Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)(43)

“Huh,” he said as they walked toward the house.

Mae gave him a sidelong glance. “What’s wrong?”

“Just not what I expected.” They reached the front of the house, and he was even more surprised to see the cute wooden door rigged with a number of locks and a security panel. Leo had urban sensibilities in a rural setting. “Also didn’t expect this place to be sealed up like a federal building.”

“I thought there wasn’t any crime in the RUNA.” He could just barely pick up a hint of mockery in Tessa’s voice.

“Oh, we have plenty of crime.” He knocked on the door. “We just don’t have ordinary people walking the streets with guns.”

The door opened, and Leo appeared. Maybe the ravens were right and he hadn’t wanted to see Justin, but Leo gave no sign of that as his face broke out into a grin. He gestured them forward, shaking Justin’s hand as they stepped inside.

“You’re the last person I expected to hear from this week,” Leo said. “Or any week.”

Leo looked the same as ever, with his slim build and delicate features. His dark hair was slicked back, and he was dressed as though he was about to step out of a Vancouver high-rise.

“I’ve been busy,” Justin responded. “Leo, this is Mae, my aristocratic security, and this is Tessa. She’s a friend’s daughter who’s staying with Cyn and me.” It was an unwieldy introduction, but “ward” sounded like he was in some ancient novel. And anything else just conjured up sordid theories in people’s minds.

Leo did a double take at Justin as he shook hands. “Wait. You’re living with Cynthia?”

“It’s a long story. I’ve kind of been seeing the world.”

“I don’t think ‘seeing the world’ ever came up when we were trying to figure out what happened to you,” Leo mused. “We had a pool going over in the Internal Security building. The favorite theories were rehab and starting a cult of your own.”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about it.” Justin sat down on a couch in a small living room with rustic pine floors and walls that contrasted with the media screen and sleek black and steel furniture that he remembered from Leo’s old apartment. Tessa took the spot beside him, and Mae stood near the fireplace. Her stance was casual, but her eyes were as watchful as ever. “How in the world did you end up here? Can I get in on a pool for that?”

Leo grinned. “I didn’t end up anywhere. I chose to come here.”

“Why?”

“For the noblest of reasons.” Leo nodded toward the living room’s doorway. “I got married.”

So much for his stunning powers of observation. Justin hadn’t even noticed the gold ring on Leo’s finger. The man who entered the living room, wearing a matching ring, was pretty much Leo’s opposite in every way. Where Leo was tall and slender, this guy was shorter and broad shouldered, with the kind of muscles that came from hard work or expensive fitness devices. He had the common dark hair and eyes, with a close-cut haircut framing his square face, and scarring along his chin suggested he was one of the rare plebeians to have picked up Cain. He was more casually dressed than Leo and clearly much shyer.

Leo caught hold of his arm and steered him in while making introductions. “Dominic, this is the guy I told you about.”

Justin jumped up to shake Dominic’s hand, wondering what exactly Leo had told him. “Well, congratulations.” Justin put on his sunniest public relations face. “If I’d known, I would’ve brought you a gift. You look like you could use some nice linens.”

Leo laughed, but Dominic said in a very flat voice, “We already have some.”

“Justin won’t say it, but he’s appalled by our living conditions,” Leo explained. “He’d never dream of living any place so ‘primitive.’” Beside him, Justin heard Tessa clear her throat.

“Oh, I’ll say it,” Justin told them. Dominic situated himself on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed in a standoffish way that oddly mirrored Mae. “Getting married doesn’t mean you have to pack up and move to a farm, though. If it does, then I’m even more against it than I already was.”

“Dominic’s trying to start his own wine business. All the vineyards outside? That’s his handiwork.” Leo looked up at his husband with unabashed pride and adoration.

“And what do you do?” asked Justin. “Design the labels?” It was impossible to imagine fastidious Leo digging around in the dirt.

Leo shook his head. “Nah, I commute to the city. Well, sometimes. They let me do a lot of telecommuting too. I work for Estocorp’s Portland branch now.”

“That’s a long trip if you do have to go in.” “Estocorp” sounded familiar, but it took Justin a few moments to place it. “You’re working on contraceptive implants?”

“Pays better than my old job. Maybe even better than yours.”

“Not likely,” said Justin. “Leo, you could probably hack an identity chip. Why would you waste your time with birth control?”

Leo was still amazingly casual about all of this, but then, he’d had a lot more time to adapt to his change in fortunes. “Hey, it’s noble work keeping our population stable. Besides, the Ministry of Health and Social Services is considering switching from their current provider. Do you know what kind of money we’d make with a government contract?”