Page 45 of Key Change

“Shitty apartment with three other ex-cons. My parents are coming to see me. Dad is talking about finding me somewhere more suitable. I told them not to bother until I’d found a job. I don’t want to be commuting across the city.”

Liam could’ve gone home and stayed with his parents, but his wife and daughter were in the city. Well, wife in name. She’d only visited a couple of times and sent a few photos.

“I got a volunteer job at an animal shelter. Pays nothing, but it got the case worker off my ass. I guess it’s experience, too.”

“I still think you’ll look pretty in a nurse’s uniform,” Anthony quipped.

“Vet nurses don’t wear skirts.” Liam’s middle finger extended from the cup. “I hate being so broke I have to do the math before I buy a coffee.”

“Yeah.” Chatting with Liam was too risky, or he was too paranoid. “Let’s not do this again.”

Liam sighed, his gaze on the ground.

Anthony wanted to ask about Regan, but if things were going well, Liam would’ve said something. “Congrats on the job, you’re a step ahead of me. I’m still applying.”

Should he tell Liam about Farring? Would Liam take the job? Did he remember Farring? The words didn’t form and then it was too late.

Liam drained the cup and tossed it in the trash as he walked by. Then he was gone, leaving Anthony raw and feeling like the worst friend in the world even though there was nothing he could do.

He stretched his other quad, staring out over the ocean to the horizon. The world looked limitless, but it was a lie. There were restrictions on everything he did. With a sigh, he stepped back from the railing and walked the rest of the way home.

As a man walking ahead of him got into a white sedan with a red paint scrape on the front bumper, Anthony slowed. Maybe it was his anxiety spiking, after seeing Liam, but he knew he’d seen that car several times.

The car itself was nondescript. The damage wasn’t.

Where had he seen it?

Anthony shook his head. He couldn’t remember, so it chalked it up to the guy probably living in the area. Or maybe he was just paranoid because he’d broken a parole condition.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Cillian paddedover to the door and unlocked it for Anthony. He’d woken up half an hour ago, and he spent the time lying in bed, doom-scrolling with Snap on his chest. Which was how he spent most mornings. The only reason he’d gotten out of bed was because Anthony had buzzed the intercom. So now he was still in his pajamas, and he hadn’t had his first cup of coffee.

He got the machine going while he waited, brain moving slowly. He was out of the habit of doing a run of late nights, and it didn’t help when some of the other musicians and dancers wanted to grab a snack after the show. The dancers didn’t drink during a performance run, but many of the musicians did. Cillian had found out the hard way that too many late nights and drinking were not a solid plan.

Anthony knocked on the door before opening it, which made Cillian smile. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the kitchen counter, hoping he looked sexy-just-rolled-out-of-bed. Not I-stayed-out-too-late-and-feel-like-trash.

It was a fine line between the two.

Anthony’s gaze dropped from Cillian’s face, drifted over his bare chest to his pajama pants… which had seen better days. He should’ve thought this through a little better.

“I thought you’d be dressed… I didn’t mean to wake you up.” From the way Anthony looked him up and down, as if he were on the lunch menu, he was pulling the sexy vibe, not the trash vibe.

“I’ve been awake for about half an hour, but you got me out of bed.” His voice was rough. No doubt Snap was sitting in the warm spot, annoyed that he no longer had Cillian to sleep next to.

Anthony stepped in, sliding his arm around Cillian’s waist, and dropping a chaste kiss on his lips. “You could’ve stayed in bed.”

Cillian laughed. “I had to unlock the door, and Ineedcoffee. Do you want one?”

“I won’t say no.”

Cillian debated about handing Anthony the first cup because that was polite, but didn’t. Cillian was sure Anthony didn’t mind by the way he kept an arm around him and kissed the back of his neck. Which sent a thread of heat down his spine to his balls. The worn-out flannel of his pajama pants didn’t hide the way he liked the attention. Cillian drew in a breath. As much as he wanted Anthony there, he also really needed to finish waking up, and to do that, he needed the milk.

“I’m not trying to push you away, but I need to make my coffee drinkable, or I’m going to become antisocial very quickly.”

Anthony released him with a chuckle. “Not a morning person?”

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