Page 86 of Private Exhibit
Thomas stepped inside with a nod of thanks, and Andy shut the door.
Hayden ran straight up to Devon and bent down to give him a hug, then looked up and gasped. “Oh! Good. Oliver's here, too.”
Oliver blinked. “That's a good thing?”
“Of course it is.” Hayden rolled his eyes. “Look, we've forgiven you, alright? That's all behind us now.” Hayden paused and glanced at Andy. “Oliver had Thomas kidnapped and then threatened to kill my brother.Longstory–”
“I never would have done it,” Oliver cut in.
“I know that now,” Hayden said. “The important thing is that you're here for Devon. That means a lot to me.”
Oliver shrugged. “He's my friend, too.”
Hayden gave him a smile, then rounded on Andy. “Right. So. I need the full tour right now. Every room.”
Andy blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Hayden,” Thomas bit off.
“I'm calm, Daddy,” the boy said. “I promise.” He strolled right up to Andy and hooked their arms together. “Walk with me, Doc.”
The boy hauled Andy away, heading into another room.
“So here's the deal,” Hayden said, pausing in one of the secondary bedrooms just off the living area. “I've gottenreallygood at the transportation spell. Like insanely good. I can do it under the worst kind of stressful conditions. Part of that long story I mentioned earlier.” Hayden scanned the room like he was committing it to memory. “But the thing with that spell is that you can't just go anywhere. It can only take you to a place you've already physically been. What do you call this room?”
“It's a bedroom,” Andy replied with a frown.
“Yeah, but when you think of it, what do you call it?”
“Uh…the front bedroom?”
“Good. Alright. Front bedroom.” Hayden turned and hauled Andy into the next room. “I've been to the E.R., so that's covered. But since Devon's not at his apartment anymore,” the boy rambled on, “I need to establish a physical connection with this place. What's this room?”
“Home office,” Andy answered, though the room had never really served that purpose. He'd had no need for a home office since he gave up his practice.
“Alright. Next.” They went to the next room, and the next, until Hayden had taken a tour of the entire apartment and gotten Andy to name each room. When they were done, Hayden dragged him aside and lowered his voice. “Here's what's gonna happen,” Hayden said, standing there in his makeup and high heels, his expression fierce and demanding, not leaving any room for argument whatsoever. “If things get really bad,” Hayden said, then held up a finger, “you do not call emergency services. You do not perform C.P.R. What you do is you callme. You call meimmediately. You tell me what room you're in,” hewent on, waving his finger around. “This place is massive. The closer I can arrive to exactly where you are, the better. Then I can get you both to the E.R. inside of about ten seconds. Understood?”
Andy blinked.
“Give me your phone,” Hayden demanded.
“You might as well,” Thomas cut in, coming up to hover just behind Hayden. “He'll get his way regardless. Trust me.”
Hayden smirked.
Andy slowly shook his head and pulled out his phone. Hayden snatched it from his hands, then programmed his number into the contacts.
“There,” Hayden said, handing the phone back to Andy. “All set. I'm gonna go tell Oliver the same thing.” With that, he stalked off, the click of his shoes echoing through the spacious rooms as he went.
Andy watched him go and shook his head. He eyed his phone, still displaying the new contact card, then switched off the screen and set it aside. In the case of an emergency, Andy wasn't sure he could rely on Hayden's magic. He couldn't rely on anybody's help at all.
If anything happened to Devon, Andy was going to have to take care of it himself.
Chapter 31
DEVON WOKE the next morning with his pajamas sticking to him all over.Ugh. Damn it. With Andy spooned up behind him and too many blankets covering them both, it felt worse than the middle of summer.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
