Jaxon laughed. “What are you going to do now? You need to stay here?”
“No. As soon as I sober up, I’m taking him out of Denver until the detectives solve the case.”
Jaxon frowned. “That could be a long time.”
“I don’t think so. Whoever it is grew impatient today and tipped his hand by leaving evidence with those bullets,” he said. “That means they’ll make a mistake.”
“True.” Jaxon nodded. “So where are you taking him?”
“I’m taking him up to the cabin.” He could keep Harrison safe there.
“The cabin?” Jaxon’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Yeah, the fucking cabin,” he growled, avoiding his friend’s piercing gaze. He never took any of his clients to the cabin. “I know what you’re thinking, but like I said, it’s not like that.”
“I’m not thinking anything.”
“Liar.” He squinted at Jaxon.
“The cabin’s a good idea.” Jaxon smiled and shoved from the wall.
Ryder frowned and glanced toward the open door.
“I should check on Harrison.”
“He’s in the game room with Hayden.”
“Oh,” he said grumpily. Hayden Thorne, another one of Cobalt’s bodyguards, was the world’s biggest flirt.
“Lay back and rest.”
“I better go save Harrison from him,” he said, trying to keep his eyes from suddenly closing.
“I think you should lay down for a while longer.” Jaxon came back across the room and reached out and eased him back on the bed. “Harrison is safe here. They can’t get into my place. And Hayden will go ninja on anyone’s ass if they do.”
He grunted softly and turned on his good side before closing his eyes. “Leave the door open.”
“I will.”
I can see he’s starting to care for you. Jaxon’s words came back to him.
Why the fuck did that make him feel ten feet tall and why the fuck did the thought of Harrison at his family’s cabin send a warmth through his gut that shouldn’t be there?
Hayden was sitting way too fucking close to Harrison.
“What’s going on?” Ryder rasped, standing in the doorway the next morning that led to Jaxon’s large den. So much for leaving last night.
Harrison’s head lifted, and he twisted around on the couch, the game controller in his hand. A smile flashed on those kissable lips and the tips of his hair gleamed in the late morning sun that came through one of the room’s windows.
“You’re awake!” Harrison jumped up and rushed around the couch. Once there, the man paused a few feet from him and stared at him with cornflower blue colored eyes. He’d been searching for a color and now he knew. “Hayden is teaching me how to game.”
Ryder scowled at Hayden. The guy gave him a smug smile and laughed loudly before jumping up and heading around the couch to give him a quick pat on the shoulder.
“How about some food? You hungry?” Hayden asked. The bodyguard was too good-looking for his own good, with a quick smile and bright eyes. His friend was also a heart breaker. I don’t want Harrison hurt, not on my watch. Hayden was a damned good friend, but a player when it came to love.
“Yeah. I’m starved,” he admitted.
“Me too,” Hayden said, slipping past him and toward the kitchen.
“You’re always hungry,” Jaxon growled, coming through the den and into the kitchen.
“Am not,” Hayden argued.
“Are too,” Jaxon shot back. The guy towered over Hayden’s smaller stature, but that didn’t make Hayden any less lethal. Ryder had once seen him clear a whole bar of bikers with minimal help.
The pair continued to argue good-naturedly at the stove, trading insults back and forth while piling plates high with food.
He turned back toward Harrison. “I can show you how to play.” Now, why the hell had he said that?
“Really?” Harrison smiled, and Ryder rubbed at the back of his neck. The man wore a pair of baggy sweats and a loose t-shirt, his hair was tousled and feet bare. Pillows and blankets on the couch gave him a good idea of where Harrison had slept.
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “But I’m starving.”
“You need food first,” Harrison said, coming closer.
Ryder spun away from Harrison’s searching look and headed over to slide onto one of the stools that lined the large bar. Harrison followed and slipped onto the stool next to him. He didn’t look over, but instead focused on the pair goofing around in the kitchen.
