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Jugs sat heavily on the stool. “You lost it?”
“Yeah, the judge suspended our license.” Demetrius picked up the cup Kiera had refilled and drank a quarter of the water. “We don’t owe the Woleks any money, thank God, because, you know, we don’t have much of it. But our license has been suspended for a year, can you believe it? Like, a whole year. But we can reapply for it after that, or something. We need to close the office and everything.” He drank some more water, then brightened. “Hey, you can keep the table we got you as a desk!”
“Oh, shit,” Jugs said.
“Look, Demetrius and I were just leaving,” Cody said, and Demetrius felt his big hands grip him by the shoulders. “I’ll give you a call later.”
“But what happens now?” Jugs said, looking between them. “I mean… That’s it? We just can’t work any longer? No paycheck? No health insurance?”
“Seems that way,” Demetrius said. “At least, that’s how I understood it from the judge. We’ll have to talk some more with Dieter maybe.” He put the cup down on the bar and looked at Jugs, suddenly feeling very sad. Was it all true? Was it all really happening? They could no longer work catching critters and helping people?
“I’ll call you later,” Cody said to Jugs.
He leaned in so his lips were close to Demetrius’s ear and began to sing again. His voice was a quiet purr that eased every tension from Demetrius’s body, and he closed his eyes and leaned back against Cody.
“What are you…?” Jugs said. “Are you singing?”
“He’s so good,” Demetrius said, his voice again sounding far away and dreamy to him. “Did you know he could sing like this?”
“The Cody Bower I’ve shared a truck with has never been able to sing like that,” Jugs said.
Cody helped him slide off the stool and onto his feet. Demetrius was a little unsteady, but Cody held him by the upper arms as he looked at Jugs over the top of Demetrius’s head.
“Why would I share my singing expertise with you?” Cody said.
“Good point,” Jugs said with a hurt expression. “You didn’t think to share the outcome of the hearing today, so why the fuck would you share something as simple as your ability to sing with me.”
“Look, I’m sorry about that, all right?” Cody said. “It’s been a bad morning, as you know, and I’ve had to, you know, kind of process it. Let me get Demetrius out of here, and I’ll call you later.”
“But I like it here,” Demetrius said. “Can we stay a little longer?”
Cody sang to him again, and Demetrius’s whole body went a little slack, forcing Cody to tighten his grip and keep him upright.
“You know, getting out of here sounds pretty good right now,” Demetrius said. “We’ll call you later, Jugs.”
“Whatever. You guys go do whatever you’re gonna do, like usual.” Jugs waved a hand and turned away from them. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
A heavy sense of guilt rose up within Demetrius, and he started to reach out to put a hand on Jugs’s back, wanting to stay and talk with him, reassure him everything would be all right although he had no idea how in the world that could happen. But Cody started singing in his ear again, and all of that worry about their company and concern for Jugs vanished. Demetrius let himself be steered toward the door, and then he was outside in the bright sunlight and humid heat, and Cody was walking him toward his truck.
“Where’s your truck?”
“I parked it around back,” Cody said. “Give me your keys, and I’ll drive us home.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Demetrius stuck a hand in his pocket and fished out his keys. Cody helped him up into the passenger seat and then hurried around the front of the truck and got behind the wheel. He started singing again as he adjusted the seat and started the engine, and Demetrius closed his eyes and smiled, reaching out to put a hand on Cody’s thigh.
“I love you,” Demetrius said.
“I know you do,” Cody said, then put the truck in gear and pulled out of the lot. “And I know just the place we can go.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Cody didn’t want to act like a typical man who flees to a bar to drink his anger and problems away. So, he drove right past the Hollow Leg and continued on Route 118 out of town with the radio off because his jumbled and agitated thoughts were loud enough.
His phone buzzed, and he checked the display. Jugs. Christ, he sure as hell didn’t want to talk with Jugs about all of this, not yet. He knew he owed Jugs an update, but Cody didn’t have a handle on the outcome of the decision yet himself, and he couldn’t calmly explain it to Jugs.
Plus he felt guilty as fuck for all of it.
