Page 144 of A Quick Buck

Noah cut up his pancake and shoved a big bite in his mouth, listening. He had been hoping for some more interesting news, but at least the danger of being poisoned was over. Now he just had to worry about everything else, ha.

Great.

Suddenly losing his appetite, Noah finished eating the bite he’d taken and switched to drinking a glass of ice water.

“I’m guessing no word from Mr. Allan?” Crybaby asked.

Alistair glanced at Noah.

“Oh, right. Uh, no.” Noah pulled out his phone and opened it up to show them, flipping through the notifications. “Nothing. I can try to call him again and see? It just went to voicemail before.”

“There is no rush.” Alistair scratched his beard thoughtfully. “We must obviously consider that Patrick may have disposed of his phone to avoid being tracked.”

“He could have gotten a burner phone.”

“Oh?” Alistair smiled.

“Hey, that’s what they do in the movies!” Noah defended. “What about credit card history? You guys are watching that, right?”

“Yes, and there’s been nothing, unfortunately. Wherever your uncle is hiding, he is tucked away very well.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Noah said wistfully.

“It is simply the situation we have found ourselves in. For better or worse, we are going to find him. I promise you.”

“I hate how that sounds like a threat.”

“My apologies.” Alistair drank his coffee.

The rest of breakfast went without incident, and Noah was still undecided on how he should be feeling. He trusted that Alistair meant what he said about protecting him, but all Noah could focus on was trying to figure out why anyone would want to hurt him. While Patrick was apparently into some shady stuff, Noah had always been a mostly law-abiding citizen. Other than some recreational drug use and extremely irresponsible driving, he’d never done anything wrong.

Well, that he could remember, anyway.

He thought back to what Odie had told him, and he wondered if he could have done something while he was blackout drunk that would be terrible enough to make someone want to kill him.

The more he thought about it, the worse his confusion became.

Alistair was quick to comfort him, as if somehow sensing his distress, and he suggested they watch some movies and relax.

That honestly sounded awesome to Noah, and he demanded popcorn.

It was weird getting settled down to watch TV with a bunch of armed goons hanging around, but Noah figured it wasn’t any weirder than having his own personal escort for the last week. Besides, it was nice to hang out with Alistair like this. He liked snuggling up against his broad chest and breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne.

Here in his arms, Noah really did feel safe.

The first movie they watched was a comedy about mistaken identities and a wedding gone wrong. It was lowbrow and crude, and Noah laughed until he almost cried. Alistair was not as amused, though he chuckled here and there at a few of the more clever gags.

After that, Alistair chose a movie. It was in black and white, and Noah immediately balked.

“No way,” he groaned. “This is gonna be so boring!”

“We’re watching it,” Alistair insisted. “Trust me. It’s an excellent film.”

“Maybe from, like, a hundred years ago! Come on. Can we please watch something in freakin’ color?”

“Give it a chance. Trust me.”

“Ugh…”