Page 106 of Hush

“Yeah. This past weekend.” He stared out the rear passenger window.

The rest of the ride to Crystal City was long and silent. Tom watched DC, Maryland, and then Virginia streak by outside his windows. They took a new route, a loop north before heading south to Kris’s home. He fumbled the key card when Villegas asked for it, but took them to the right floor at least, once they were inside.

Etta Mae bounded across the apartment to greet him, tail wagging a mile a minute. She sniffed him, and then cocked her head at Villegas. She looked back at Tom, as if asking,Where’s my playmate? Where’s Mike?

Villegas, though, dropped to his knees and reached for her, smiling wide. “Hey girl. You’re beautiful. What’s her name?”

“Etta Mae.” Etta Mae, the little traitor, rolled right over for Villegas, stretching her short legs and begging for a belly rub. Villegas beamed as he petted her.

Tom saw his opportunity. He ducked into Kris’s screened-off bedroom area and snatched up Mike’s clothes, then dropped them into Mike’s duffel and tucked both his and Mike’s into Kris’s closet off the master bath. He pushed Mike’s things into Kris’s on the counter, hiding them in plain sight. Hopefully.

“What do you want for dinner?” Villegas poked his head into the open bathroom door. “I can order a pizza.”

“Sounds great.”

Awkward silence descended after they negotiated pizza toppings. Tom escaped to Kris’s patio, sitting outside and watching DC descend into dusk and then twilight. Villegas stayed indoors, flipping through files he’d brought from the courthouse as he sat in the kitchen, facing Tom on the patio, as if watching his every move.

Hey you. :) Hope you got some sleep.

Mike texted back almost immediately.[I did, actually. Not that I needed any. But I took a nap.]

Good. And I’m jealous. No naps for me today.

[What are you doing now?]

Avoiding the great Inspector Villegas. He’s in the kitchen. I’m on the patio. Waiting for pizza to show up.

[Pizza sounds yummy.]

Won’t be as good as what you BBQ’d this weekend. :)

[ :) ]

The pizza arrived, and they ate in silence at the kitchen bar top, trying not to stare at each other. Tom retreated to the patio with a full glass of wine and Etta Mae. She rested beneath his feet as the stars came out, one by one.

[I miss you.]

I miss you too. Villegas is not good company.

[Well, he shouldn’t be. Don’t want him replacing me!]

No danger of that. :)

[I miss Etta Mae too. Miss hearing her walking around. Miss her cold nose in my ribs.]

Tom smiled stupidly down at his phone. Etta Mae had hunted for Mike during dinner, sniffing the door and all the corners of Kris’s apartment, as if he’d magically turn up just for her.

It was only twenty-four hours, and yet, the minutes seemed to drag on and on. Had it been only last week when he’d worried that if he spent a moment away from Mike, his tether to his soul would snap and he’d freefall back into his closet? His newfound identity, his fledgling pride, the way he’d finally assembled the puzzle pieces of himself into place? Humpty Dumpty had been put back together again.

And, it seemed, was staying together. He didn’t feel the frantic need to run, barricade himself in his—or Kris’s—closet. Not tonight, at least. For the moment, if the big bomb dropped and his secret came out over the airwaves, the only thing he’d feel was relief. It would all be out in the open, and then he—and Mike—could get on with everything.

Right now, he just wanted Mike back, sitting beside him. If he were here, they’d sit on the patio together. Hold hands. Mike would make him laugh. He’d try to make Mike laugh. Etta Mae would shift between them, greedy for attention from them both. And later, he’d put the moves on Mike—the few, fumbling moves he had—and pull Mike into bed. Another night of lovemaking, of Mike gazing at him like he was the sun, and his body singing the ecstasy hymns.

She was looking for you earlier. She adores you.

[ :( Now I feel worse. She doesn’t think I abandoned her, does she?]

He couldn’t stop his smile, or his gentle laugh. Mike, for all his bluster about being just a meathead with a gun, was such a gentle soul. A puppy, when it came right down to it.She doesn’t. She’ll be super excited to see you again.