of his jacket and offered them to Colt.
Colt took the handcuffs and swapped them out for the heart. Andrew recoiled in horror from the still-beating thing in his hand. “What the fuck?”
“Just hold it for a minute,” Colt ordered, snapping the branch on either side so there was still enough lodged in Christopher’s gut to keep him from healing. He fastened the handcuffs behind Christopher’s back and prayed it would hold. Firepower aside, Christopher didn’t seem all that strong for an Alpha. Colt could imagine he didn’t usually have to be. The other ghoul snarled as Colt lifted him to his feet, but it seemed like more of an automatic response than a conscious act of aggression.
After checking to make sure no cars were on the road, Colt stuffed Christopher into the backseat. Andrew still had the heart in his hand. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
Colt took it and stuffed it into the center console. “Problem solved. Start driving.”
Chapter 12
The only thing Colt enjoyed less than a road trip with Andrew was a road trip with Andrew and Christopher’s smoking corpse. All Colt could do was hope they didn’t get pulled over, or at least, not until they got back to Rhode Island where half the police force answered to him.
His phone rang, and his mother’s picture popped up on the screen. It was already well past the time when she’d be wondering where the hell he was. “Hey, Mom.”
“Don’t ‘hey’ me! Where are you? You’re gonna miss your own award ceremony, and I think you might have sent us to the wrong hotel. I just talked to the girl at the desk, and she said the only event here is some sex convention,” she said in a harsh whisper followed by a long pause. “That’s… not what you’re being awarded for, right? Because you know your father and I have always supported our little rainbow man, but that’s just a bit too involved.”
Colt stifled a groan. “No, Mom, I didn’t win a sex award.”
Andrew nearly choked trying to hold in a laugh.
“Look, don’t kill me, but I got the nights wrong. There’s no ceremony tonight. I’m really sorry for the false alarm, but I took care of the room, so I want you and Dad to stay there for a couple of nights, okay? Think of it as a mini vacation.”
“What? Oh, I don’t know, Colt. Maybe we should just go back.”
“Please don’t.” He winced at the sound of his own desperation. “I mean, your anniversary’s coming up anyway, and it’s a long weekend.”
“Well, your father has been kind of cranky lately. I guess we could both use the vacation, and the hotel is so nice. It’s right across from a Chinese buffet!”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Perfect. Enjoy yourselves, okay? The desk has my card, so order whatever you want.”
“Who knew I’d end up raising a big shot real estate mogul?” she teased. “You know, you should think about bringing Jason here. You both work too much.”
Colt swallowed hard. He’d never been able to get his traditional mother to understand that just because he and Jason were together didn’t mean they were together, and ‘friends with benefits’ was not a term he wanted to have to explain to Renee Jager. “Yeah. I’ll think about it. Is Ronnie still there?”
“No, he said he had to go somewhere. I’m still not really sure who he is, but he’s just precious and he’s such a well-mannered boy.” She paused. “Who is he, anyway?”
“He’s my… secretary.”
“Oh,” she said in a knowing tone. “And here I thought you had a piece on the side.”
“Ma!”
Renee giggled. “I’m just kidding, sweetheart. I’ve known you and Jason were the endgame since you were barely old enough to drive.”
“Yeah,” Colt said hoarsely. “Listen, I’ve got to go, okay? Tell Dad I’m sorry about the mix-up and try to enjoy yourselves.”
“Love you, too. You know we’re always proud of you, award or no.”
“I know. Thanks.” Colt hung up and realized Andrew was staring at him. “What?” he asked defensively.
“Guess that answers the question of whether the humanity’s just an act. You’re a regular mama’s boy.”
“So I love my mother,” Colt scoffed. “I’m man enough to admit it.”
“I love my mother,” Andrew corrected. “That would have made Oedipus cringe.”
“Says the guy who lives for proving himself to Daddy.”
Andrew rolled his eyes. He looked into the rearview mirror when Christopher groaned in his sleep. “He’s still kind of smoking. He’s not gonna explode on us, is he?”
“How