Tristan sat on the chair in the room that they always used and waited for Samuel. He had six hundred pounds in his pocket, and the key to extremely pleasant lodgings not far from his home. His fingers tapped nervously on his leg. When the door opened and Sam finally walked in, his breath came in a whoosh of relief. He stood and went to take the man’s hands, but it was immediately clear that there was something wrong. Sam’s crystal clear eyes were normally glowing, excited, and filled with passion and focused on him with gratifying intensity. Now, he was glancing around anxiously and Tristan was sure that his hands were shaking a little. He opened his mouth to speak, but Samuel shook his head, almost imperceptibly, and his eyes telegraphed alarm. As always, he cupped his face in his hands a
