Walking into Abel's apartment was like a breath of relief. A weight lifted off of Luke's shoulders as soon as the door shut behind them and they were locked into welcome privacy.
Abel unpacked his groceries into the kitchen while Luke warily eyed Damon's door. It occurred to Luke, not for the first time, that he could tell Abel he knew that Damon was half-vampire. The worry that always stifled the suggestion was that Abel would then suspect that Luke was using Abel to get close to Damon—followed closely by the worry that revealing that he knew would fracture Abel's trust in him.
So, Luke didn't say anything. He was still too afraid. Instead, he drank the rest of his coffee and threw away the cup.
"Do you work tonight?" Abel asked as he led Luke to his room.
"Not tonight," Luke said,
