“Report that bastard, for one,” Damon growled, taping off one finger smoothly and ripping the end of the tape cleanly off before starting the next one. “But I say we talk to Chris. There’s still a lot of questions I want answered.”
“Like what he needed the money for so badly,” Rian said. “And why he felt like he couldn’t turn to anyone here, if he needed help. If we’re falling short here, if we’re failing in some way that the boys don’t feel safe coming to us, I...we need to know that, don’t we? All of us. Including Walden.”
“Fuck yes.” Emphatic, firm, and Rian flushed with warmth; it just...he needed to know Damon was on his side in this. “But finding out why might answer that. If he’s got some kind of problem, like drugs or drinking...”
“Chris, though? And since his preliminary screens came back clean...”
“...yeah. I don’t know.” Damon sighed, shaking his head as he finished with Rian’s last finger, then covered his hand with Damon’s own, capturing his palm and fingers between the warmth of Damon’s hands and looking at him with a frank, thoughtful gaze. “Kids catastrophize things. Could be something as easy as needing a little spending money to hang out with his friends. He never does seem to spend as much as the others. And somehow needing a little money for the movies got out of control, and he didn’t know how to get out.”
“Only one way to find out. And this time, now that we know what’s going on, we might be able to get him to actually answer us.” Rian curled his fingers, squeezing Damon’s hand, then withdrew. “But first...”
“First...? Because I can think of a few things we need to do after.”
Rian paused. “Ah...? Like...like what...?”
“Like finish that conversation we were having in the car.” Damon smirked, arrogant and so breathtakingly sensual that Rian nearly choked. “I’m not letting you get away from me that easy, Ri.”
“O-oh.” Rian swallowed. “I...yes. That. But I do still need to, um...to do something else, and can you not get me so terribly tongue-tied beforehand?”
“Sure.” Damon grinned unrepentantly. “So what you gonna do?”
“This.”
While Damon watched him with an inquisitive quirk of his brow, Rian fished into his pocket until he came up with his phone. His own smile felt a little too vengeful as he tapped in the number for the local police department, then lifted the phone to his ear and waited for the line to pick up.
And the moment he heard that polite greeting, his smile widened to something that felt downright carnivorous, running the edges of his tongue over his teeth as he said, “Yes, Omen PD? I’d like to report a local business in violation of Massachusetts child labor laws.”
Chapter Nineteen
Damon had to admit...
Rian was damned sexy when he was pissed at someone other than him.
But they were quiet, as they headed to the infirmary.
Hand in hand.
Silent and moving in tandem, as if somehow they’d fallen out of discord with each other, their cacophony blending together into a quiet and unspoken harmony that made such things seem simple and easy and absolutely natural.
And it was hard to make himself let go, as they stopped outside of the infirmary door. With everyone either in their rooms or in the cafeteria, the hallways almost carried a cathedral quiet with them, the light of evening purple as it fell across the floorboards in grid patterns. They reached the infirmary just as Nurse Hadley was stepping out and pulling the door quietly closed behind her, her shoulder bag slung over her arm.
As they stopped, she gave them an oddly keen look, frowning. “He’s very tired,” she said without preamble. “And Nurse Flanaghan just took over shift. Can’t it wait until morning?”
Damon shook his head. “I don’t think it can. We just got back from Hank’s Roadhouse.”
She scoffed, her upper lip curling. “That swill barn. What were you doing out there? You don’t smell like a dead raccoon.”
“No, but that’s where Chris has been earning his bruises,” Rian said, a melancholy edge to his voice. “He’s been working illegally as a bouncer. Sneaking off campus, out all night, missing sleep to keep up with his homework.”
“And it’s better if we find out why sooner than later,” Damon added.
Nurse Hadley’s eyes widened, before her jaw set in hard, unforgiving lines. “That bastard. It’s that Gordon Drew fellow, isn’t it? I’ve a mind to—”
With a tired smile, Rian held up his hand, wiggling fingers wrapped in bandage tape. “I already did.”
The nurse let out an exasperated sigh, but her voice softened as she glanced back at the closed door. “Be gentle with him. But do what you need to do.”
“We’ll get it handled, ma’am,” Damon promised. “And we won’t let this happen to him anymore.”
She locked eyes with him as if holding him to that, then nodded, hefting her bag. “Goodnight, gentlemen.”
She turned to walk briskly away down the hall. Rian looked after her, then called hesitantly, “Goodnight...?”
“Hey.” Damon brushed his fingers to Rian’s wrist. “C’mon.”
He pushed the infirmary door open quietly, peering in; off to one side, at the desk, Nurse Flanaghan looked up, eyeing Damon before offering a clipped nod and looking back down at the stack of medical records on his desk, pen poised in his hand. Damon shifted his gaze to the bed opposite the door, where Chris slouched against the pillows, looking at his phone with his face rather drawn and tired, pale in the light of the small clip lamp on his headboard, an air of morose despondency hanging over him.
That despondency didn’t dissipate as he looked up and locked eyes with Damon and Rian; he blanched, before forcing an entirely unconvincing smile. “Hey...you guys come see me more than my friends.”
“Got more reasons to worry than your friends,” Damon said, stepping inside and holding the door for Rian before nudging it closed. “How’re you feeling?”
Chris shrugged listlessly. “Bored, I guess. Like, if you guys want me to sleep, I could do that in my room. I’m fine.”
Rian nodded toward the IV in Chris’s arm. “That says you’re not.”
“Just need a little water.” Chris smiled but lowered his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna try to bust out of the big house.”
“That’s good,” Damon said. “Considering you’ve been doing that a little too much this semester.”