gray light filtered through a small curtained window. Last night, he and Devin had fallen into bed, Aria’s bed, safe and real and private, and drifted off to sleep almost immediately. Whatever fraught situation they’d wandered into here in Purcell hadn’t come up. Now, though, vague worries interrupted Joe’s sleep.

Dry, rough lips brushed Joe’s bare shoulder, and Devin mumbled, his voice low and groggy, “Why aren’t you holding me?” His arm cinched tighter around Joe’s stomach, and he rocked his hips against Joe’s ass.

Joe chuckled and patted Devin’s hand. He did normally do the holding. “Because you’re clutching me to your belly, papi. Go back to sleep.”

The house was quiet. Hopefully, Peter and the twins were resting well. Marcus had stayed on the one couch, and Peter and Flix had crammed onto the other, one of their heads at either end. At least they were slight of build. It had to be an improvement over sleeping on the ground.

“You think Marcus is really gonna be okay?” Devin asked.

“I trust Navarro.”

“But you don’t like him.”

Joe didn’t want to talk about Navarro. “I like him fine. And he likes me fine, too.”

“Doesn’t act like it.”

“Come on, papi. How many chances are we going to have to sleep late, in a bed?” Joe wriggled back into Devin and lodged his shoulder under Devin’s hulking one. He loved that feeling, the way Devin’s size surrounded and swallowed him.

“You slept with his what, wife? Girlfriend? Not cool, Joe.”

So much for not talking about Navarro. “Lil and I were partners for about a year after Navarro left Flights of Fantasy. A couple of times, we got carried away after the clients left. She always told Navarro right away. He was never mad, at her or at me. He understood how it is when you’re acting something out and it starts to feel real. You’re not jealous?”

Devin’s snort ruffled Joe’s hair. “Of course not. That was years ago, right? I want to figure out why there’s enough tension between you and him that we could hook you up to the house and have electricity.”

“I took over Navarro’s spot as the A+ runner. He wasn’t happy, and we’re both accustomed to being in charge.”

“He hates you.”

“No. Not exactly. Maybe.” Probably. Joe shrugged. He really didn’t know. “Navarro’s a complicated guy.”

“Dead sexy.”

Joe elbowed Devin in the ribs. “Glad you think so. Maybe I’m the one who should be jealous. Can we please shut up and sleep now?”

“What were you two talking about when you had your heads together at the dinner table? The wall? That creepy-ass guy?”

This time when Joe groaned it wasn’t from aching muscles. He shifted around in Devin’s arms so they faced each other and flung his leg over Devin’s legs. The soft, hairless skin tickled Joe’s inner thigh. Someday the hair would grow back, and that might feel even better than this. He smoothed his hand from Devin’s elbow, up under his t-shirt to his shoulder. “Not the wall. We didn’t make it that far, and after that Sanders guy showed up, I got sidetracked. We were talking about those Sons of America. Navarro’s worried us being here will provoke them.”

“Sanders has a grudge against white people, for sure, but so what? It’s not like we haven’t dealt with that kind of shit before.”

“We haven’t dealt with it from someone who’s armed. Navarro says these guys have delusions of leading an insurrection against America, taking over land on the other side of the border. They say they belong there as much as any white man.”

“Well, they do.”

Joe smiled at how much Devin had changed since they’d first met. He trailed his hand from Devin’s shoulder to his chest and traced a line down Devin’s sternum, then across each strong, tight pec. “They do. We do. But as long as we’re here, I want us to be careful not to cross those men.”

“They probably know how to cross the border.”

Joe had considered that, too. The food and supplies the Sons of America procured for the town had to come from somewhere. Getting the information from Navarro or Lil sounded way better than asking for help from the Sons. Better to keep their heads down, stay out of the way, not get involved. “What do you think it’s like on the other side?”

Devin flopped over on his back. The tiny bed trembled, and he nudged Joe to scoot over. Instead, Joe climbed on top of Devin and straddled his hips. As the blankets slipped down Joe’s back, his skin erupted in goosebumps in the cool morning air. He hoped the nights didn’t get much chillier than what they’d already dealt with, so much cooler than Austin, though their usual pattern of walking at night tended to keep them warm enough in the cool air.

“You don’t know?” Devin folded and unfolded the waistband of Joe’s underwear.

“I know about the biodomes, or at least, I know what my dad thought they’d be like. I know the little bit Peter’s told us. Obviously, not everyplace has a biodome, so your guess is as good as mine. I figure whatever’s on the other side of the wall, climate change has affected it the same as here, but I bet the people have access to water and plenty of food.”

Devin hummed.

Under a tight shirt, his abdominal muscles clenched with the noise, and Joe traced the ridges with his fingertips.

“That’d be nice.” Devin’s eyes had gone heavy, and his hands moved from Joe’s waistband to his thighs, rubbing, coaxing them farther apart. “Maybe there are whole towns, kind of like this, but with real houses and friendly people. We could have jobs and friends and live in a house of our own. Make a family.”

Joe hid his frown. Whatever the north was like, he and Devin wouldn’t be welcomed as romantic partners. New America denied citizenship to gay men. That had been true when the nation formed, and Peter’s attitudes suggested nothing had changed. Whether or not Joe and Devin were gay didn’t

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