“What is this? Comedy hour? I’m hungry,” Ryder complained at his friends.
“Whine, whine, whine,” Hayden called out.
Jaxon turned and tossed a warm biscuit through the air, and he caught it, placing it on Harrison’s plate before he lifted his hand again. Jaxon gave him a knowing smile and chucked another biscuit at him. He scowled and caught it and then turned to Harrison.
“Sorry, I just touched your food.”
Harrison laughed and took a bite of the biscuit. “So did Jaxon. I’m not worried about it.”
He grunted and turned back to the plate that Hayden sat before him piled high with bacon, sausage, eggs, and hash browns.
“I love breakfast,” Harrison said with a smile.
Ryder grunted.
“Don’t mind Ryder, Harrison, we nicknamed him cranky.”
“Nice,” he grumbled and shot Hayden the finger. Hayden laughed loudly.
“Take a plate, Hayden, and quit picking at my guests,” Jaxon said, slapping Hayden on the shoulder.
“I wish I could, but I promised Logan I’d take on a case. Catch you all later. Harrison? It was nice meeting you. Hope we can hang out and play again sometime in the future.” Hayden came around the bar.
Harrison turned on his stool and shook the bodyguard’s hand. “Me too.”
“See ya, big guy.” Instead of the usual back slap, Hayden gripped the back of Ryder’s neck.
“Be safe.” Ryder held his friend’s gaze.
“Will do.” And then Hayden was gone and the place grew quiet.
“He’s exuberant.” Harrison smiled and took a bite of food.
“That he is,” Ryder said with a smirk.
“Definitely. He’s like that around all of us,” Jaxon said.
“Not all,” Ryder corrected.
Jaxon’s brows rose. “Oh yeah. Brick.”
Ryder snorted and shoveled another bite of food in.
Jaxon gave an evil laugh.
“What?” Harrison turned to him, and Ryder couldn’t resist his questioning expression.
“You’ve seen Brick. The guy is our newest hire. There’s just something about Brick that sends the player on the run.”
“Player?”
“Hayden,” he said at the same time as Jaxon. They both chuckled.
“I could see it a little bit. He sure is hot,” Harrison said, joining in with the laughter.
“He’s not hot.” Ryder stabbed at his eggs.
“What rock are you living under?” Harrison teased him.
Jaxon broke out with laughter, and Harrison’s soft baritone joined in.
Ryder reluctantly grinned and shook his head. He darted a quick look sideways, but Harrison had turned his attention to his food. Harrison fit in well with his friends, the blue-collar crowd. More so than he’d ever thought the wealthy man would.
It was interesting, to say the least, and he wondered if there were any moments in Harrison’s past where he’d had friends that didn’t have six figure incomes.
“You should call into your office and take some time off,” he told Harrison.
“How much time?” Instead of asking why, Harrison wanted to know how long.
“As much time as it takes the detectives to catch this son of a bitch,” he said roughly.
A few hours later, Jaxon’s SUV was loaded up.
Ryder covertly glanced at Harrison. Instead of the normal suit, he looked good wearing blue jeans and a pullover left by Ha
yden.
“I’ll take care of Harrison’s BMW,” Jaxon said, drawing his attention.
He gripped Jaxon’s hand hard. “Thank you.”
His friend leaned in and lowered his voice. “I like him. He’s nothing like your ex.”
“What the hell does that matter?” He scowled.
Jaxon barked with laughter and strode over to Harrison while Ryder trailed behind, glaring at his friend.
Jaxon reached Harrison and shook his hand. “Be safe.”
“Thank you, Jaxon. It was a pleasure meeting you,” Harrison said, and his voice rang with sincerity.
Jaxon was absolutely correct. Harrison was hands down classy. It had been stupid on his part to ever compare them, Harrison was nothing like the shrew Warren was. The one time he’d brought his ex to visit Jaxon’s house, Warren had spent the entire time complaining about slumming it with the lower half of society. He’d been so embarrassed, he’d avoided his best friend for months.
