Page 48 of Dark Obsession

As he passed back through the dining room, Demmy said, “For better or worse.”

“We’re stuck with each other.”

He paused at the doorway, and Cody was glad to see his expression had softened slightly when he said, “For good.”

“I love you.”

“I know.” Demmy left the doorway.

“What? Oh my God, you just Han Solo-ed me!” Cody called after him, laughing.

“We’re not done talking about this,” Demmy called back. “Get your ass in gear, Bower. We’ve got raccoons to wrangle.”

They decided Cody would drive, and when Demetrius got in the passenger seat, he was surprised to find a spray bottle of garlic water in the cup holder. When Cody got in with his coffee in a travel mug, he stopped short at finding his usual spot taken by the sprayer.

“Oh, right.” He plucked the bottle free and got back out to return it to the tackle box.

“That bar really got to you last night, didn’t it?” Demetrius said.

“Yeah, it did.”

It was a short drive to the client, so they didn’t have time to talk any further about Cody’s nighttime excursion or possible reasons Zenona might have for visiting the bar. Demetrius didn’t know what he would actually say to any of it anyway, so he was somewhat grateful to have the reprieve. But the unfinished conversation hung between them.

The job helped a bit. Their client lived in a long, rectangular brick ranch in the middle of about five acres of property. Demetrius said it looked like some giant child had dropped a Lego and left it, and Cody laughed. Because Cody wore his sunglasses, however, Demetrius couldn’t tell if the laugh reached his eyes.

The raccoons had set up house in a large shed behind a barn. When the client, Angus DeWalt, had called, he’d told Demetrius he’d gone to clean it out to make a she-shed for his wife and discovered the masked intruders. Now, he and Cody located the entry point—a vent at the bottom of the rear wall that had been pulled open—and blocked it with rags before setting up the traps inside. Since Trevor had found his way to their house the year before, they’d become very familiar with the right bait to use for raccoons. Shallow bowls of grapes and blueberries were arranged inside each.

“Wanna grab lunch?” Cody asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Demetrius checked the time, surprised to find it was just after eleven. “Yeah. Margie’s?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Demetrius let Angus know they’d return after lunch to check the traps then got into the truck. Cody had the AC cranked to arctic, and the cold against his overheated and sweaty skin sent a full-body shiver through him. The musky, sweaty scent of Cody filled the cab, and Demetrius bit his lower lip to keep from moaning aloud. Even through his anger, Cody still turned him on, dammit.

Their usual booth near the back was open, and Margie smiled as she brought them iced teas. “Hi boys. Wow, you two look like you’ve been left out in the sun too long.”

“We’re in the middle of a raccoon eviction,” Cody said, then gulped half of his tea and lifted the glass. “Going to need a lot of refills.”

“I’ll keep a special eye on your glass, Cody.”

Cody’s chest lifted as he beamed at Demetrius. “I get a special eye from Margie.”

“She knows you need to be watched.”

Demetrius heard the sharpness in his tone. Silence shrouded the booth, engulfing Margie as well. She looked between them, her smile slipping before she got it back into place.

“Know what you want?”

They both ordered burgers, and when Margie left, Cody stared at his cup, one hand slowly spinning it in the puddle of condensation.

“I’m sorry,” Demetrius said. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s all right.” Cody’s lips twitched into a smile, but Demetrius could see the hurt underneath.

They ate in silence. Cody broke it once to ask, “How’s your burger?”

“Good. Yours?”