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doing?
I don t know, Adrien admitted. But I can t just& If word
ever got out about him&
Twenty-odd years and he s kept out of the spotlight just fine
so far. And without any help from you, I might add. I don t see
why you have any reason to worry.
Adrien pinched his brow between his fingers. He couldn t
admit that the emotion he was feeling wasn t worry, half so much
as it was curiosity. Not to Win. She d scold him until his ears fell
off, and then she d probably book him a ticket and tell him to get
his ass home before he did something stupid.
Is that it? Win asked into the middle of the silence that had
fallen between them. Anything else Spain has thrown at you in
the past twelve hours, or may I go back to bed now?
Your coffee will be cold. Win hated cold coffee the way kids
hated brussels sprouts. And knowing her, she d call him up when it
was the middle of the night in Caceres and bitch him out for
making her ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee, just to get back at
him.
But my bed s warm. I think I ll survive.
45
DOUBLE FEATURE
Night, Win, he told her. Tell Mason it s my fault you re
dead on your feet at work tomorrow, if you have to.
Don t think I won t, she teased, but then sobered. Take care
of yourself, Adrien. Spain is a very long way to have to go to bail
your ass out of trouble.
Trouble? I m in the middle of nowhere in rural Spain. Adrien
leaned back against the bed s footboard, stretched his legs out on
the mattress, crossed at the ankle. How much trouble can I find,
really?
I m going to pretend you didn t ask that.
* * *
A muffled shout and the sound of a door slamming overhead
had Felix on his feet in an instant. He dashed upstairs just in time
to see Cristian fly down the hallway, muttering a string of
obscenities with every step. He shoved their bedroom door open,
then banged it shut behind him.
Well. Felix stopped at the top of the stairs and leaned his
shoulder against the wall. No good will come of that.
He glanced down the hall toward Adrien s room, wondering
what he d done to upset Cristian so quickly. With the sort of mood
he d been in lately, it would have hardly taken anything to set him
off.
Adrien didn t emerge, which Felix counted a small mercy. He
drew his datascreen out of his pocket and paged through the mags,
keeping one eye on the bedroom door.
Ten minutes later, he d read all the updates and there hadn t
been any signs of life from the bedroom. He flicked the datascreen
shut, tucked it away, and crossed the hall.
46
DOUBLE FEATURE
With one swift glance around the bedroom, he found the
huddled shape on the bed. Cristian, the blankets pulled all the way
over his head. The evening sun cut through their blinds, casting
bars of light across his form.
Felix settled onto the edge of the mattress and put his hand on
what he thought was a hip. What s this about, then?
He s insufferable. The words exploded out from beneath the
blanket. Oh, excuse me, if it s not too much trouble, is this the
sort of establishment that puts mints on your pillow? I do so love
chocolates. God!
Felix bit back a smile. Cristian may not have been able to see
it, but he would have heard it on Felix s voice. Expecting mints in
one s hotel room? The very nerve.
Don t you start.
Felix gazed down at the lump that was Cristian, curled small
and tight. It s not so bad, you know, he said quietly. He s bound
to be off doing touristy things all day long. I m sure you ll hardly
have to see him.
Go away, Cristian snapped.
Felix rocked back and scowled down at him.
If all you re going to do is talk like that, then just leave me
alone.
For a long moment, Felix neither spoke nor moved. It always
ends up like this, he thought, exhausted by it. One wrong word and
the ground shifted beneath his feet, landing him square in the
middle of a minefield. It didn t matter what he did he was bound
to set off an explosion.
More the fool, me. I never learn. I can t help trying to defuse
the situation.
You did choose to let him stay, he said, slowly, edging out
47
DOUBLE FEATURE
into the minefield. Eyes shut, breath still, praying he didn t take a
wrong step. You didn t have to.
I told you
You chose this. You chose to have him here.
Cristian drew a swift, sharp breath, then held it. Silence
stretched, tension so sharp it lifted the hairs on the back of Felix s
neck. You can go now. Cristian s tone cut, even muffled by the
blanket.
Cristy, Felix said on the tail end of a sigh.
I said fuck off, Felix!
Felix caught his breath and shuddered. He drew his hand away
and stared down at Cristian s blanket-covered form for an instant
longer before he got to his feet. Stay up here and sulk like a child,
then. His voice shook. He couldn t help it, wouldn t have even if
he d been capable.
He stormed out. Cristian didn t call after him. Felix wouldn t
have stopped, even if he had.
He was shaking by the time he reached the kitchen. He grabbed
a tumbler from the cupboard and the first bottle that came to hand
from the liquor cabinet. His trembling fingers made the ice clink
against the sides of the glass as he filled it.
He sank onto a stool at the counter and drained half the
tumbler, then leaned his head in his hands, the glass icy against his
brow. The liquor burned on the way down, but not hot enough or
long enough to erase the memory of the venom in Cristian s words.
Not yet, anyway. The night was still young, and their liquor
cabinet well stocked.
* * *
48
DOUBLE FEATURE
Adrien hesitated at the base of the stairs, listening for any signs
activity from the kitchen. The last thing he needed was another
encounter like last night s, with Cristian snarling at him and
stomping around and slamming doors.
But the kitchen was silent, tempting him with the promise of at
least getting one cup of coffee in peace. He could face almost
anything even a hostile clone with a few cups of good coffee in
him.
He slipped through the doorway into the kitchen, but froze two
steps in. Someone had beat him down here after all. Felix, he
guessed, by the mop of tousled auburn hair. He sat on one of the
stools at the bar, facedown on the counter with his head in his
arms, an empty bottle beside him and the sharp smell of alcohol on
the air.
Asleep? Adrien could only hope. Felix had been more civil to
him than his partner, but only just. Adrien cleared his throat with a
quiet cough.
Felix jerked his head up. He stared at Adrien through red-
rimmed eyes.
Too much to hope, then, that he d drunk himself into a stupor
and Adrien could escape with his coffee unnoticed. He scarcely
had an instant to consider whether he d rather face what was bound
to be an awkward encounter at best or slip out the front door and
seek his morning cup at a nice little cafe.
Felix jumped off the stool, toppling it over with a clatter, and
rushed at him. Adrien took one quick step back, alarm singing
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