Page 12 of Chasing After You

Hudson grinned, his smile shark-like. “Oh, yeah.” He looked at me, eyes glinting with dark amusement. “We kill people.”

I choked, “E-excuse me?”

“Yep, quite a lot of people. Here. Frequently. You’ll be dead too if you ever snitch,” Hudson replied calmly.

“O-Oliver?” I asked. “That’s just a joke, right…?”

Oliver answered, “No…”The fuck? No? Was I having a stroke?“But they won’t hurt you, I promise. Just don’t tell anyone about it. And if it makes it better, it’s for money. They’re not like serial killers.”

My eye twitched. “I… I don’t know if that makes it better or not. Why are you being so nonchalant about this?”

“Because you’re my friend.”

Hayes called out from the hallway, “And you’ll remain his friend if you don’t make us kill you.”

“It’ll be okay, I promise,” Oliver soothed, glaring in the direction Hayes had gone. “But we should probably go to your place and get a bag packed, okay?”

“Okay…”

What in the actual fuck had I just gotten myself into?

Oliver gave my hand a reassuring squeeze like we weren’t all just brushing past the fact that his terrifyingly beautifulboyfriends were professional murderers. For money. Like it was a regular, everyday job. Like some people walk dogs, and they… just didn’t let people walk anymore.

“Josh?” Oliver said softly. “Breathe.”

I inhaled through my nose. Exhaled through my mouth. Tried not to vomit in the immaculate living room that smelled faintly of cedar and the stench of my confused fear.

Hayes reappeared, tossing a duffel bag at me. “This’ll hold you over until we get your stuff.”

“How do you already have a bag?” I croaked, unzipping the bag to find clothes, a few travel-size toiletries, some cash, and a phone charger.

“Everyone gets a go bag in this house. You never know.” He shrugged, as if discussing the weather. “But Oliver’s right. We should get your things. Any chance your ex-brother might be watching the place?”

“I-I don’t think so. I haven’t seen anything weird near my building. But he’s… clever. When we were kids, I always felt like he was smarter than me, even though he was four years younger. I just wish I knew exactly how long he’s been doing all this.” I buried my face in my hands.

“Okay, it’s okay,” Oliver comforted, gently prying my hands away. “We’ll go get your things. Hayes and Hudson will check things out, and I’ll help you pack. Then we can get drunk!”

“No” and “Absolutely not” were said in unison.

Oliver frowned at his boyfriends. “You don’t usually have an issue with me drinking.”

Hayes replied, the corner of his mouth tipped upward, “That’s because you’re a slutty drunk.”

Oliver’s face flushed, and he dropped the topic, opting to instead lead us out to the car.

The ride to my apartment was mostly quiet, except for the occasional low conversation between the twins that I couldn’tdecipher, like they were speaking in some kind of assassin dialect of English. Oliver kept a hand on my knee the whole way, grounding me.

When we arrived, Hayes didn’t even wait for me to unlock the door. He pulled a thin tool from somewhere inside his jacket—why did he have that?—and popped the lock like it was a regular, totally normal thing he did.

We filed in, and I tried not to seem anxious about people seeing my place for the first time.

It was a decent apartment. Small, but clean. I’d done my best to make it feel like a home. There were plants I hadn’t killed, soft blankets, some books, and weight-lifting equipment.

Hayes gave a nod of approval. “Better than I expected.”

Hudson was already checking the windows, the fire escape, and the closet. “We’ll sweep for bugs before you leave.”

“Bugs? I’ve never seen any.”Did they really think I’d have cockroaches and shit frolicking around in here?