“Any chance we can swing by my home and get some of my things?”
“No,” he said, Thinking of Warren had made him angry. Clipping on his own belt, he adjusted the mirrors.
Harrison threw him an impatient look before turning to stare out the window.
He eased out of Jaxon’s garage and glanced around, checking sidewalks and the semi-deserted street. Nothing out of the ordinary moved or stood out.
“I can stop someplace out of town, and we can do some shopping once we get settled,” he said gruffly, trying to ease the sudden tension and bring back the smiling man from earlier.
“Okay.” Harrison angled in his seat toward him. “How far is it?”
“About an hour and half.” Ryder took another long look around and pulled out onto the street, heading for the freeway. “Why don’t you pick some music?”
Harrison shot him a surprised look before flashing a smile that suddenly had his hands squeezing the steering wheel.
Thirty minutes down the road, he reached out and turned the tunes down. Harrison glanced at him curiously.
“I need to call Logan.” He punched the button on the steering wheel, and Logan answered on the first ring.
“Where are you two?”
“We’re in Jaxon’s SUV. I’m taking Harrison to the cabin. When are you heading back to California?”
“I’m not. I’m staying in Colorado for an extended time. Since a number of my employees live here, I’m thinking of buying some office space.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” he agreed.
There was silence on the other end, and he heard another deep voice speaking in the background.
“I will,” Logan said to whomever it was. “Harrison?”
“Yes?” Harrison threw him a frowning look.
“After what happened to you both yesterday, I stopped by to speak with the detectives on your case. I’m with Carson, I’ll put you on speaker phone.”
“Hi Carson.”
“Good morning, Harrison. We found something that concerns us,” Carson replied.
“What?”
“Your stepmother withdrew ten thousand dollars from her bank account two months in a row,” Carson said.
“So?”
Ryder squeezed the steering wheel. Sheila could have used it to hire someone.
“Any idea what she used it for?” Carson asked.
“Sheila goes through money like water. If you check, you’ll probably see where she bought a pair of six thousand dollars shoes or something. There’s an endless list of possibilities.”
“It’s cash,” Carson replied.
“I saw her take a bag of white powder from her friend at the party Harrison and I attended,” Ryder spoke up, keeping his eyes on the road.
Harrison threw him a quick look, pulling at his bottom lip. “She used to have a crystal meth problem. My dad had her go to a drug treatment center for a while. She may be using again.”
“That’s possible,” Carson said.
“Wait… you’re looking at her for this? It was a man who attacked me.”
“We can’t rule out the possibility she might have hired someone,” Logan interjected gently. “She’s made it no secret she feels angry about the will.”
Ryder glanced over and found Harrison looking at him with disbelief. Ryder turned his eyes back to the road before he could get sucked into those swirling baby blues.
“That amount of cash withdrawal appears suspicious,” Logan continued.
“I don’t think she has the brains to do something like this,” Harrison said quietly.
It doesn’t take that many brain cells to pick up the phone and hire someone. Ryder kept that to himself as he took the exit that would take them to the two-lane highway leading to the lake.
Harrison sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaving the strands sticking up.
“Honestly? I don’t know what the cash is for, but I bet you can find some receipt somewhere. She just totaled her car, check into that.”
“All right,” Logan said. There was low murmuring between Logan and Carson before Logan’s voice spoke up.
“Ryder, your location will be kept secret. Please let me know when you’ve arrived safe.”
“I will, boss.”
Ryder ended the call, and silence swelled through the car.
“Do you think Sheila had a hand in this?” Harrison asked after several minutes of silence had gone by.
Ryder’s gut told him Sheila seemed the type, but he wasn’t going to make snap decisions on his gut.
“I don’t know her that well, Harrison. Do you think she’s capable of it?”
