Page 24 of Psychic Obsession
"Hello again, Saylor."
"Jaxon."Saylor touched a hand to his chest and smiled at Frode."I wanted to apologize for last time.I beat myself up all the way home.So embarrassing."
What the fuck?Before Nikolai could stop himself, he was glaring at Saylor.
Frode, on the other hand, chuckled, and a shiver curled around Nikolai's spine.
"Don't worry about it.Want to join us?"
Nikolai searched frantically for something to say to make Saylor go away.He hadn't so much as acknowledged Nikolai sitting there; his eyes never left Frode.Nikolai gritted his teeth.
"Nah, I'm here with Maeve Dubose and Zachary Mallon, grabbing a quick lunch."He gestured toward a table by the window."And you're here with..."His gaze left Frode and landed on Nikolai."Detective."He dipped his head in a nod.
"My brother."Frode waved a gloved hand toward the bar where Hjalmar was in the middle of grabbing their drinks."He's friends with Nesterova, so he tagged along."
Saylor nodded."Right, I keep forgetting you and the lovely agent are brothers."A quick grin."I should..."He waved toward his table at the same time as Hjalmar reached theirs.
"Saylor."Hjalmar put the glasses on the table and grabbed his hand."Here to flirt with my brother?"He waggled his eyebrows, and Saylor the fucker blushed.Nikolai wanted to snarl.
"More like apologizing.I embarrassed myself last time we met by going all fan boy on him."
"You did not."But the smile Frode was giving him was amused, somaybe he had.
Saylor gave him an eye-crinkling grin."Enjoy your lunch, gentlemen."
"Care if I join you?"Frode got to his feet, and the slack-jawed surprise on Hjalmar's face would've been funny if it hadn't been for Frode abandoning their table to sit with Jaxon fucking Saylor.Up until today, he'd liked Saylor, but hewas over it now."I've seen Dubose's face many times but never talked to her."
"Oh, of course.Come, come."
Frode snatched his beer and walked away.
Hjalmar blinked, then looked at Nikolai with wide eyes."What the fuck?"He spoke low and sat on Frode's chair instead of next to Nikolai like he had before.
Nikolaididn't say anything.He didn't knowwhat to say.
"I mean, he's referred to Saylor as the cute forensic guy for some time, but I didn't know they talked."
"Is Saylor gay?"Nikolai took a sip of water to try to conceal how much he wanted Hjalmar to answer the question with a no.
"No idea, but he looked...interested, right?"
Nikolai grunted.
"That's awesome.I mean,I'll look into him, but so far so good."
Nikolai frowned."Why is it awesome?"
"Well, if he was fan-boying, then he most likely knows how Frode works, right?Understands his restrictions and so on."
Restrictions?"How do you mean?"
"Like fucking Declan.He was annoyed by Frode wearing gloves.I've been there when Frode loses consciousness.It's not fun.I always want gloves on him, but not Declan.Fucker."
Nikolai didn't know what to say.He'd noticed the gloves, but did he wear them all the time?How did he go about doing dishes, taking showers, and cooking?He looked over at the table where Frode was sitting.He was nodding at something Saylor said, a gloved hand on his glass.
"Does he wear them all the time?"
Hjalmar shrugged."Pretty much.Not always at home, and he knows what to buy.Like he always orders an entire tray of, say, shampoo.They most often come directly from the factory, wrapped in plastic, and haven't been touched or only touched once, whereas if he picks up a bottle at the store, someone has unpacked it and put it on the shelf, and other customers might have fondled the bottle and so on.He can relax pretty well in his home, but like...I don't touch the remote to his TV.If I did, he'd see my face whenever he touched it, so I simply don't.I think it's why he never invites anyone to his house.If they're there, they'll touch things.Light switches, cutlery, you name it.All it takes is for someone to touch something once, and it's forever there."
