“No, I mean the job.”
“What?”
Intent on the paper towels, Colt mumbled, “I could be your secretary.”
“In the first place, I’m not hiring a secretary because that’s an outdated term for a position that performs the type of work that most administrative assistants no longer—”
“I learn fast. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I can use a computer, and I should probably learn this kind of stuff now, you know.”
Three strokes in one day. Hazard wondered if the ambulance would reach him in time. He gripped the edge of his desk with one hand. His fingers looked shiny and white from the pressure. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s, like, the family business, right?”
Hazard shook his head. “I don’t even know where to start. No because you’re a stranger. No because you’re a child. No because being a professional investigator isn’t the equivalent of picking up shifts at the Frosted Hole.”
Colt’s mouth twisted.
“It’s a donut shop,” Hazard felt obliged to explain.
“Uh huh.” Colt folded his arms across his chest. His shoulders curved in. “Look, I’m good at this. Like, naturally. Because of you, right? And I found you, which means I can actually do it, it’s not just a theory or whatever you said.”
“You should be in school.”
“School blows.”
Hazard forced himself to ease his grip off the desk. “Is that what this is about? I thought it was somehow personal, but it makes more sense that it would be professional. Another agency hired you? Is that it? Or someone who wants to interfere with an investigation? Is that your angle?”
The hurt flickered in and out of Colt’s expression so quickly that, if Hazard hadn’t spent the last two years learning social niceties from his husband, he would have missed it. “I’m your son,” Colt said. His whole face was red. “Why are you so fucking awful?”
In the outer office, someone cleared his throat, and Hazard’s knee hit the desk. Then footsteps moved closer. A familiar head of dark, shaggy hair swam into view behind Colt. Coppery skin. Long, lean muscle. Apparently Nico had decided to dress up, because he was wearing gray trousers and a pink button-up patterned with palm trees. Not a single article of clothing had any visible holes, tears, or distressing. Hazard guessed his ex-boyfriend had counterbalanced by not wearing underwear.
“Um, hi, Emery.”
“No. Get out.”
Nico chuckled awkwardly, his eyes sliding to Colt.
“What?” Colt asked.
“Hey.”
After a moment, Colt muttered, “Hey.”
“Nico.”
Colt rolled a shoulder. “I’m Colt.”
“Nice jacket.”
Colt’s eyes fell to the floor, then came back up to Nico’s face, then fell again. He was blushing, but it was a different kind of blush now. Somers would have known the difference. “He said the color was ugly.”
“Emery!”
“For fuck’s sake, I didn’t say that. I said it was blue.”
“It’s navy,” Nico and Colt said at the same time. Nico grinned. Colt’s answering smile was hesitant. Then it morphed into a scowl—probably at the exact same moment when he remembered Hazard was still in the room.
“Whatever it is, Nico, the answer is no. Go away.”
“Could I talk to your—” Nico addressed Colt. “Could I talk to him for a minute?”
Colt’s face showed a struggle between the pleasure of being talked to like an adult and his obvious dislike at being asked to leave. After a moment, he grunted and pushed away from the jamb. Nico let him get a few steps out into the main room, and then he shut the door. When he looked at Hazard, his face was full of some illegible emotion.
“Jesus Christ, you heard that?” Hazard asked.
“You weren’t exactly keeping your voice down.” Nico slid into a seat. His eyes held the question.
“He’s full of shit,” Hazard answered.
“Oh.”
“What does that mean?”
“How do you feel about that?”
“How do I feel? I feel like I’m in one of those stupid horror movies you made me watch where the little boy is secretly the incarnate Satan or whatever the plot was supposed to be.”
“Oh.”
Hazard heard himself growling.
“I just mean, you know, it’s ok if you feel disappointed.”
The pitch of Hazard’s voice slipped. “Disappointed?”
“You’re a great dad; I’ve seen you with Evie. And I thought you and John-Henry wanted another kid.”
With the door closed, the only sounds were their breathing: Nico’s slow and easy, Hazard’s accelerated.
“Emery—”
“It’s not true. He’s not my son. I’ve never had sex with a woman. I’ve never donated sperm. This is not John’s fucking ‘turkey baster’ situation.”
Nico broke into a laugh before stifling the noise by turning his head into his shoulder. When he looked up, though, his eyes were bright with amusement.
“Yeah, laugh it up. Everybody else will.”
“He does look like you. And, um…”
“What?”
“His mannerisms.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Exhibit A,” Nico said with a sigh. He held up a hand before Hazard could speak. “Look, I did overhear you when I walked into the office. But, uh, I came over to tell you that—” He took a deep breath. “It’s all over town.”
Exsanguination could take as little as twenty seconds, Hazard knew from last month’s copy of the Journal of Forensic Science. Apparently, though, experientially, you could spend an eternity feeling like the blood was draining out of your body.
“I’m sorry,” Nico whispered.
“What do you mean, all over town?”
“It’s—everybody knows.”
“John wouldn’t—” Hazard tried to work through the problem, but a fuse had blown. “Noah and Rebeca—”
“God, no. Apparently a patrol car stopped by the house last night. They were taking turns, you know, because John-Henry is chief, and I guess it would look bad if somebody broke into his house. And it was one of the new hires, who apparently is an asshole. He talked to your—uh, he talked to Colt, and then immediately started telling everyone.”
Hazard fought the urge to close his eyes. After a moment, he managed to say, “This is some kind of joke.”
Nico shook his head.
“Ok.” Hazard managed to square up his voice. “Ok. Thank you for telling me.”
Nico bit his lip.
“I don’t need a shoulder to cry on, Nico. I appreciate the information. You could have just called.”