what and who he could rely on. Now, just days removed from that, he was more frightened than he had been there because he had something to lose. They all did. Joshie was making friends. The delighted laughter from the floor was one of the best sounds he had heard in a long time. Somehow he had to make this continue.
But all the secrets and unsaid things he’d run into in the last few hours made him wonder just who these guys were. It all came back to what they wanted from him… and from Cheryl. He knew that Bobby Ramone was either running drugs or working for someone who was. Did that mean that these three were part of a rival organization? Were they keeping him safe so he didn’t fall into the hands of a rival? That didn’t make much sense, and Tucker dismissed it. He had nothing anyone could want. Tucker didn’t even know anything, and yet these guys had protected him. Well, Gerome had done the protecting, but it seemed Richard and Terrance had Gerome’s back. This entire situation was like the weirdest four-gy he had ever heard of.
“It’s going to be okay,” Gerome whispered when he sat back down and handed him the water.
He tried to put aside some of his concerns for now. There was nothing he could do about any of it at the moment, especially not with Joshie in the room. “What bothers me is that I had nothing to do with anything. I didn’t do anything, didn’t find anything, and yet I seem to be in the middle of this.” He sipped his water and sat back, searching his mind for anything he might have missed. He was nearly completely in the dark about all of this. Shit, he should have simply walked away when he had the chance. Instead, desperation had driven him to do something completely stupid. He wanted to go back to the apartment, where he could think straight. It was more than a little difficult with Gerome sitting right next to him, his leg pressed right next to Gerome’s, their shoulders bumping every once in a while. And damn, when the air circulation in the room was just right, Gerome’s scent filled his nose, and his mouth went dry at the heady scent. Talk about losing the ability to think straight.
“How are things at the hardware store?” Tucker asked Terrance.
He shrugged. “The same as always.” He leaned forward. “Though I did have a couple of kids come in today. I think they were trying to play a joke on one of the other associates. They were asking for hammer without the claw on the end. When she explained that it was a ball-peen hammer, they all started to giggle. They must have been ten or so.” Terrance smiled. He was quite handsome when he did that. Not as sexy as Gerome, but a smile was a good look for him.
“Terrance….” Richard’s tone was cautionary.
“I came around the corner, put my hands on my hips, and glared at the three of them. I swear one of them might have peed himself, and all three of them turned tail and ran out of there like their pants were on fire. Gina and I got a laugh out of it after they were gone.”
Tucker rolled his eyes. “You enjoy scaring children? Maybe you should be Scrooge in the town Christmas play.”
Gerome choked and coughed. “No, the Ghost of Christmas Future in those black robes. They’ll swear he’s the angel of death.”
“You’re both nuts,” Terrance grumped, folding his arms over his chest. “And for the record, yes, I like scaring children who misbehave. It’s my calling in life.”
“You’re not scary,” Coby pronounced. “Just mean-looking sometimes.” He went back to playing, and all the guys cracked up, except Terrance, who tried to hold a grumpy expression before smiling himself. Joshie looked up, watching them all as though they were crazy, before going back to playing with the trucks.
“I guess that’s the last word on that subject,” Gerome teased. “How are things working out at the restaurant?”
Richard grinned. “The problems we’ve been having in the kitchen seem to have worked their way out.” He winked at Tucker. “Zane never seems to get along with anyone. The number of people that we’ve gone through in the kitchen has been ridiculous. He really seems to have calmed down the past few days.”
Tucker put his hands up. “I had nothing to do with that.” He had