“Would not turn that down,” Alex groaned. He sat against the wall, and he had a trashcan next to him.
“I’ll see what I can find.” Rowland ducked out of the interrogation room.
“Hey,” Bryce said as he squeezed Jesse’s hand. “What’s your name?”
Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“I’m checking for head hoppers. Amuse me.”
Desperate to clear the vision out of his head, Jesse let his mind roam over his date with Bryce instead, and the kiss in the museum. If he could steal a kiss, then he might feel better. But his mouth tasted awful and Bryce was in rigid business mode.
“Well, I think the real proof I’m me is if I wind up dumping mouthwash all over you once Rowland gets me some,” Jesse said.
Bryce chuckled.
“You know you’ve got some dangerously loose brain wiring, right? Who the hell sees whatever was happening to me and says ‘this is a great time to get involved’?” Alex said. His breathing was off, and then he leaned over the trashcan and threw up.
Jesse’s stomach clenched, but no, he wasn’t going to vomit, too. He breathed through the urge and leaned against Bryce. Holding on to him helped steady the world and felt too deliciously right. “I was trying to help.”
“You did.” Bryce shot Alex a disapproving look.
Alex closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “Fine. Thank you. Next time don’t leave an artifact in a room with someone openly worshipping the damn thing and maybe we won’t wind up in Wonderland.”
“That wasn’t Wonderland,” Jesse said. “That was… another place.”
Alex cracked open one eye. “What the fuck do you think Wonderland is?”
“Give him a minute.” Bryce disentangled himself, stood, and offered his hand. “Let’s go outside and discuss this.”
Jesse eyed Bryce’s hand. He wanted to hug him and take the rest of the week off. The year, maybe. But he had a job to do, one that Bryce wanted to take away from him. “This means you need me on the case, right?”
Bryce’s eyebrows shot up in clear surprise, but he quickly schooled his features back to his typical closed-off expression. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
A new knot formed in Jesse’s head, and he wanted to throw up again. He was going to blame that on the smell of Alex’s vomit and not on the way his stomach twisted at the rejection. “I think I just proved I can handle this.”
“You proved you’re an idiot,” Alex said.
“Because you’re an infallible genius,” Jesse said. “Who grabbed the damn thing in the first place?”
“Don’t throw blame,” Bryce said.
“Don’t defend him when he’s being a little asshole,” Jesse returned.
Alex gave Jesse the middle finger.
Jesse waved a hand at him, since he was demonstrating his point. “See? Asshole. I risked mental hell for you, kid. The least you could do is not insult me.”
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Alex replied.
“Because you literally couldn’t.” Jesse turned to Bryce. “This is why you need me on the case. You need another adult on your side.”
“You don’t know what resources I have,” Bryce said. “And why are you so determined? You were pulled into who-knows-where. This case could ruin your sanity. Why open yourself to that kind of danger?”
“Because someone has to kick the abyss in the teeth,” Jesse said.
There was a long silence, and Jesse felt Bryce pull away. But then Bryce put a hand on his shoulder, and Jesse looked up into his face. His expression was unreadable. Admiration tinged with resignation? Jesse couldn’t be sure and he was too wiped to pick up clues.
“Let this go,” Bryce said gently. “Find another case. Let us handle this. It’s what we do.”
