News Boy - Susan Hawke Page 0,8

to smell his roses. But… yeah, I was still going to watch him. Mostly because I didn’t trust anyone who smiled enough to dry their teeth out. Possibly, my protective instincts had already kicked in, and I was being ridiculous. Time would tell.

After I let myself back inside, I locked the door but didn't bother with the alarm. First, I would need to close a few windows.

Neil's door was firmly shut, so I gave myself the rest of the tour. The open kitchen and dining area were only separated by a wide counter. I closed the two partially open windows in there and looked in the fridge and cabinets before moving along.

In the living room, evidence of Neil's little side wasn't readily obvious. There was an X-box, but a lot of single guys in their thirties gamed. I hadn’t missed the childish dishes in the kitchen cabinet and didn’t question why Neil might want sparkly pink sippy cups.

The doors off the hall revealed a guest bath on the left, a home office, and finally a guest room on the right, kitty-corner to the master at the end... Neil's room.

Tossing my bag on the guest room bed, I figured I'd unpack later. First, I had a boy to calm. Hopefully, his tantrums passed as quickly as they flared.

Although... maybe I should start by calling Jim. No. Talking to Neil beforehand felt right.

Tapping lightly on his door, I listened carefully for any sound on the other side. After a few minutes of knocking and cajoling him to open up, I gave up and walked in. The room was empty, but he was obviously here somewhere.

"Sorry to barge in, buddy. I think we got off on the wrong foot." I raised my voice, thinking he was in the bathroom. But when I walked closer, no light came from under the door. It swung inward at my knock, revealing another empty room.

Shit. I glanced at the open window. The filmy curtains blew through the opening. Ah, fuck. Neil had given me the slip. With no sign of him or the cat, there were no other options, since I'd walked through the entire house and could verify they weren't in any other rooms.

Fuck this. I pulled out my phone and jabbed Jim's name on my contact list. With a slight hesitation in his voice, he answered on the third ring. "Brody, this is a surprise. What can I do for you?" Ha, I bet it was a surprise.

"Hey, Jim. What you can do is the same thing I plan to tell Mack—find Neil another keeper. I don't mind if he's into age play and needs more supervision than a standard client might. I can also handle temper tantrums and threats against my employment. But when he climbs out a window with his cat and disappears, it makes my job impossible. I'm quitting. I wanted you to hear it from me personally."

For a few heavy seconds, he was quiet. "Let's not be hasty, Brody. I'm sure we can work this out. As you can tell, we need someone like you in Neil's corner. Run me through what's happening over there."

I blew out a frustrated breath, then filled him in. "...So as you can see, it's not going to work out between me and Neil."

"No, I disagree. For one thing, I can promise Neil would never climb out a window. Especially not holding his cat. Even when he's regressing, he's aware of his image—it's everything to him. No... there's one place you haven't checked, and I’m at fault. It completely slipped my mind. I guarantee you'll find him in the playroom, but without knowing how to access it, you'd have no way of knowing it exists."

I glanced toward the hall and realized the left side only held a bathroom, and the wall in Neil's room was level with the door. And I'd walked the perimeter, so I knew the house was square. One hell of a big gap of missing space was left, where a hidden playroom could easily exist.

"Fuck. A secret room. I should've realized. How do I get in, Jim?"

Brittany chattered excitedly in the background, even though their voices were muffled as if he had a hand over the phone. When he came back on the line, Jim was chuckling. “Brittany suggests her friend would probably like a drink and a snack. I have to agree. It would make a good peace offering if you want to deal with a calmer version of Neil.”

"I like