“Mr. Mays. Right on time.”
I forced myself to smile back behind my own plain mask, even though I wasn’t particularly feeling it. “Ma’am,” I said.
“Go right in,” she said to me, then looked at Elliot, who, as usual, wasn’t wearing a mask. Shifters couldn’t catch or transmit Arcanavirus again, which is why almost everyone who masked did so. People who didn’t mask were either in serious heath denial or were Arcanids. Elliot was much more okay with being IDed as a shifter by random people than I was. Maybe I’d get there someday, but I kept up the mask-wearing habit in public for now. When I wore one at work, it was for the combined reason of pathogen control and keeping my DNA out of any evidence. “Are you… together?” Michelle asked, glancing at me. There was only a little weight to the question, just a little, but I definitely noticed.
“Yeah,” I answered. “He’s with me.”
She nodded. “Go ahead, then,” she said, and while her voice was pleasant, it seemed just a little less cheerful. I pretended I didn’t notice.
We went into Humbolt’s office, and he looked up. “Mr. Mays, and…?” He trailed off on a question.
“Elliot Crane,” Elliot said, stepping forward and holding out a hand.
Humbolt stood and shook it over the desk. To his credit, he didn’t seem to hesitate at all. “May I ask your interest in Mr. Mays’s situation?” he asked politely.
“He’s my boyfriend,” I replied quickly. I knew Elliot was inclined to be open about who and what he was, regardless of what others thought or did about it. But he also knew I wasn’t as willing to share parts of myself with the world. In situations likethis one, he usually let me decide what to say—or not—about our relationship.
But I also knew how much he hated when I hid the fact that I was a shifter or that I was gay. I could only imagine how much he’d hate it if I pretended we weren’t together. And I couldn’t do that to him. Wouldn’t.
Fortunately, Humbolt didn’t seem to mind.
The lawyer nodded once. “And you’re comfortable discussing possibly sensitive matters with him present?” he asked me. “Including financial matters?”
“I am.” I couldn’t think of anything more sensitive than what I’d already told Elliot. More sensitive than anything I’d discussed with Humbolt.
Humbolt nodded again. “Very well, please have a seat, gentlemen.”
There were two chairs on this side of Humbolt’s desk, so we sat, Elliot to my right, casually crossing one ankle over his other knee. If I’d tried that, my knee would have fallen off—well, not literally, but it might have been preferable if it had.
“The Sheriff’s Office has informed me that they have finished the investigation at your parents’ house,” Humbolt told me. “I thought perhaps you would like to go out to the property. If nothing else, it might be good to specifically lay claim to the items listed in your mother’s will for you and your twin. The parcel of land will be more… complicated, but individual pieces of property are much easier to claim.”
My throat closed. I hadn’t been prepared for the idea that I’d actually have to set foot in the house where I’d grown up today. Of course it had occurred to me that it was likely at some point, but then Noah had been arrested and I’d been held overnight, and the steeling myself to go back to the homestead had gone right out of my head.
“This afternoon?” Elliot asked, noticing that I’d gone too quiet.
“I’ve cleared my schedule after a lunch meeting—that will be done around one—and would be happy to take you out there.” He cleared his throat slightly. “Both of you, if you wish.” The last was said with a pointed look at me.
I nodded, still not really able to speak.
“Can we follow you?” Elliot asked. “Or is there some rule about us needing to be driven?”
“Oh, no, you’re welcome to drive yourselves,” Humbolt assured him. “In fact, you may wish to spend some time out there.” He smiled at me. “Revisit old memories.”
Like hell did I want to revisit old memories. But I wasn’t going to tell Humbolt that. It wasn’t his problem and it wasn’t his business, either.
“Sure,” I half-croaked.
Elliot shot me a look, but Humbolt seemed oblivious. Or maybe he was just really polite. “Excellent. Would you like to follow me, or shall we simply plan to meet out there at two?”
Elliot looked at me. I swallowed, twice, before I was capable of answering. “Two is fine,” I said.
Humbolt smiled again. “Excellent. Now, I have some additional paperwork I’d like to go over first…”
The lunchthat Elliot had essentially forced me to eat sat in my stomach like a rock as we drove past a church as Beverly Street crossed Wilson Parkway and turned into country highway. Staunton wasn’t my favorite place in the world, but as Elliot drove out of it, I felt a surge of affection for it, simply because it was the opposite direction from where we were going.
Swoope, and then the Community of the Divine Transformation. The house where I’d spent my childhood wracked by terror and guilt.
There was literally no place on earth I wanted to go to less.
