by Rowan Porter
Liam made a face. “I am not tipsy.”
Zhao, who was growing redder in the face with each drink, snorted. “You’ve barely drunk anything, and you’re already on your way to being intoxicated. You have a strong personality, but your alcohol tolerance isn’t.”
“I think he’s calling you a lightweight,” Sebastian chuckled.
“Yes, thank you, I would have never known I was a lightweight until someone decided to inform me. So many nights of drinking make a great deal of sense now,” Liam said dryly.
Zhao chuckled. “I thought Americans were supposed to get happier when they drank.”
Sebastian smiled goofily at Liam. “He’s happier than he lets on. He just doesn’t want us to know how happy he is, because then he might want to admit he likes it.”
“The horror,” Zhao added.
Liam rolled his eyes. God save him from drunken businessmen. Well, Zhao seemed pretty much on his way to being drunk, if not already there. Sebastian was just plain enjoying teasing Liam. Personally, Liam didn’t mind, even if he refused to admit it and risk proving Sebastian correct.
It was more the deal and the relaxed environment than the alcohol, but the weight which seemed to have hung around Sebastian’s shoulders for weeks was utterly gone. The stress of paving the way to his future, Diesel’s attempts at sabotage, all of it seemed to have disappeared after an hour sitting in the bar, sharing stories and drinking. It was the happiest Liam had ever seen Sebastian in public, and he wasn’t going to stomp on that for anything.
When Zhao turned to order another drink, Sebastian leaned to the side and kissed Liam’s neck, and then his cheek.
“Thank you,” Sebastian muttered in his ear, voice low.
Liam squirmed, pleased by the praise but self-conscious about being seen by Zhao. “You did the work. I was just the one who made the plan.”
“And it was a wonderful plan. When we get back to the suite, I’m going to make sure you know just how thankful I really am,” Sebastian promised in a deep growl.
A shiver shot through Liam’s spine as Sebastian leaned away, suddenly finding his pants a little more restraining than they had been seconds before. When Zhao turned around, he didn’t seem to notice anything had transpired, and Liam hoped his own reddening cheeks were attributed to the drinks he’d consumed.
A buzzing in his pocket distracted him from the thoughts of a naked Sebastian. Liam pulled his phone out, wincing when he saw his mother’s image on the screen. In the face of his night with Sebastian and the meeting ahead of them, he’d completely forgotten to call her back.
Liam gave the two men an apologetic look. “It’s my mother, I’ve completely forgotten to call her. I was supposed to do it after someone told her about my hospital visit, but I got distracted and forgot.”
Zhao waved him off. “Go on, I know how it is. There’s nothing quite like the fury and shame of a mother upset.”
“Sounds like you know something of it,” Sebastian said with a grin.
“A thing or two, now, what’s this about him being in the hospital?”
The question was the last thing Liam heard as he walked away, swiping the answer button on his phone.
“Hi Mom,” he said, knowing he sounded pained.
“Oh, so you do remember who I am. And here I thought you had forgotten all about me.”
He groaned, pushing out the doors to stand on the quieter street while he talked. “I didn’t forget, I’ve been busy.”
“Has Mr. Carlton been keeping you that busy?”
Liam glanced back, smiling as he watched Sebastian throw his head back and laugh at something Zhao had said. “Something like that.”
His mother paused. “You sound…happy.”
Liam ducked his head. “I’m currently out of the country. I’ve been helping Sebastian set up a big deal, and we just made it. We’re out celebrating at the moment.”
“Oh lord, you’ve been drinking.”
Liam frowned. “You’re not going to let me live that down, are you?”
“It was one of a kind, a handmade blanket I bought while on vacation with your father in Peru. It was absolutely gorgeous, made by a local woman who had been making them in the old style her entire life.”
Liam sighed. “I’m very sorry about the blanket I threw up on and ruined with the contents of my stomach.”
“The contents consisted solely of red wine. All over the place.”
