Page 54 of Follows with Intent

“You have,” Jadon said. “Move along, sir.”

Meza stood a little straighter. His cheek creased when he smiled, and it made him look older, exposing the lines in his face. “This is a free country, Detective. Believe it or not. And we’re having a conversation in public. And I have every right to be here and to have this conversation.”

Jadon opened his mouth, but Nico managed to say first, more sharply, “Jadon.”

After several deep breaths, Jadon wrenched his gaze away from Meza. To Nico, in a low voice, he said, “We’re going.”

“Good God, Nico,” Meza said with a little laugh, “do you let your boyfriend talk to you like this?”

Nico’s gaze moved from Meza to Jadon and back to Meza. “I’m sorry, Dr. Meza. Today has been stressful, and neither of us is putting our best foot forward.”

“Let me guess.” Meza did that looking-down thing again, considering Jadon the way someone might have looked at a bug under a microscope. “Big, butch, aggressive. A closet case, I imagine. I think you can do better than that.”

This time, Jadon did make a sound—not a growl, but a harsh exhalation that sounded like a period at the end of a sentence. He turned, squaring up with Meza. His fists balled at his side.

“No, no, no—” Nico tried, grabbing Jadon’s wrist.

“Is there a problem here?”

The words came from a familiar voice, but Nico couldn’t place it until the security guard stepped into his line of sight. Heeley, the one with the hard mouth and the tawny eyes, still looking like he’d been poured into his uniform. He gave Jadon a long, assessing look. Then Meza. And last Nico.

“No,” Jadon said, and he gave a little shake, like he was loosening up tight muscles. “No problem.”

“Actually, I think there is,” Meza said. “This man claims to be a police officer, but I haven’t seen any proof. From what I could tell, he was coercing this young man into going to another location with him. It made me uncomfortable, and when I tried to intervene, this man threatened me.”

“It was a misunderstanding,” Nico said. He gave a broken-mirror smile to Meza and then to Heeley. “It’s all a big misunderstanding. There’s no problem here.”

“Sir,” Heeley said, “I’d like to see your ID.”

Jadon drew out his badge holder and showed the badge to Heeley. As he did, Nico noticed two more figures approaching out of the corner of his eye. One was a woman, with a bob of wavy, blond hair. The other was a man who looked familiar, the wide face and the strong features. It took only another moment before Nico placed him as the guy from the coffee line, the one who had been flirting with him. Vic.

“What’s going on here?” the woman asked.

Vic laughed before anyone could answer, staring at Nico, and then said, “Holy shit, this is the underwear model?”

Meza didn’t do anything so gauche as gasp or clutch his pearls or even widen his eyes. But Nico was looking at him when the words landed, and he saw the shock run through Meza. The professor’s expression closed, and he put his hands in his pockets, his head turned away from Nico now.

“For fuck’s sake, Vic,” the woman said, but she was examining Nico too.

“Are we done here?” Jadon asked Heeley.

Heeley opened his mouth to answer, but Meza was the one who spoke. “I am.” And he turned on his heel and hurried off down the path.

“Not trying to cause a problem,” Heeley muttered. “It’s my job, you know.”

Jadon made a sound that could have meant anything, and Heeley retreated.

“So, this is why you’re looking so bushed,” Vic said with another laugh. His gaze skipped from Nico to Jadon, and he grinned. “Work all day, play all night.”

“Vic,” the woman said. “Fuck off. What was that all about?”

“A misunderstanding—” Jadon began.

Nico started walking, and when Jadon called his name, he didn’t look back. Quick steps. Almost running. He pushed into the darkened lobby of the dorm and climbed the stairs. Behind him, he heard the door swing open again, but he refused to look back.

He got into his room, shut the door, and locked it. He stared at the mess of clothes. He grabbed one of the suitcases and opened it and began tossing things inside.

The doorknob turned, and the door rattled in the frame. A moment later, a knock came.

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