Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NICO
The first thing I heard was the sound of wind blowing through the trees. I held still for a second, trying to figure out why I was hearing that sound. I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted by pale morning sunshine coming through the large windows in my new bedroom. That’s right. I was in Gabe’s house. I lived here now.
I stretched to relieve the tightness in my muscles. The bed was incredibly comfortable, especially since Gabe had added a memory foam mattress topper. I lay there for a while and enjoyed the quiet. I checked the time on my phone. It was after seven in the morning. With a shock, I realized I’d slept straight through the night, probably for the first time in over four years. Holy shit.
Gabe had no idea what a gift he’d given me by letting me move into his place. I loved Cody to pieces, and I did miss the nightly routine of putting him to bed. But the constant strain of never having a place to just breathe had been wearing me down. I’d been afraid I would start to lose patience with my son and damage our fragile bond. Having some distance would give me space to adjust. I just had to figure out how to have some time with Cody. It would be a lot easier if I had a car.
I got out of bed and put on a T-shirt over my pajama pants. When I opened the door to my bedroom, I heard music playing downstairs. Gabe was up already. I wondered if he always got up early. Not that it mattered since I hadn’t heard him at all. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to make it behave. It was longer now that I’d let it grow out, but it wasn’t long enough for me to tie it up or pull it back. Soon.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs I was greeted by the rich aroma of what promised to be very good coffee. I’d worked as a barista when I was in high school. I knew good coffee when I smelled it. I heard Gabe singing along to a song by Linkin Park. I smiled. He wasn’t too bad.
I finally made it down the long hall to the kitchen and stopped in my tracks. Gabe was dressed in fitted black dress pants and a long-sleeved dark-green button-down. And, damn, the man was fine. How had I not noticed that before? The shirt was cut just right to accentuate the muscles of his back and arms. The pants fit him like a glove. He must have put some product in his light-brown hair because it looked perfectly styled.
I must have made a noise because Gabe turned around and saw me standing in the doorway like an idiot. He smiled. “Hey, Nico. Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?”
It took a second for my brain to re-engage. “Uh, yeah. Really well, actually. I slept through the night for the first time in ages.”
His face lit up. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, it is. It feels good to finally get a good night’s sleep.”
He took a pair of mugs out of the cabinet above the coffee maker. “Coffee?”
“Please,” I replied.
“Milk and sugar?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Nah. I like it black. Unless it’s bad coffee.”
He handed me a mug that read Let’s keep the dumbfuckery to a minimum today . His mug read I’ll try to be nicer if you try to be smarter.
“Nice mugs,” I said. He snickered. I took a sip of the coffee and groaned with pleasure. “Oh my god. This is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.”
Gabe preened a little. “It’s from Ethiopia.”
I smiled into my cup and muttered, “So fucking bougie.”
He nudged me. “Shut up.”
I gestured to his clothes. “What are you all dressed up for? Is there a security job this early in the morning?”
“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I do some work as a consultant to a defense contractor. There’s a meeting today with some bigwigs in Maryland. I have to go into their Eatontown office to get on the video call because they have a secure setup.”
“What does a consultant for a defense contractor do?”
He took another sip of his coffee before he answered. “In my case, I work with people building technology to be used by the military in the field. I get to tell them whether or not their tech is crap and might get someone killed.”
“Oh wow,” I said. “So this is some Secret Squirrel shit.”
He snorted. “Something like that.” He put his mug in the dishwasher and checked the time on his smartwatch. “Gotta go. They get all testy if I’m late.”
“At least it’s not far,” I commented.
“About fifteen minutes if the lights are with me.” He grabbed a protein bar from one of the cabinets. “I’ll be gone all day, and you won’t be able to reach me. If you need anything or have any trouble, you can call Marco.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy now.”
His eyes widened. “Shit. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just…”
I rolled my eyes and held up my hand to stop his word vomit. “It’s all good. I’m just teasing you.”
He shoved my shoulder. “Asshole.”
“You should probably get going. You wouldn’t want those bigwigs to get testy.” I gestured in the general direction of his basement door. “I’m going to get a workout in and do some laundry.” I checked my phone for the time. “After I call Cody.”
Gabe smiled. “Tell him I said hi.”
“Will do.” I watched him walk down the hall to the front foyer, taking note of his very fine ass and how it was accentuated by the black leather jacket he put on before he went out the door. I shook my head and blew out a breath. Now was not the time to perv over my roommate. Then again, was there ever a time to do that?
I went back to my bedroom to change into workout clothes and call Cody before he went to preschool. Cody was his usual chatty self, talking about his breakfast, his friends at school, and how they were going to make decorations for Christmas and Hanukkah. The way he pronounced the Jewish holiday made me chuckle. He asked if I was going to move back to his house. When I told him no, he started to cry. I promised him I’d come by after he got home from preschool today. That made him happy. It wasn’t too cold today, so the walk would be fine.
After the call with Cody, I went to the basement and spent an hour working out in Gabe’s gym. He had a nice set up of free-weights, a high-tech treadmill, and a universal machine that rivaled anything I’d seen in a commercial gym.