Harrison let out a sigh and twisted his hands in his lap, and Ryder wanted to take away his worry, but he couldn’t.
“I don’t know,” Harrison whispered. “I hope not, for her sake.”
He gave Harrison a half smile. The guy was worried about his crazy ass stepmother. Harrison was a softy.
“So, tell me about the cabin. Does your work own it?”
“No, my parents do.”
“Parents?” Harrison asked, surprised.
He gave a frown of annoyance at the disbelief in Harrison’s voice.
What the hell?
“Yes, believe it or not, I was born.”
“I didn’t mean…”
Ryder cut the guy off by turning on the radio.
“Ryder…”
He turned up the volume.
Harrison
“Harrison, son, are you okay?”
“Yes.” He clutched at the phone, tears welling at his uncle’s voice. Damn it, he hated when he cried. He placed the cup of coffee he was holding down on the railing and dashed at his eyes.
“I tried your cell several times. All you said in your voicemail message was that you were safe.”
“I’m with Ryder.”
“Harrison. I want you to listen to me carefully. You need to do what Ryder says. He can keep you safe. You hear me?”
“I hear you.”
“Your father trusted Logan Cobalt with his life. His man can keep you safe.”
“I know. Dad spoke highly of Logan,” he admitted.
“I’ve been in touch with the detectives, and they’re working hard to solve this. Logan’s got a few of his men on it as well.”
“Do you think it’s Sheila?”
“No, I don’t.”
He sighed long and loud. “Okay, good.” He hated to think that his father would have married someone so evil.
“I have to go. You stick with Ryder, and next time, answer the phone.”
“I will.” He looked around. “I love you, Uncle Dean.”
“I love you too.”
He hung up and leaned back against the porch railing. His phone pinged, which reminded him that Toby had left several messages on his cell phone. At some point, he’d need to answer the phone and actually tell his friend what was going on.
Wandering across the porch, he sank into one of the wide, wooden chairs that graced the porch and
curled his legs under him.
A song bird caught his attention and he gazed out at the view. It really is spectacular. Several yards away, the water lapped with a rhythmic whoosh at the rocky shore of the lake. Sun glittered on the crystal blue surface. Pine trees and the blue skyline reflected off the water so clearly, it looked like a photograph.
Instantly charmed by the outside of the log cabin, he found that the inside had held four bedrooms, a den, and a full kitchen with modern appliances.
Ryder had given him one of the bedrooms with a window that faced the lake and left him alone.
It’s my own fault. He hadn’t meant to act so surprised about Ryder’s parents, but it had just popped out. He felt bad about speaking before thinking. I hurt his feelings.
Offending Ryder had been the last thing on earth he ever meant to do. Now, if he could only get the guy to talk to him. Ryder had remained closed off since they’d arrived.
Three long days of silence with only the occasional grunt and Harrison hated it.
Coming up with a multitude of ways to get Ryder to open up had failed. So far, the only interaction between them was while fixing meals. The tension left Harrison tempted to buy a how-to book on getting grumpy men to open up.
He snicker snorted, and the blue bird took flight, its brightly colored wings taking it to a nearby tree.
It was stupid on his part, really, to pursue a man who flat out didn’t want him. So then, why the hell did Ryder watch him? A lot.
Harrison swore he could feel Ryder’s eyes stroking down his body, and when that happened, he’d take a moment to stretch with his arms high over his head. His pulse thrumming beneath the man’s dark, unreadable gaze.
He sighed and plucked at the frayed hem of his borrowed jeans. Of course, then the door would slam shut and Ryder’s face would drop into that expressionless mask all over again.
Tossing the little string, he drained his coffee mug of the lukewarm liquid.
After a few more minutes, he finally broke down and hit the call button.
“Hey, babe! Bonjour!”
Smiling at August’s exuberant greeting, he turned sideways in the chair and draped his legs over one arm and his back against the other, keeping the screen door in view.
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