Page 36 of Hallowed & Haunted

Jonas whistles. “Good for you guys!”

“Were you okay during the night?” Emma asks. “Henrik admitted later that the house is in worse shape than he told you.”

“The fucker will have to give his best during practice until the New Year, or I swear I’ll kill him personally,” Sander growls.

“Yeah, but we stayed the whole night,” Niillas adds. “It was fucking cold, and Sander broke through some rotten floorboards when we went upstairs to investigate a little, so we spent the night by the fire.”

“Keeping each other warm, I hope,” Jonas says teasingly. “But seriously, Henrik is such an ass.”

“We acquired a ghost dog, too,” Sander says, relieved that their story seems to satisfy Jonas and Emma.

“What?”

“A Finnish spitz,” Niillas explains. “A stray would be my best guess. No collar or tag, but we’ll have him checked to see if he might be micro-chipped.”

They share a look, both knowing that isn’t the case.

“He’s such a cutie. We’re calling him Karo.”

At the mention of his name, Karo yawns and wags his tail.

“Karo? Oh my god, you’re so old-school, Sander.”

Jonas laughs.

“Still, this dare was incredibly stupid. I’m just glad that nothing happened to you.”

Sander has a feeling that Emma is going to havewordswith Henrik. God knows, the fucker deserves her wrath.

“Agreed,” Sander says, maybe a little more cheerfully than he actually feels. “But Niillas looked out for me, and we won the bet. So Henrik owes the defense his full dedication.”

“I’ll make sure he gives it,” Emma says darkly, and Jonas laughs harder.

“Can’t wait to see his face when you collect. Drive safe, okay?”

“Will do.”

Sander ends the call and slumps in his seat. He covers Niillas’ hand with his.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“For coming with me. For having my back. For helping me deal with the aftermath of this whole shitshow.”

Niillas smiles and kisses his hand again, the gesture making crazy butterflies dance in Sander’s stomach.

“Always.”

They buy enoughkanelbollerandsmørbrødfor six people in the little breakfast café in Strandgata, and Karo barks excitedly as they return, his little black nose pressed against the window.The smell of cinnamon buns and fresh bread fills the car, and their new dog is already begging for treats.

“Don’t even think about feeding him the salmon sandwich,” Niillas says, a sly gleam in his eye.

He’s so goddamn sexy. Sander can barely believe his luck. He feeds Karo some crumbs on their way to his apartment anyway, but keeps his hands off Niillas’ sandwiches. He supposes Niillas’ bear has a taste for salmon, and though the thought should be disturbing, it feels endearing instead.

When Niillas parks in front of the townhouse—a blue wood house a tad too nice for a student—Sander feels his self-consciousness creeping back in. Karo trots happily at their heels as they climb the stairs, and Sander fumbles with his keys for a moment before getting the door open.

“Come to the kitchen. I’ll make some coffee.”