“Good. I think we settled on one detective today, finally. His name is Rocky Hudson. Cool guy—a little quiet and hard to read at first, but his resume was impressive, and he started opening up more toward the end.”
“Ah good. And how about that Third Fallen Angel stuff? Anything new?”
Just talking about it made me feel a chill crawl through my body. I hated to think that someone was out there targeting the detectives at Stonewall. I had seen all the news about the Unicorn killer that had haunted the Stonewall detectives in New York, and this was beginning to seem scarily familiar.
Jonah shook his head. “Nothing. We’ve set up a new surveillance system around Stonewall, and we’ve all been keeping an eye out, but whoever was trying to kick us out seems to have backed off. For now. The ‘third’ is stumping us, too. I think it’s an allusion to the Holy Trinity, but I’ve got no idea.”
“All right, well, keep me in the loop. I’ve asked Beckham about it, but he doesn’t want me to worry too much. Especially not since I’ve got my big licensing exam coming up.”
“Are you ready for it?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve been brushing up and studying a lot lately. Plus, all the practical experience I get at the clinic really helps. I’m sure I’ll do fine.”
“I’m sure you will, too.” Jonah shot a glance off camera. “And then when we go adopt a puppy, you can take care of it as an official vet.”
My eyes went wide. “Ohhhbitch! You better let me come to the shelter with you guys. I want to be there. I love that gooey Hallmark stuff, especially when it involves a dog finding the perfect forever home.”
Jonah laughed. I could hear Fox laugh off-screen, too.
“All right, well, what time does your movie start?”
“We got ten minutes. What’s up?”
I didn’t want to bring it up, but talking to my brother had me thinking about my parents, and I felt like if I was procrastinating, I might as well get some good advice at the same time.
“I want to introduce Beck to Mom and Dad.”
If Jonah was surprised, he hid it well.
“Good, they’ve already been asking me a few questions that I’ve had to dodge.”
“How do you think they’re going to act?”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’ve always been supportive of us.”
“I know, I know. And it’s not like Mom and Dad are reality show parents or something. I know Mom’s not going to start yelling, “He’s dark sided! Get him out! Dark sided!’… Although that would be pretty funny.”
“I’m not entirely sure where that reference is from, but either way, you’re right. Mom’s not going to yell.”
I sighed. “It’s fromWife Swap. Google it when you guys get home.”
“Do I have to use a private browser for that?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Ugh, this is so stressful. Why does love have to be so stressful?”
“It doesn’t. Also, I don’t think it actually is. I think you’re just imagining all these crazy scenarios in your head and bringing the stress along with them. You know our parents love us, and you know they’re level-headed and open-minded. I don’t think they’ll have any issues.”
“You’re right, you’re right.”
And he was right. My parents were totally cool with everything we did, and I’m sure they wouldn’t care about me bringing home an older man, especially since that man happened to be the one of my dreams. They’d clapped and cheered when I had come out to them using confetti cannons full of rainbow confetti, so I could see how Jonah was right. I may have been overthinking things.
“I’ll set a dinner, then,” I said, making up my mind. “Sometime next week. I’ll introduce them. I think it’s definitely time.”
Jonah smiled at that. “How’s Beckham been anyway? Our schedules haven’t matched up at Stonewall. I’ve barely seen him.”
“He’s good. There might be a big break in the case, Jojo. He went this morning to talk to a shop that said they potentially have footage of that night. They might have caught the two thugs walking past on their camera.”
Jonah’s smile flashed brighter. “That’s great news.”