“I’m very sorry about the red wine I threw up on your white blanket…eight years ago.”
“I’m sure if you say it enough times, I might be willing to forgive you one of these days.”
Liam chuckled. “I doubt it. You’re never going to let me forget it, no matter how much time passes.”
“It’s really the memory of you curled up beside the blanket after having thrown up, giggling as you told me you had an ‘oopsie’ that sticks in my head the most.”
Liam closed his eyes. “If you should ever find yourself meeting Sebastian, please do not regale him with this tale. There are just some things I would never want him to know.”
“Now, why would I ever meet your boss?” she asked.
Liam glanced through the window again, deciding it wasn’t the time to tell her anything just yet. In truth, he and Sebastian hadn’t had time to discuss the details of what they were, if they were anything at all. His gut told him there was more to come between the two of them, but he was a man who relied on reason and facts above all else. His heart wanted Sebastian, he knew that much, but he had to be sure of everything before he started telling the people in his life.
“You know, I would have asked the same thing about you ever speaking to him over the phone about my medical history. Yet, you did exactly that,” Liam said.
His mother laughed. “You say that as if I intentionally sought him out. He called me, remember? Speaking of, how are you speaking with me if you’re not in the country?”
“They do have towers here.”
“And you’re burning away your phone bill talking to me.”
Liam shrugged. “In case you haven’t realized yet, Sebastian pays me very well. What’s a few extra bucks on my bill?”
“I’ve seen what they charge for international calls. Just, promise me you’ll call when you’re back in the country. It feels like weeks since the last time I was able to have a conversation with you.”
Liam smiled. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll talk to Sebastian on the way back to the States and see if I can’t get a bit of time off. I’ll come see you.”
“That would be wonderful.”
“Then it’s a date.”
His mother chimed off there, sounding far happier than she had in ages. Liam placed his phone in his pocket, still watching Sebastian and Zhao as they chatted merrily with one another. It seemed amazing to Liam, that not more than a couple of weeks before, he and Sebastian had both been fretting over trying to meet Zhao, or at least connect with him. Now Sebastian was talking with the man as if they were old friends.
The hum of nearby cars was background noise for Liam as he muttered to himself. “A guy could fall hard for you, Sebastian Carlton.”
The hair on the back of his neck prickled as a shadow fell over him. His shoulders tensed, and before he could spin around, something hard slammed into the back of his head. Rather than tilting forward onto the hard sidewalk, hands took hold of him roughly, dragging him away.
The last thing he saw before the darkness took him completely, was Sebastian’s smiling face through the glass window of the bar.
SEBASTIAN
Z hao was nodding. “Seems as if Liam has been through a busy few weeks then.”
“Bit of an understatement,” Sebastian said with a snort.
“And you still don’t know who might want to hurt him?”
Sebastian shrugged, not wanting to outright lie to the man. He also didn’t want to be the one who pointed fingers toward a man who would have been just another rival in Zhao’s mind. Se
bastian still wasn’t sure what he was going to do about Tyler, but it was something he would have to face when he returned to the States.
“Or you do know,” Zhao said simply.
Sebastian smiled, saluting Zhao with his glass. “The investigation is ongoing.”
“Alright, then how about this question, is it love yet?”
Sebastian choked. “Excuse me?”
Zhao motioned over Sebastian’s shoulder. “The two of you. You glow together.”
Sebastian stared down at his empty glass. “I don’t think I’ve had enough to drink to have this conversation.”
Zhao laughed heartily, clapping Sebastian on the back. “Do not worry. Love is a good thing, and the steps before love are also good. It warms my heart to see you have happiness in your life that isn’t just work. A man cannot live off his career alone.”
“I don’t know, I hear money is important for buying food, which I also hear is important for living.”
Zhao chuckled. “Food fills your belly, but love fills your soul.”
Sebastian raised his brow. “I think you’ve had a bit to drink.”
“Possibly.”
