Page 31 of Cohesion

Will shifted beside him, murmuring something about pineapple under his breath. Still fast asleep. Jericho should have been snuggled in with him.

What had woken him?

Jericho swept his gaze around the dark bedroom. The blinds were open, the window halfway up and letting in a cool breeze to counteract the heat. He hadn’t liked having it open, but Sebastian had negotiated the halfway position, rationalising that they were on the second floor, and there was nothing anyone could climb in order to get to it. And then he also said Jericho could sleep on that side, so at least he would die first, if that was what he wanted.

Nothing out of the ordinary in the room.

He shifted, feeling the arm next to him. His fingers moved across soft skin, a bony elbow, and then down to two hands twined together. The arm belonged to Will. The other hand… Jericho wasn’t sure. The configuration changed while they were sleeping sometimes if someone got up to piss in the middle of the night, or in Will’s case, for a snack, along with the toilet break.

Jericho slid out of the bed carefully, not jostling any limbs and leaving the occupants of the bed sleeping soundly. Quinn cradled Will in his arms—the other hand—and one of Sebastian’s legs was slung over Quinn, trapping him in. Jericho grimaced. The bed was barely big enough for all of them, and it was way too hot for that. As much as Jericho liked a hot body against him—sweat slicked and panting for him—when he slept, he didn’t want or need a hot water bottle. That kind of waking up sticky wasn’t the kind he liked.

More important than any of that: where was Peyton?

He wasn’t in the en suite, Jericho’s first guess for a quick night stop.

Persephone woke and trotted after him down the stairs.

Peyton wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. Not on the balcony. A scan of the horizon came back empty. He hugged his arms to himself as he waited for Persephone to have a quick sniff and pee on the grass. It was hot and stuffy inside even at thistime of the morning, with barely any light filtering down. At least outside the breeze was nice and cool.

He ducked into the spare room that held his stuff. He hadn’t moved it upstairs yet. It was pointless in the grand scheme; he was only staying because it gave Sebastian extra protection that, whether the lawyer liked it or not, he needed. It saved Spence or Ken from having to take an overnight shift. No one needed to mention just how comfortable Jericho was getting here.

Still no Peyton.

Not in the other room or in the toilet.

Persephone walked to the foot of the stairs and back, twice. The stink eye was strong.

“I get the hint,” Jericho said dryly. He wouldn’t mind getting back to sleep himself. “But I haven’t found my prize. You’re welcome to go back to bed.”

Peyton wouldn’t have just left. Not without telling anyone. Hopefully.

Persephone sat, ears flopped forward and tongue hanging out as she panted.

Jericho ignored the look. He wasn’t going to let a pretty face trick him into going back to bed. He had one more room to check, and then he was making some phone calls. Peyton might not be under his official protection, but he was… whatever he was to Jericho, and Jericho would protect him as well.

Finding him was a good start.

The downstairs bathroom was locked. He pressed an ear to the door. No running water or sounds of movement inside. Peyton had to be in there. What was he doing?

Persephone came closer, sniffing at the bottom of the door. She scratched it with her foot.

“Go to bed,” he whispered.

She blinked at him.

For fuck’s sake. “Please?”

She stood and turned her nose up at him, then trounced off.

Jericho would never have believed before meeting her that a dog could have so much sass. He loved her.

He waited for the distinct sound of her pushing the bedroom door open and then concentrated on opening the bathroom door. It didn’t take long before the lock gave way. It was a flimsy indoor bathroom lock that didn’t even need equipment to get through. A courtesy and warning that someone was in there more than any deterrent for someone that wanted to get in to do harm. This whole fucking place needed help with security.

He’d known something was wrong. Peyton had locked it for a reason, and Jericho doubted it was because he wanted to take a shower in privacy at four in the morning.

Even then, he hadn’t been prepared for the sight of Peyton huddled in the bath, curled into himself, sweating and shivering. It wasn’t cold enough to shiver or hot enough to be so drenched in sweat.

Peyton tensed, fingers digging into his upper arms. Whether it was an acknowledgment of Jericho’s presence or whatever he was lost in, Jericho wasn’t sure.

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