Chapter 16
JULES
"It feels like we've been away for days," Boner said.
"It's been six hours," I reminded him.
We'd gotten to my father's house, took a look around, then got back in the car and drove all the way back to the city.
"Six and a half, but it feels like days." He wound down the window to inhale the smell of…exhaust fumes? Humanity?
His head was almost hanging out the window like a dog. It wouldn't have surprised me if his tongue stuck out and he started panting.
"It's good to be home," he declared.
"Maybe you should have stayed here then." I waited for a break in traffic so I could change lanes and drive into the parking garage under Archer's building.
"I could say the same to you," Boner said. "We could have both stayed, but think of the road trip we would have missed out on. It was epic. Memories were made. Bonds were bonded. Lives were changed."
"It was six hours," I said again.
"Six and a half hours is enough time to be epic," he insisted. "Oh, you're one of those." He grinned over at me while I backed my car into a parking space.
"One of those what?" I asked.
"One of those people who don't go forward into a parking space," he said as if that explained everything.
I stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "Whatever. At least the car is straight."
"Have you asked them?" Boner asked.
"Asked who what?" I was starting to think I should have left him behind in the Hamptons.
"Have you asked the car their sexual preference?"
I rolled my eyes.
"I meant it's sitting straight in the parking space." He knew that was what I meant. I need to stop giving him ammunition. Asshole used it every time.
I pulled the keys out of the ignition and pushed the door open, narrowly missing hitting the one beside me.
"Where are they?" I decided to leave my luggage in the car for now. This was more important.
I had an inkling Harlow and Cass intended to confront Zeus. Archer would have gone along with them, knowing him. He'd do anything to keep her safe. He better keep my brother safe too or he'd have me to deal with.
"Archer said they're at a restaurant a couple of blocks from here," Boner said, pushing his phone into his pocket after having checked the screen.
"Let's go then." I all but trotted out of the parking garage and up onto the street, where the crowds forced me to slow down.
I didn't look back to see if Boner was following. I didn't need to. He kept up a monologue most of the way. Talking about the weather. The crowds. How good the pretzels smelled when we walked past a stand selling them.
I'd have to go back for some later. They did smell good.
I pulled out my wallet and tossed a couple of bills in the hat in front of a street performer on the corner. They were impressive.
"Look at you. Never in too much of a hurry to be a good Samaritan." Boner tossed them a couple of dollars himself.
"You never know when you might need some good karma." I shoved my wallet back.
Right now we could use all the good karma we could get. And, like I said, the busker was talented. They deserved to be appreciated. The fact they weren't Atomic Fluff was a bonus.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you're secretly a nice guy," Boner said.
I looked back over my shoulder and pointed a finger at him. "Don't repeat that. And don't say anything about it to anyone else."
Now I thought about it, maybe he should. They'd probably laugh in his face. I couldn't think of a single person who'd refer to me as a nice guy, without laughing afterward. Not even Cass or Harlow.
I hurried around a couple of men in turbans who seemed to be arguing over what direction they needed to go. Another time I might have offered help. Not today.
Today they were on their—
I didn't even finish that thought before I noticed Boner had stopped.
"Where are you blokes going?" he asked loudly.
While I tapped my foot on the sidewalk, the three of them put their heads together over a phone.
Boner pointed to it and explained the direction they needed to head.
"Thanks a lot, man," one of them said.
"Anytime, bro." Boner offered them a fist bump.
They hurried away and he caught up with me. Belatedly, I realized I could have left him behind.
"You know we don't have time for that, right?"
"First of all, I have faith in Harlow and Archer," Boner said, completely unapologetic.
"Second of all, it only took half a minute to be nice. Weren't you just saying we never knew when we'd need good karma? I just bought us a whole bunch of it."
I sighed and turned away to resume the push through the crowds toward the address Archer gave.
Was my father there? Was he still alive? If he was, I might rip his head off myself. I didn't consider myself a killer, but I'd make an exception if I had to.
"It's over there," Boner said, pointing across the road.
The restaurant looked half-derelict, sitting on the corner with paint chipping off the facade. The name was missing a few letters. Instead of Farah's Table it read Far T.
That was unfortunate.
"We shouldn't go running in half-cocked." I waited for the lights to turn so we could cross the street. The last thing we needed was to get this close, only to be run over by a cab.
I hadn't gotten the image of Yvette flying through the air all the way out of my mind. It was quick, but I doubted I'd be that lucky. I'd probably be badly injured and in pain for the rest of my life. No thanks.
"I never do anything half-cocked," Boner said. "Anything I do is full-cocked, with a couple of oversized balls thrown in for good measure."
"I've seen your balls; they aren't oversized," I said.
"You've looked that closely?" He grinned. "I'm flattered."
"Don't be. I might have been looking because they were so small, wrinkled and old, like my great-grandmother." She was dead, but I sent her a mental apology anyway for comparing her face to his testicles. Although, if she knew, she would have laughed her ass off.