Sebastian shook his head, looking over his shoulder to search for Liam outside. The smile on his face faltered when he saw only the busy street outside.
Frowning, he stood. “Excuse me a moment.”
Easing through the crowd, Sebastian stepped outside. He peered up one side of the street and then the other. The concern in his mind built into full-blown fear when he saw nothing to indicate Liam had even been around in the first place.
“Liam?” he called, hoping the man was just around the corner.
Icy tendrils of pure fear wrapped their way around his heart as he jogged down the sidewalk. It had only been a minute or two since he’d glanced out and watched Liam smile at whatever he was talking about on the phone. There was no way he could have gotten far without having taken a cab, but Sebastian knew Liam wouldn’t have left without saying anything.
A sharp sound pierced through the air, and the fog of the panic wrapped around his mind. Sebastian jerked away from it, until he realized it was the phone in his suit pocket. Scrambling to grab it, hoping it was Liam, Sebastian yanked the device from the inner pocket and checked the screen. His heart squeezed, breath leaving his chest when he saw Tyler Diesel’s name on the caller ID.
Sebastian put the phone to his ear. “Tyler. Where is he?”
It had been months since the last time he’d heard Tyler Diesel’s voice, and the sound still managed to send squirming worms of disgust through his gut. This was a man who had done everything in his power, and in the power of others, to try and ruin Sebastian. There was no rhyme or reason behind Tyler’s attacks, but Sebastian was sick and tired of them, especially since it now involved Liam’s life.
“Sebastian, it’s been a while.”
“Not long enough.”
Tyler chuckled. “Now, now, is that any way to speak to an old friend?”
“If anyone but you even considered the idea that you and I were friends, I would happily step out into traffic. Now answer the damn question.”
“You know, I had never considered trying to get you to off yourself, now isn’t that a neat idea? Hmm, no, I would much rather see you crash and burn, dying is much too quick.”
Again, there came the vehemence and hate, which Sebastian had never been able to understand. He and Tyler had shared that first class together, and after that, the man had forever had his crosshairs aimed at Sebastian’s forehead. In truth, it didn’t matter what the reasons were, Tyler was intent on ruining Sebastian and had dragged someone innocent into the crossfire.
Sebastian growled. “Cut the shit, Tyler! Tell me where he’s at.”
“Shouldn’t you want to know if he’s alive in the first place?”
“If you wanted him dead still, he would have been left for me to find. You took him, that means you want something.”
“Shouldn’t it be obvious?”
Sebastian glanced over his shoulder before speaking. “Zhao.”
“If you want your precious little Liam back, all you need to do is walk back in there and tell Zhao you changed your mind. Once I’ve heard confirmation that you’ve backed out of the deal, I’ll deliver the consultant to your doorstep in one piece. Hell, I might even throw in a little bow on his head.”
“Attempted murder, now kidnapping and blackmail? This has gone too far,” Sebastian snarled, nearly bellowing into the phone.
“And if you don’t do what I say, it won’t be just an attempt at murder. I’m done playing these games, and I’m done being nudged out of the way by some shit head from the boonies thinking he can outpace me. Now, step out of the race, and Liam comes back unharmed. I might not have successfully killed him at your factory, and who I hired to kill him in the parking garage and on the street might have been complete wastes, but I’ll do it myself. And unlike those I hired, I’ll get the job done right. Tick tock Sebastian.”
The line went dead, and Sebastian was left to stand on the sidewalk gaping at his phone. Distantly, he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps it had been envy and pride which had motivated Tyler the whole time. Tyler had come from a well to do family, a long line of lawyers, judges, and several CEOs. Was this really over the fact that Sebastian, some poor kid from the Bronx, had managed to stand toe to toe with him?
His eyes fell on Zhao, who was looking at his own phone, completely unaware of what was transpiring outside. Sebastian would have gone into the bar and dropped the deal in a heartbeat if it meant saving Liam. The man would be furious that Sebastian had thrown everything away just to save him, but Sebastian would accept the anger. What truly held him back, however, was his complete distrust of Tyler.
