muttered and drank
some of the lemon water.
Seth got up quickly, as
stiff as an 80s robot. “Are you done?”
Domenico turned to look
at him. Fire was coursing through his veins, and it felt just right. He was
done with all those idiots. His good looks were chipped, but he would not let
it get him down. He was a man, and masculine beauty lay in more than a nice
face. “Yes.”
“You’re fucking mad! I’m
gonna call the fucking police!” yelled Neil, helping his husband up.
Jamie moaned, holding
his bloodied hand against the center of his face. One stumble to the side was
enough for him to crash against the cupboard containing the porcelain. For a
horribly long moment, Peter’s face turned into a mask of fear, but then it
started raining figurines.
Seth leaped to try to hold
up the cupboard, but it was too late, and all the tiny hands, legs, and heads
smashed against the floor. All Seth managed was to put the cupboard back in
place so it wouldn’t fall on Jamie. Dom was a bit disappointed about that part.
Peter fell to his knees
with the wail of a dying seal. As if the chaos wasn’t enough, the doorbell
rang, and Zach went off to see who it was.
“I’m sorry, Pete,” Seth
pleaded, scooting next to him and putting his arm around Peter’s shoulders.
Peter shoved him away,
or rather tried to, and Seth backed away. “Don’t touch me,” he cried
dramatically, scooping up all the porcelain with both hands, like a mother bird
gathering the shells of her eaten children. “It’s been ten years.”
Domenico frowned and
downed his drink. “I do things like this ?” he asked Seth.
Seth sneered at him.
“All too fucking often.”
That was good enough for
Dom.
“I’ll pay for all of
them, Peter,” Seth said to their host.
“What about Jamie’s
face, huh?” Neil snarled, holding a towel to Jamie’s face. “You gonna pay for
that too? Jamie has a photo shoot in two weeks, Seth! I will fucking flay you!”
“Shut up,” Domenico growled,
walking around the table, pushed by a low rumbling somewhere in his body.
Somewhere he still didn’t have access to. “He was bullying me,” he said, nodding
toward Peter. “I have a witness, who doesn’t appreciate your boy destroying the
figurine collection.”
Peter just kept crying,
so Dom took that as a sign of agreement.
Zach rushed into the
room and looked at Seth as if he’d just seen satanic missionaries at his door.
“It’s the police.”
“Fuck, fuck! Hold them
up,” Seth hissed and turned to Neil. “I know it’s fucked-up, but you need to
stay quiet.” He reached for the pocket in his pants and pulled out a wad of
cash. “You can have this, but just shut it and keep them at the door. Can you
do that, Neil?”
Neil stared at the
money, wide-eyed, no doubt thinking about all the Apple products he could ever
want.
“No, he can’t,” growled
Jamie, but Neil put a hand over his mouth and patted his cheek with the notes
he took from Seth.
“So, what did I see?”
asked Neil.
Domenico picked up the
two tarts remaining on the table and bit into one of them as Seth pushed him
toward the corridor.
“You didn’t see us.
Pete, thank you for everything.”
Peter choked on his
sobs, trying to put together two pieces of a porcelain shepherdess that looked
like it had run into a very bad magician or an even worse saw. Domenico sighed,
winked at the dog, and limped down the corridor. The door into the staircase
was closed but if the police were after them, they needed to get their shit
together fast.
“I’ll take everything.”
Seth was right behind him. “You just put some dressing on your face and wear a
balaclava over it.” The moment he said that, he pushed a purple balaclava with
cat ears into Dom’s hand.
Domenico stared at the
ugly thing. “Do I look like a woman? That’s hardly inconspicuous,” he whispered
as they walked into the bedroom.
Neil was talking loudly
in the background, but it wasn’t Domenico’s concern. They
Christiane Shoenhair, Liam McEvilly