Since I was now off parole, I could start taking security jobs in New York City. Both Marco and Gabe had recommended I add more cardio to my workout routine to increase my stamina. They’d also told me I didn’t need to go so heavy on the weights because speed more than bulk would serve me better in the job. I could see where they were coming from, but it was hard to change four years of making myself bigger and stronger to keep myself safe.
After my workout, I was starving, so I took a quick shower and went down to the kitchen to scrounge up some breakfast. I found eggs and bacon in the fridge and got them going on the stove while I popped some bread in the toaster oven. The appliance looked brand new, like Gabe hadn’t even used it yet. I hoped he didn’t mind me baptizing it.
I pressed the button to start it toasting and nothing happened. I checked to make sure it was plugged in and tried again. Still nothing. I pressed the test button on the outlet and then hit the reset button. No power was getting to the appliance through that outlet. I was torn between finishing my breakfast and diving into what appeared to be an electrical problem. I decided to finish cooking my eggs and bacon and then look into what was wrong with the outlet.
Twenty minutes later, I had my tool bag out as I searched for the electrical panel. I couldn’t check the outlet until I’d cut the power to it. I figured the panel was in the basement. I remembered seeing a door to what looked to be a small closet at the far end. Sure enough, the small room housed the tankless water heater and the electrical panel for the house.
I opened the small door that covered the columns of circuit breakers, and my jaw dropped. “What the holy hell is that?”
What was supposed to be two neat columns of circuit breakers with the wiring neatly tied in or behind the panel box was instead a rat’s nest of wires shoved into the box every which way. Worse, none of the breakers were labeled as to which part of the house they controlled. “Motherfucker,” I growled. Whoever had done this had put Gabe’s house at serious risk of an electrical fire.
I looked at the panel again, trying to figure out what to do. I couldn’t call Gabe. He would be in that meeting all day. I could call Marco, but I doubted he knew much about electrical wiring. Then I remembered Amir, the electrician I’d apprenticed under. I hadn’t seen him in more than four years. I wondered if he’d remember me. Thankfully, Damian had gotten my contacts uploaded to my new phone. I opened them and found Amir’s number. Fingers crossed, I called him.
“Hello?” I blew out a sigh of relief when I heard the older man’s softly accented voice.
“Amir? It’s Nico Galanis.”
“Nico! It’s good to hear from you. Are you out of prison?”
I walked out of the utility closet and sat on the basement sofa. “Yeah, I’m out. I got out in October.”
“That’s wonderful! Why didn’t you call sooner?”
His mild chastisement hit me right in the heart. Amir had always been such a gentle man. I’d loved working with him. “I was having a rough time getting my head on straight. It took a little while and some help from a friend.”
“I’m glad it’s better. Are you working?”
“Not as an electrician. The union said I had to take the test again because it’s been so long.”
He growled. “Those bastards. You’re an excellent electrician already.”
I sighed. “I think they’re wary because I’ll have a felony on my record until it’s expunged.”
“Wait. Your record will be expunged? How did that happen?”
“It’s kind of a long story,” I began. “After I went to prison, Allie broke up with me. At some point, she started dating this guy who became abusive. Her brother, Zach, ran him off, and she thought that was the end of it.” I sucked in a deep breath to calm my racing heart. “It turns out he didn’t like being told no. In April of this year, he got her to talk to him outside a bar. He got aggressive, and she ran away from him. He went after her with his car and hit her. She died a few hours later.”
Amir made a strangled noise and murmured something in Farsi. “That is horrible, Nico. I am so sorry.”
Tears stung my eyes. “My son was only three when that happened. He had to celebrate his fourth birthday without his mom.” I blew out a long breath. “Zach is friends with a guy whose brother is a big-time lawyer. He took my case pro bono and got me out. As soon as the state gets off its ass, my record will be expunged.” I wiped away a tear that had escaped down my cheek. “It’s been a rough year. Especially trying to figure out how to be a father to my son.”
“I’m sorry about Allison. I hope they find the person who killed her.”
“Me too.” He had no idea how much I wanted to find that son of a bitch. I glanced at the open door of the utility closet and remembered why I’d called him in the first place. “Hey, Amir, I actually called to ask you an electrical question. Do you have time?”
“Of course,” he said warmly. “I always have time for you.” I explained the issue with the electrical panel and sent him a picture. I’d never heard him curse so much before. “The owner is lucky there hasn’t been a fire in the house.”
“No kidding. Whoever did the rewire on this house should lose their license.”
“If they have one at all,” he muttered.
“Would a contractor do that?” I asked.
“Sadly, yes. Sometimes, they use a friend instead of getting a licensed electrician.”
“Great,” I grumbled. “Gabe’s going to be so pissed.”
“I take it Gabe is the owner?”
“Yeah. He’s at work right now, and I won’t be able to reach him.”
“Tell you what,” he said. “How about I come to you, and we can figure out some solutions to present to your friend.”
Relief filled me. “That would be great.”