The attempts to ruin Sebastian on Tyler’s part had grown more desperate as the years had passed. Now they’d finally reached the point where Tyler was willing to break the law, and threaten someone’s life. Sebastian had never trusted the man, but it was obvious he had apparently gone off the deep end. In Sebastian’s mind, Tyler was just as likely to dump Liam on his doorstep dead as he was alive.
The only way to save Liam, was to do it himself.
Sebastian gave a low snarl, shoving his phone back into his jacket pocket before yanking the clothing away. Tossing it to the side, he worked at the buttons of his shirt as he felt the power flooding through him. The dragon roared, both in excitement at finally being freed, and in rage at the danger Liam was in.
His body began to morph and grow as he steadily stripped his clothing off, inching into the nearby alleyway so he was out of direct sight. Pain prickled along his skin as scales popped into place, forming a protective layer. His bones distorted, growing and thickening as his skin stretched over his hulking form. His spine elongated, the rest of his skin and scales following suit to form a thrashing tail that thumped heavily against the ground of the alley. Finally, his wings came into being, unfurling as their leathery reach tested the air.
The alley was just big enough to contain his fully transformed body. His senses had expanded, taking in more sounds and colors than it ever had before. Most importantly, however, was his sense of smell, which caught the familiar scent that was inherent to Liam.
If he could have grinned, Sebastian would have as he crawled out from the alley. People screamed in surprise, car horns shrilling as those nearby scrambled to get out of his way. Once he had enough room to maneuver, Sebastian shoved himself away from the ground, letting his wings do the rest.
The streets of Hong Kong were thrown into chaos as Sebastian flew over them. The scent trail was weak, mingled with the smells of the city and car exhaust fumes. It was enough, however, and Sebastian could follow it through the business district and toward several rows of shabby warehouses.
Sebastian circled around the buildings, staying low and out of sight of the glass built into the ceiling of each one. He needed to be absolutely sure of where Liam was before he allowed himself to be seen.
As he spun around one of the warehouses, another familiar, though repugnant scent filled his nostrils. It was another dragon and one whose human smell he knew all too well. A roar escaped him as he let himself drop through the plate glass portion of the ceiling. The glass gave away instantly, raining down razor-sharp shards that bounced harmlessly off Sebastian’s thick hide.
Sure enough, Tyler was waiting for him against one wall of the warehouse. He must have been expecting Sebastian, as he was already in his dragon form. Tyler hissed, the poisonous green of his scales flashing in the light leaking into the dim warehouse.
Making sure he kept his attention on Tyler at all times, Sebastian glanced around, searching desperately. He nearly let out a sigh of relief when he spotted a familiar form against the furthest wall from him. Liam lay slumped against the wall, and as Sebastian watched, stirred feebly as he rose back to consciousness. Whatever Tyler might have done wasn’t permanent, and Liam was a safe distance away.
Sensing his thoughts, Tyler gave a low shriek, lunging forward to snap at Sebastian. It forced Sebastian backward to avoid the razor-sharp teeth, tough enough to pierce even another dragon’s hide. Sebastian snapped back in return, though he knew his path to Liam was cut off so long as Tyler was on the battlefield. In order to get to Liam, Sebastian would have to deal with Tyler first.
And that suited him just fine.
LIAM
A groan escaped his lips as reality began to seep back into his mind. Pain throbbed up along the back of his head, spreading along the rest of it in rhythm to the beating of his heart. The rest of him felt safe and secure, but he couldn’t help but wonder how many more blows to the head he could take before some real damage was done.
A loud shriek tore through the air, and Liam jerked. He immediately regretted the action as he realized too late his hands were bound behind his back and around something. Instead of pulling away from the sound, Liam bounced back, hitting his head once more on the hard object he was tied to.
“Motherfucker,” Liam groaned, wishing he could rub the sore spot on his head.