He has a stern look on his face, his eyebrows pinched together. That must be George.
“Who is this?” he asks his mother directly, while walking to me.
“Kai Walker.”
His face darkens, his eyes cutting into mine.
His mother introduces him to me.
“What are you doing here?” the man asks.
His mother relays him the story.
He doesn’t crack a smile, let alone hint that he is warming up to the idea that I’m here in good faith.
I sense hostility in his non-verbal communication, too, so I cut my visit short, thank the woman for the treat and our conversation, and say goodbye to both of them.
I feel much better when I slide back into my car and head back to Manhattan.
* * *
KAI
I barely enterManhattan when my phone goes off.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I think I’m going to take you up on that offer if it’s still open,” Francisco says.
“What offer?” I ask, just as I get another call and Grayson’s name pops on the screen. “Hold that thought. I need to get this. I’ll call you back.”
“No problem. I’m home. I need to move my stuff out,” he says.
“Wait. What?”
“I’m moving out, man. I put my apartment on the market.”
Grayson’s call goes answered.
“What happened?”
“Someone got into my apartment, and you won’t believe what they took from me.”
I freeze.
He stays silent.
“Okay. You know what? I’m heading over there. Don’t move.”
“All right.”
He chuckles at the other end of the line.
“No need to get all tense, man. I mean, I’m pissed as fuck. That’s why I want to get out. They couldn’t stop this dickhead from entering the building. There are other things too, but nothing like this. It’s getting ridiculous. And strange as fuck.”
“Okay. I’m coming.”
We hang up, and I call Grayson.