He shoved his shoulder into mine.
"Admit it, you were looking. It's okay to look, I don't mind."
Would the universe judge me too harshly if I pushed him into the path of a cab? Probably not, but Harlow would. I could always say he tripped.
"I know what you're thinking," he said.
"Probably not." I scratched behind my ear. Why were these lights taking so long to change?
"You're thinking, when we've dealt with you-know-who, you want to have another look at my balls," he said gleefully.
"I'm definitely not thinking that," I said.
"But now you are," he grinned.
"Absolutely not."
Finally the light changed, giving us the chance to dart over the street.
"Wait a minute before we—" I don't think Boner heard a word before he was running straight through the door into the restaurant.
"Fuck," I said under my breath, before following him in.
"Looks like we got here just in time," he said cheerfully.
Forrest stood to the side of the room. Cass and Harlow were a few feet away. Archer was just emerging from the direction of what looked like the kitchen.
No one was dead.
Or maimed.
No one was missing any fingers as far as I could tell. Everyone's feet looked intact.
"What the hell's going on?" I demanded.
"Julius," Forrest said slowly. "How nice of you to join us." He didn't look surprised to see me. "I had no idea rewiring a house could be done so quickly."
"It can't. I didn't trust you not to do something while I was out of town,” I said.
I shot Harlow a look to ask 'what the hell is going on?'
She exhaled softly. "Your father was explaining that he's not Zeus after all."
Confusion warred with relief. Neither gave an inch.
Boner, as gobsmacked as I felt, rallied quickly.
"Well, that's a good thing, right?" He stepped over to put his arms around Harlow and Cass, giving them both a hug at the same time.
"It's a good thing," Harlow agreed, hugging him back.
"But I thought you said…" I shook my head.
"Hypnos set your father up," Harlow explained.
"Why would he do that?" I felt like I'd stepped into Inside-outville.
Forrest slowly and carefully explained what I assumed he'd been telling Harlow and Cass.
"You're on our side now?" I asked.
"Sounds like he was always on our side," Boner said. "Isn't that wonderful? It's a family affair now. Not the sexual kind. No offense, Forrest."
"None taken," Forrest said, actually looking amused.
"Your father is all right," Boner said to me.
"That's a matter of opinion," I said without taking my eyes off Forest. "All this time you've been trying to do the same thing Harlow was doing? And Archer?"
I gestured in his direction to acknowledge the man who still hovered near the kitchen door, listening but keeping a distance from all of us.
"Not precisely what they're doing," Forrest said. "Trying to find them and bring them to justice. In whatever form that took."
"Harlow might buy this restaurant," Cass said.
Right, Harlow's idea of justice came with sauce.
"I might," Harlow agreed.
She looked around thoughtfully and nodded to herself. Apparently this was her newest pet project. Hers and Cass’, if the look on his face was any indication.
I sensed another re-wiring job in my future. I'd insist. This place looked like a deathtrap. Frankly, I'd seen enough deathtraps for one lifetime. I didn't want to eat in one.
"So that whole drive down to the Hamptons?" I started.
"Perfectly legitimate," Forrest said. "In fact, there was no reason for you to return until it was done."
"Yes, there was," I said. If I hadn't seen this for myself, I wouldn't have believed it. I wasn't sure I did anyway.
Okay, it wasn't much of a stretch to believe my father wasn't the monster we'd spent the last couple of days thinking he was, but we weren't best buddies either. Could we be father and sons? I wasn't sure if I wanted him around me, or my brother. The jury would have to deliberate.
"We have a lot to talk about," Forrest said.
"Yes, we do," Harlow agreed. "Including everything you know about Zeus. Starting with who you think he is. We still expect him to come after us."
"He's going to come after me as well," Forrest said. "I have resources that might help."
"We don't need anything from you." I snapped.
"Don't be so quick to say no." Boner said. He'd moved on from the Forrest-is-Zeus theory, and jumped straight into Forrest-is-my-boyfriend's-father reality.
Maybe he liked the idea someone's father might not be a complete asshole. I wouldn't admit it, but there was some logic to that. I didn't hate the fact my father wasn't a monster.
"Let's start with talking about it," Harlow said reasonably. "Once we're all on the same page, we can figure out where to go from there."
"Agreed," Forrest said, as if it was all his idea. Of course he'd take credit. I fully expected him to take the reins as well. Whatever, as long as we dealt with Zeus once and for all.
"For the record, I'm not going back down to the Hamptons until all of this is done," I said.
I shouldn't have gone down there in the first place. Would this whole meeting have happened unless I had? That was definitely something I needed to find out. I should have found somewhere to hang out for a few hours instead of taking that drive. I could have seen a movie or two.
I'd never admit I didn't regret it too much. Spending time with Boner wasn't the worst thing I'd ever done.
Mostly.
"Understood." Forrest nodded. "Over a meal then?"