My mouth curled bitterly into an admission of truth. “No, but I would’ve found it. Mrs. Fletcher still owes us five hundred for doing her roof. We could’ve hit her up for—”
“Mrs. Fletcher doesn’t have a pot to piss in,” said Chase. “Sweet old lady, but she’s broke and you know it.”
I shook my head, unable to argue. “Still, we could’ve put something together. Or maybe we could’ve gone to see him, or—”
“Going to see him is a bad idea,” Chase spat.
“Why?”
He finished his water and fired the glass across the small room. It hit the opposite wall and shattered, joining the rest of the debris in the center of our living room.
“Because the next time I see Killian I’m going to rip his fucking face off,” Chase spat.
Twenty-One
MADISON
“So yeah, this is why she doesn’t sleep alone,” said Julian. “Not anymore. Agreed?”
Noah and Chase nodded their heads quickly and definitively, after the stonemason’s little speech. He’d just got done going over the events of last night. Detailed everything from the overall eeriness of my nighttime visitor, to our failed foot-chase.
“And that’s where he — I mean it — disappeared?”
Chase was pointing directly into the forest. Julian had led us out here, to the edge of the field. Right at the spot where the intruder had vanished into the trees.
“I chased it a good hundred yards through there, until the path disappeared,” Julian acknowledged. “It was dark. I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t fit.”
My other two lovers peered curiously into the dense undergrowth. Even in the daylight, the forest was thick with shade and shadow.
“Alright then,” said Noah. “The three of us take turns crashing here.”
Julian nodded. “I’d stay every night if I could,” he said. “But I have… obligations.”
Chase’s expression broke into a white-toothed grin. “Obligations?” He laughed. “That’s a little mysterious, no?”
The stonemason appeared a bit uncomfortable. He scratched at the back of his neck for a moment, then sighed.
“Okay, I have a cat.”
All three of us blinked.
“You?” said Noah. “You have a cat?”
“Yeah,” Julian said, posturing up. “You have a problem with that?”
Noah put up both hands and chuckled. “No, no. Not at all. I just… I never figured you for a cat person.”
“What’s it name?” asked Chase. “I’ll bet it’s something cool and tough, like ‘Spike’ or ‘Brutus’. Or maybe—”
“It’s not my cat,” said Julian defensively. “Well, it wasn’t mine to begin with, but now…”
“Beast,” said Noah, chiming in. “Savage. Sparticu--”
“Conan!” Chase exclaimed. “Oh man, please tell me its name is Conan! Even if it isn’t, just lie to me about—”
“Leave him alone,” I jumped in finally. I laid a hand on each of their chests, pushing Chase and Noah back a half step. “So the man has a cat. Big fucking deal.”
“A cat person…” Noah left off, shaking his head. “Man, in a million years I never would’ve figured…”