Page 74 of Tested

“What’d it say?” Trajan sounds like he’d like all of this to go away.

Smith’s smile holds as much sympathy as his half-stoned professional demeanor will allow. “Back off or you’re next.”

“Awesome.” David rubs the towel across his chest. “Was that offer a three-fer? Or are they planning to hit us one at a time?”

“David…” I go to him, but Trajan gets there before me. He puts an arm around the young were’s shoulders. I ease off, debating what to say next. “I think we need back-up.”

“What do you mean?” Smith asks. Trajan’s expression closes down and he goes vampire still.

I give him what I hope is an apologetic smile. “We could ask the Elites to help us keep an eye on things here.”

“No.” Trajan’s flat refusal doesn’t surprise me. David turns so he’s nestling his face against Trajan’s chest, leaving me on my own.

“Look, I know you’re not a fan, but—”

“No, I don’t want them lurking around. We can take care of ourselves.”

Pick your battles, MacPherson. “Okay, scratch that idea. We just need to figure out who else knew Janet Edmonds had more information for us.”

“She had a boyfriend or husband or something.” David’s voice is muffled.

“That’s where I’m headed next.” Smith flicks a finger at me. “Let’s catch up later.”

“Sure. I’ll call you when I’m on the road.” I need to do some damage control first.

Smith takes off the way he came in and I focus my attention on Trajan. “I need to tell you something, but this isn’t the time or the place.”

If I thought his expression was closed down before, now it’s icy, more of a mask than an actual expression. “This is regarding…”

“It’s not as bad as you think.” I grab the back of my neck where the muscles are twanging. “I know I’m asking a lot, but trust me, Trajan. I’ll explain everything when there aren’t cops crawling all over the place and a dead body out front.”

My heart stops and restarts more than once before he finally gives me an answer.

“I hate secrets, Connor. This is the last one.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. I desperately want to close the distance between us and give both him and David a hug, but I doubt that gesture would be welcome. Instead I follow Smith around the side of the house, wondering if there’s any way I’ll be able to patch things up between the three of us.