Sui Generis – 3

 

Magnus Larsson, nicknamed Mag, woke with a start when he heard the door open. He was sitting up on the sofa where he'd fallen asleep while studying much earlier in the evening. "Cutting it close, aren't you, Brand?" he asked, frowning.

"Not close enough," Brand muttered to his housemate. "I almost had him. Would have too, if I'd been more careful. Just after I spotted him I knelt on something sharp. I should have kept quiet but it hurt." He smiled ruefully.

"Did you cut yourself?" Mag, asked in concern. When Brand shook his head, Mag added tartly, "You're supposed to be better than that."

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Brand dropped down on the sofa, running his hands through his too long, brown hair.

Mag studied him, seeing the self-disgust in his dark green eyes. "There'll be other times."

"Yeah, I know.

Mag's gaze moved down to Brand's slender but muscular torso and the sleeveless black T-shirt that covered it. He resisted, as always, the urge to lick his lips in appreciation. Not only was he so far out of Brand's league that it was ridiculous, he was also well aware that for Brand, sex was now a tool and nothing more. It hadn't been like that—once—but after Fedor had gotten his hands on Brand, that had changed. Why? Mag didn't know, but it had and now Brand was searching for Fedor with a passion bordering on mania.

Brand caught Mag's look and smiled slightly. "If you need some…"

"Naw. Even if I did, I'm too damned tired and you should be too. Besides which, I have to be up and moving too soon to get to work. Time and tide wait for no one."

Brand stretched casually, casting a sideways glance at Mag. "Maybe I'll pass on school tonight."

"Nope, not happening. We made a pact. We get our diplomas and make something of our lives. Neither of us is going to end up back to the streets again."

"True. But damn it, Mag."

"Brand." Mag leaned over to rest his hand on Brand's knee. "If you're supposed to find him, you will—one way or another. So you had a near miss tonight. Maybe it was meant to be."

"Going all fatalist on me," Brand grumbled, but he did smile at his friend. "Okay, point made. I'll get some sleep, go to class, and then I'll get back out there and keep looking." He sighed tiredly. "If nothing else, I know I was right about one thing, he's still here and still in the downtown area, if tonight was any indication."

"Just like…" Mag shook his head, snapping his book closed. "I'm going up to bed."

"You can say it. Just like when he got his hands on me."

"Yes," Mag replied softly. "You owe him for that."

"And I will repay him."