look at their faces and instead of their normal face, she’d see a skull instead. It started when she was a kid, in church no less—”
“Calliope,” August interjected, “was there a reason you called?”
Lucas liked her instantly. Unlike August’s cocky brother, Adam, Calliope seemed more like Noah, more…human. Friendly. Excited to know him. It was an odd feeling after being surrounded by hundreds of people—from doctors to co-workers—who thought he was crazy.
“Can you get to your father’s house? I want to walk you through what I found, but I think you need to see it on the big screen.”
August flicked his gaze to Lucas, who shrugged. “I can be there in an hour or so.”
“Wecan be there in an hour or so,” Lucas corrected, giving August a hard look so he knew he wasn’t going to debate this with him.
August studied him for a long moment. “Wewill be there shortly.”
Calliope sounded giddy as she said, “He’s going to meet the family? Already? You work faster than Adam.”
August sighed. “Calliope…”
