Page 95 of Heathens

It rings. And rings. And rings.

I tap my foot incessantly against the tile. I’ll let it ring until this son of a bitch picks up. He’s home. He always is around this time. Theo has never would never risk being caught in the sunlight, and he’d never go out without a mission. He’s far too meticulous..

Finally, the line clicks in, and I hear the muffled sounds of a woman moaning. I can’t help but break out in a smile.

“Yeah?”He sounds worn out, but there’s a twinge of irritation there, too.“What do you want, Dom?”

“How the fuck did you know it was me?”

“You’re the only guy who calls before my bedtime, asshole. Now hurry up, I’m busy.”

I wonder who the woman is, but I know better than to ask.

“I need you to do something for me.”

“Like I said, I’m busy,”he grunts, followed by a slap and a muffled,“Shut the fuck up.”

“Are you finally getting some pussy?” I ask with a grin.

“Uh-huh, sure. So what do you need?”

“Tomorrow night, I want you to go to Nox and tell Ruby where Sofie is.”

“Okay, but why?”

I frown. Things are a lot less funny when he pushes back.

“Because I’m telling you to. Is there a fucking problem?”

He sighs and I can picture his extremely exaggerated eye-roll.

“Dom, the more people who know where she is–”

“Then threaten her to keep her quiet, I don’t give a shit. We get this done and she’ll work on the formula.” I pause for a moment. “Speaking of, I need you to get something from Sofie’s office and bring it to me while you’re there.”

“What?”

“A picture of her son. It’s on her desk.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line. I examine my claws and click my tongue as the seconds tick by.

“It was your advice, sunshine. Do whatever it takes to get her to do the work, right? Well, this is what it’s gonna take, so get your ass out there and bring it here.”

“Fine. Fine. You’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

The last thing I hear as the line goes dead is the start of a long, drawn-out moan.

“Good for him.”

I finish my drink, abandoning the empty glass beside me on the sofa cushion. My body sinks into the couch and I close my eyes, completely exhausted. It’s all hitting me at once, and I can practically feel the weight of the sun press down on me as it rises.

Just a couple of minutes. That’s all I need.

Besides, soon we’ll have all the time in the world.

SOFIE

Duncan Towers

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