Page 32 of Wanted
Knox’s eyes went wide when he glanced into the box filled with what had to be at least a hundred devices of all kinds. “Um, wow, man, that’s really generous.”
Frank rolled his eyes. “I’ll add it to your bill, but I need to be able to contact you.”
“You sure you aren’t secretly a loan shark that will sell our kidneys and all other organs to the highest bidder?” Liv asked, picking a sturdy Nokia.
Frank followed Ezra to the counter and leaned against it, watching them with a half-smile. “Well, that will be for you to find out later. For now, I’ve got jobs for both of you if you want to keep that cozy bed for a while.”
Knox chose an older type of phone as well, in case Frank really did make them pay for them in the future. “We’ll pay our dues. We’re in a shitty position right now, but give us a chance, and we’ll work hard for our keep.”
“Yeah, we make a great team,” Liv said before packing his mouth full of food.
As the bacon sizzled in the pan, Frank stood behind Ezra and kissed his neck. “Afraid that won’t be happening today. I have different jobs in mind for you two.”
Knox's stomach sank, because as much as he’d wanted to be away from Liv to avoid talking about what happened, this… scared him. In the situation they were in, anything could happen.
Frank rolled his eyes. “Don’t make that face. You can sext on your breaks, but there’s shit to do, and you’ll get to prove to me that you weren’t lying about the forklift.”
Knox didn’t know what to say, but Liv seemed to notice his discomfort and leaned in, whispering. “It’ll be okay. Just remember to take your pills with you. Just in case.”
Just in case you need to run off to fuck knows where, was the subtext, and Knox didn’t like it, but unless Ezra was fattening them up to make more soap out of them, then the people here have proven nice enough so far. For criminals.
When Dex got up, so did Cyborg. “We’ll be off. Just don’t forget the party,” Dex said.
Frank frowned. “Whatparty?”
Dex rolled his eyes. “They know. Just because you’re no fun doesn’t mean others can’t enjoy being alive.”
Liv covered his mouth to hide a smile as he glanced at Knox. His brows lowered almost instantly, and he leaned in, holding another full spoon of the porridge on the ready. “So… maybe we could wait for Frank’s instructions in our bedroom?”
Alarm bells rang in Knox’s head. Liv wanted totalk. And Knox didn’t, under any circumstances. At least until he figured out if he liked dick or not. Because anyone could be horny and experiment, but knowing what was really going on with him would change everything.
“Nah, I can get to it right away. I’m full, I’ll shower, and my old clothes are here.” He gave Liv a fake smile.
Cyborg nodded at him as he opened the door. “We’ll have some classic cars at the party, most of them in need of repairs. Might be some extra cash for you if you prove you know your way around them.”
Knox stilled with the smile plastered to his face, because… was Cy a good-natured—if stern—guy, looking out for him, or was that flirting? How did guys even flirt with each other?
Knox had no idea. But he needed to find out if he was to work out if he liked dick.
ASAP.
Chapter 12
Liv
If Frank and Ezra’ssuburbia-worthy bungalow looked surprisingly normal in the junkyard, Shane’s house was somehow both less and more so. Located on the edge of the fenced-off land, across from the woodland surrounding Frank’s junkyard from all sides, it was new, well-maintained, and even had a little orchard planted around it.
But then there were the sculptures. Without exception, they were freaky as hell.
Twisted creatures of rusted metal, rubber, and plastic were scattered throughout the garden surrounding the property and guarded the cleared area around it like Shane’s own robot army. Only that they were made of, well,junkreclaimed from the artificial mountain range crossing the scrapyard.
Some were reminiscent of fantastical characters, but even those that were in some way beautiful unnerved Liv more than he’d like to admit. They made him think back to that momentwhen he’d believed Jag to be a statue. And then Jag had moved and blown into that fucking horn.
Notfun times.
So he chose to focus on the vehicle he’d been asked to look at after a whole day’s work. Frank had led them to a shipping container filled with clothes earlier, and each of them got to pick some stuff to wear, but Liv hadn’t seen Knox since, and it was gradually crumbling his patience.
Back at home, they often did their own thing, sometimes not seeing each other for days at a time if one of them stayed with a girlfriend. But in this new, perilous situation, not knowing where Knox was and whether he was safe was making Liv itch.
