Page 53 of Overstaying His Welcome

Unfortunately for him, Sinclair was not new to all this. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Wait a damn minute! I carried that in here. What if it’s a bomb or something? Or like a body part someone sent as a threat?”

“You’ve been watching too many crime shows again, Sinclair,” I told him as I approach the bag. “I doubt it’s a bomb. Besides, if it was, we’re likely out of time. Let’s just take a look.”

Opening the bag, I leaned over to check things out. I frowned when I noticed it was actually food inside instead of anything nefarious.

Skittles.

Like a fuckton of them. All the flavors too.

The bags rained down on the table when I tilted the paper sack over. “What the fuck?” I mumbled to no one in particular.

Orion stepped forward, shifting the bags around. Takeshi joined him, though he didn’t touch anything. Archie was more curious and waded into the pile.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Godric’s voice cut through the sound of crinkling paper.

Cohen added, “He’s right. Why would someone leave Skittles?”

“Maybe it has some kind of meaning we don’t know about. Could it be a hint about something that’s coming?” I suggested.

The men made various noises. Some sounded like they agreed, while others were more skeptical. I couldn’t decide which side of the line I was on just yet.

It wasn’t until Chance came forward that I realized how quiet he’d been. I watched him pick up a bag. His eyes traced over the package with a sort of reluctant acceptance.

“This is Tank’s favorite candy,” he said softly.

The rest of us waited him out. It wasn’t because we were upset about not knowing this simple fact about our boss. More like we needed to know what all he did in order to figure out this riddle.

“What do you know?” I said when Chance didn’t continue. His gaze met mine. “Give us something. We’re walking around blind right now.”

It was tough to admit. None of us particularly liked feeling as if we were two steps behind our target.

Just like with Mordecai when we discovered her hidden surveillance, I wanted to fight against the pull this brought forth. I’d sworn to protect these men, they were my family. And now someone was playing games with us all over again.

Part of me wished Damari hadn’t volunteered to go sit with Tank. I could have used his presence to ground myself. He was always the one person to keep me from completely losing it.

“As a kid, Tank was obsessed with Skittles. He rarely got to have them before moving into the foster home. That one year he was there, it was as if they gave them to him every week or something like that. He basically told me he was addicted to them by the time he was on the street.” Chance shook his head, a smirk gracing his features.

“Why have we never seen him eating them then?” Cohen pressed.

Chance shrugged in reply. “I’m not sure. He’s eaten them around me before, though it’s rare. Usually close to Halloween since he can find the small bags on sale. I can’t tell you how many times he’s left a pile in my office after he’s come to visit me.”

The reminder of their secret relationship felt like a blow to the kidneys. I was angry at myself for never noticing. Angry at Tank for not trusting me with something so important. Angry at the world for making him live in secret for so long.

Why the fuck did it matter if either of them were gay? Who cared who they loved?

“Anyway, it’s not a big help since there’s nothing to tell us who it’s from. There’s not a note or anything in there?” Chance added.

I shook my head, lifting the bag again as I showed them it was empty. Godric reached forward, snatching the paper from my hands. The scowl I sent his way quickly morphed into surprise when he inverted the bag to reveal writing on the inside.

He said, “Saw it right when you tilted the bag. Wouldn’t have caught it otherwise.”

It felt like he was placating me for missing such a big hint. I’d allowed it for now since we had other things to worry about.

“What does it say?” I asked him.

Memphis was already striding away, his fingers on his keyboard when Cohen read out, “Local station. Channel 12 News.”

---