Page 47 of Moonstruck
“This is Zane. Zane, this is my father, Thomas, my brother, Adam, and his fiancé, Noah. They’re about to be super invasive.”
Zane blinked. “Oh. Okay.”
Thomas studied each of his children carefully, Noah included, before saying, “Nice to meet you, Zane.” His voice was hesitant, like he reserved the right to retract that statement later.
Adam narrowed his pale blue eyes in Zane’s direction, a smirk forming as he leaned back. “So, Zane. What do you do?”
Thomas squinted at Adam’s tone, gaze darting to Asa.
Zane opened his mouth to speak but Asa interrupted. “Dad. Can I talk to you…in private.”
Thomas gave a huge sigh, already irritated with Asa without cause. “Sure. Let’s go to my office.”
Asa dropped Zane’s hand, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “Show no fear. Adam feeds off of it. If you get into trouble, look to Noah for help. I’ll be right back.”
Asa left Zane gaping after him, following his father to his office. No sooner had the door closed, then Thomas turned on him. “What did you do? And why do your brothers know about it before I do?”
Shit. “Okay, it’s a long story. Okay, well not a long story so much as a kind of convoluted story—”
“Asa.” His name was a warning.
“Yeah, right. So…remember that awards dinner you made me go to?” Asa asked.
Thomas gave him an exasperated look. “Of course, I do, Asa. It was yesterday.”
Oh yeah. Could he have really only met Zane yesterday? That seemed impossible. He shook off the feeling. “Yeah, so anyway. Um, I met Zane at the dinner—”
Thomas sighed. “Your hookup? The one you blew off my award for? Is that him?”
Asa leaned against his father’s desk. “Yeah. I have to tell you something, and I need you to keep an open mind.”
“Christ, Asa, whenever you say shit like that, my eye starts to twitch.” He crossed the room to the mini-bar in the corner, opening the whiskey bottle and pouring himself two fingers full, throwing them back like a shot. His father’s day drinking was a relatively new endeavor. “You and your brother have been apart twenty-four hours and already you’ve both lost your goddamn minds—”
Asa broke in. “What did Avi do?”
“This isn’t about your brother. What didyoudo?”
“Zane is a reporter. Well, he wants to be a reporter. Right now, he’s just a crime blogger.”
Thomas closed his eyes, digging his thumb and forefinger into his sockets like he was trying to scratch his brain. “Okay…”
Asa tried to choose his words carefully. “After we…hooked up, he found his way to Jericho’s and Atticus’s murder cabin.”
“Found his way?” Thomas asked through gritted teeth.
Asa did his best to keep his voice light. “Yeah, it’s a long story. But he saw Jericho and me getting rid of that biker guy. You know…getting rid of?” He mimed bringing down an ax.
Thomas gave another long-suffering sigh, reaching for the bottle again. “Asa, please explain to me why you were holding hands in my kitchen with a reporter who saw you dissecting a biker.”
“Because we’ve reached an understanding,” Asa said, hoping this would ease his father’s mind.
“An understanding? How much is this understanding going to cost me?” Thomas asked.
Asa shook his head. “No. Not like that. I fixed it. He’s helping me figure out the suicide game situation, and, in exchange, I answer all his questions. At the end, he’ll see that what we do is a public service, not a crime, and he’ll get a better story out of it than ours.”
“You’re answering his questions?” Thomas repeated, voice low.
“Yes?” Asa asked, unsure whether his father was angry or not.
