Hunter(Zeus's Pack 5)(8)

They danced their way into the kitchen were Quinn grabbed some bottled waters and tossed one to Tristan. He drank it halfway down, wiping his brow free from sweat. “That was fun.” He panted as he took a seat at the table.

“Just a typical day in Quinn Chevay’s house.” Quinn jumped up onto the counter and took a seat. “I wanted to go to the jobsite and see how things are going. You want to ride along, jellybean?”

“Yes, sir.” Tristan wanted to get out of the house. He just feared Xavier tracking him down. The less time he spent in the public eye, the better off he would be, but he couldn’t live like a hermit.

“Then let’s head out.” Quinn hopped down, finished his water, and then tossed the bottle. Tristan kept his with him. Meeting new people always made him nervous and then his throat would dry out. The water would be handy. Maybe he should grab another one. Tristan ran into the bedroom and grabbed his sketchpad and a pencil. One never knew when they would need to draw.

“Ready?” Quinn called from the front door. He slid his feet into the flip-flops and then ran to catch up to his mate.

“Ready.” Yippy! I remembered not to say sir.

Quinn must have caught it as well because he smiled widely at Tristan. Oh man, was that a gorgeous smile or what?

Tristan clutched the pad to his chest and stepped through the door, hurrying to the car as he scanned the neighborhood.

“If you tell me who we’re looking for, I could better protect you,” Quinn probed. Tristan wasn’t ready to talk about it. If he brought it up or talked about it, that would bring bad luck, and Xavier would show up.

“I’m just very cautious, sir.” Dang it. Why did he get all jittery when he thought of that man?

“Okay, jellybean. I’ll leave it alone for now, but I would really like to know.” Quinn unlocked the car and they both slipped in. Tristan placed the sketchpad in his lap and watched out of the window as Quinn drove.

His eyes grew round when Quinn pulled into a very large jobsite. He could tell right away that it was a mansion and, from the looks of it, well on its way to being completed. It was beautiful. Tristan didn’t know the technical term for what was going on, but the interior walls were being put up. There were tarps flapping in the slight wind as many workers busied themselves around the house.

“Hey, Quinn. Good to see you.” A man came over and shook his mate’s hand and then stared strangely at Tristan. He didn’t like that look. It made him uncomfortable.

“This, Tristan, is Jake.” Quinn introduced him.

“Hi, Tristan.” Jake shook his hand. It made Tristan feel important to be introduced to Quinn’s friends. Like he mattered.

“’Bout time you got your ass back here.”

Tristan took a step back and started humming his favorite song instead of singing it. The man looked at Tristan and smiled warmly. “I know you. How are you, Tristan?”

Tristan knew him, too. He was at the house when they all discovered he wasn’t Torem.

“I’m fine, sir.” Tristan kicked at the dirt with his feet, unsure how he should behave around Quinn’s friends. He knew that friendship was important, so he needed to make a good impression.

“You want to walk around with me as I check the site out?” Quinn asked Tristan.

“No, sir. May I sit here and draw?”

“Okay, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you, so relax. No one here will let anything happen to you.”

Tristan felt like a total wimp when Quinn said that in front of the other men. He felt special when they were alone, but now everyone was looking at him funny. “Is he in some sort of trouble?” Dino asked.

He ignored Dino’s question and took a seat away from the workers. Tristan sat on the pine needle-covered ground and opened his pad. Once again he became lost as he stared at the house and then drew what he thought it should look like. He wasn’t that great of an artist, but it helped him relax.

Tristan hummed the song he and Quinn danced to, smiling at the silly way Quinn acted with him. He was quickly becoming Tristan’s best friend.

“Ready?”

Tristan blinked, looking up to see Quinn and Dino standing over him. “But we just got here, sir.”

“Jellybean, we’ve been here for three hours.”

Tristan looked down at his sketchpad and saw he had drawn the entire house with his added ideas. Where had the time gone? “Okay.” Tristan stood and brushed his backside off, following behind Quinn as his mate talked with Dino.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Tristan’s heart began to race. If Quinn was coming into work tomorrow, who would be with him at the house?