“Did he say anything?”
Peter shook his head. “We’ve been trying to track him down, but he’s been a ghost since everything happened.”
“Austin was in our home not so long ago,” Trevor said.
Tracy’s gaze on him was sharp.
“What?” Peter sounded outraged and more like his old self. “What did he say?”
“Nothing helpful,” Connor said.
“Could you call him to come to meet you again?” Tracy asked. “He’s involved in what happened. We’ve tried to track him down, but he vanished from school weeks ago.”
“I can message him. Though I don’t know if he’ll meet me.” With everything coming to light publicly, he might go into hiding. Connor would try, at least.
“Let me get my folder. Just a moment.” Tracy stood up and strode from the room in quick steps.
“Mom has been investigating everything from the start. As soon as they started blaming her for your sentencing, she started looking into it,” Peter explained. “And then she realised I hadn’t talked about it…I’m sorry, Connor. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble. I was scared, and they—”
“I don’t blame you at all,” Connor said.
“But you were expelled. And everyone hates you. And you ended up with a criminal record, too.”
“Honestly, Peter. You look way worse off than me.”
Peter studied Connor at length. “Yeah. You look good. I’ve been wracked with guilt for months, and you’ve been off sunbathing.” His chuckle was self-deprecating. “Seems about right. You and Austin still dating?”
“Do I look insane?”
“Single, then?”
Connor was aware of Trevor sitting next to him. But he was even more conscious of Peter meeting his eyes, and his gaze brightened in interest, not fear. “No,” Connor answered.
“Shame,” Peter said.
“Want me to introduce you to someone?”
Peter looked at him, a glint in his hazel eyes. “Do they talk mean like you do?”
“No. They’re nice.”
“Nah. But if you come across a hot guy that’s mean, send him my way.”
Trevor, to his credit, stared stoically at the doorway Tracy went out of as if he hadn’t heard Peter.
“Is the guy you’re dating mean?” Peter asked.
“No.”
“What’s he like?”
“Sweet.”
“Since when do you go for sweet?” Peter asked, disapproval in his voice.
Connor had never been drawn tosweetin the past. He was too harsh for a sweet partner. But Adonis was made of stronger stuff than he was. Connor would break sooner than he did, and he preferred it that way. There was less to fear.
Tracy entered the room before Connor could answer. She gave Trevor a thick folder. “This is everything I copied while you were outside. There’s more on this.” She placed a thumb drive on the table. “And if you text me your email address—I have my number on the front, there—I will send you everything new I come across.”
