Without Warning

by Reese Knightley

The man looked him over, holding his eyes for a brief moment in the mirror. It felt odd and a quick shiver went down Harrison’s spine.

  Roman came out of the stall. “One thing I like about Mario’s place is the stalls for privacy.”

  “Yeah,” Harrison laughed with relief and quickly soaped up his hands. “Why’d he do that?”

  Roman pointed to the door. “Because every time they opened the door, men were exposed to the hallway,” Roman said. “Some of the ladies were complaining.”

  “He could have just built a partition.”

  “Mario never does anything half way,” Roman chuckled.

  The guy washing his hands laughed with them and pulled a paper towel from the dispenser.

  Harrison grabbed a paper towel just as the door slammed open and a gun was pointed in the room.

  Roman had a gun in his hand pointed back.

  Ryder pulled his gun up and away. “Shit. Sorry, Dad.”

  “No worries,” Roman rumbled and tucked away his gun.

  “Mr. Trudel?”

  Harrison turned and had a smartphone in his face.

  “There’s speculation that you’re on the run from a stalker, is that true?” the stranger standing next to him asked.

  “What?” He blinked, not understanding.

  “Someone from Trudel Industries confirmed it’s your own employee, Shelby Clark, who is stalking you. Is that true?”

  What the hell is this guy talking about?

  “My source says that Shelby Clark tried to kill you. Can you comment?”

  Harrison’s heart slammed against his ribs. Shelby tried to kill him?

  “Back up!” Roman ordered the reporter.

  “You piece of shit!” Ryder prowled forward and fisted the guy by the back of his shirt and drug him out of the bathroom door before he marched the guy out the rear entrance.

  Harrison raced to catch up to the group in the back alley.

  “You guys are fucking vultures, now back off!”

  “Are you kidding?” the reported gaped at Ryder. “Harrison Trudel has been front page news since he was attacked in his parking garage. That combined with your presence along with his father’s will? Makes for one hell of a story.”

  “Asshole!” Fed up with his privacy being invaded, Harrison yelled, stepping forward.

  “Get out of here,” Ryder snarled, releasing the guy with a hard shove.

  The reporter jogged to the end of the alley, spun, and took one last photo of them before he ran.

  Harrison stared at Ryder, and neither of them moved.

  After a moment, Roman guided the rest of Ryder’s brothers back inside and closed the door. The silence was broken by the occasional passing of a car and the clattering of dishes from inside the restaurant.

  “What’s the matter?” His heart pounded.

  Ryder closed his eyes. “Nothing.”

  “Screw that. I think it’s time to tell me what you and Logan talked about and I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Shelby,” he said.

  Ryder’s gaze swirled with a myriad of emotions.

  “Shelby Clark is behind the video sabotage and letters. They can’t find him to arrest him.”

  “I thought they questioned him already.”

  “They did, but they didn’t have enough to hold him on. Now that they do, they can’t locate him.” Ryder hesitated.

  “You think Shelby shot at us?”

  “Yes.”

  “What else?”

  “They found John knocked out in Shelby’s office and more letters with the message.”

  “Oh no! Is John okay?”

  “Yeah, just a slight concussion.”

  “Shit. How did Shelby find the cabin?” He glanced around quickly.

  “A reporter spotted us in Boulder and followed us to the cabin. They took pictures of us.”

  “So all this time that you’ve been thinking that someone was watching us, it was a freaking reporter?”

  “Yeah. They took pictures of us,” Ryder repeated.

  “I don’t care about that.” He stepped forward and slipped his arms around Ryder’s waist. “Let’s go home.”

  “The security system and cameras aren’t working.” Ryder shook his head.

  “Are you sure?”

  “No.” Ryder frowned.

  “Let me call.” Harrison dialed the office phone number.

  “Trudel Industries, Harrison Trudel’s office,” Marty said.

  “Marty.”

  “Harrison! Are you okay?”

  “I am, thank you. I ordered Toby to hire extra help to get the system back online. Can you tell if that was completed at all sites and if extra cameras were ordered?”

  “Sure, hang on,” she said and placed him on a brief hold.

  Ryder crossed his arms against his chest and leaned back against the brick wall.

  “Harrison?” Marty came back on the line. “Toby got it done. Everything came back online this morning. He’s got the department running smoothly. I can see the web feed from my computer on all locations and parking structures. Toby ordered the extra cameras that are en route as we speak.”

  “There’s a leak at the company talking to reporters about things that nobody really should know about. I can’t go into details, but can you make some inquiries?”

  “I know the cops have been in and out of Shelby’s office and people have been speculating. I’ll make inquires and see what I can find out,” she said.

  “Thanks, Marty. I’ll be in touch soon.”

  Harrison ended the call. “The department got the video feed and cameras back online this morning. Marty is looking into the leak.”

  Ryder hesitated, and Harrison continued. “I ordered extra cameras to be installed.”

  “I know about the extra cameras,” Ryder smirked. “Brian called me.”

  “What is it with you and the head of my security suddenly being buddies?” Harrison teased.

  “Brian understands how important you are to me,” Ryder said just a bit smugly.

  “Okay, then.” Harrison smiled softly and slipped into Ryder’s arms.

  Rinsing his hands in the sink, Harrison tugged a paper towel from the dispenser in Trudel’s front entrance main lobby restrooms. Gazing in the mirror, he took a moment to run his fingers through his hair to get it back into place after the hour drive from the Italian restaurant to his office. They hadn’t gone home first. He wanted to collect a few things beforehand.

  The office building had been humming with news of his return when they’d arrived.

  He’d need to engage with people eventually. Only, staying at the cabin and at Ryder’s family home had felt like a different way of life. One that he’d only experienced at his grandfather’s place. Truth was that he wanted that feeling back again. The feeling of closeness and family.

  A noise spun him around with his heart in his throat. That feeling was quickly replaced with relief when John came shuffling out from one of the bathroom stalls.

  “John, are you okay? I heard you were hurt.”

  “Shelby hit me over the head,” John glanced up from buttoning the strap on his overalls. The guy’s face held a mixture of anger, pain, and puzzlement. John came right up to him, getting in his personal space, agitated.

  “I’m so sorry, John.” He edged a bit sideways away from the big janitor.

  The door to the restroom pushed open. Ryder’s head popped in. He took one look at the situation and stepped inside, keeping the door open with his boot.

  “Harrison?”

  “Yes?” Harrison gratefully said. “John was just telling me how Shelby hit him over the head.”

  “Shelby hit me over the head,” John said again.

  “I heard about that. John, that’s horrible,” Ryder said and held a hand out to Harrison, who closed the distance, taking it gratefully.

  John’s hands squeezed into fists and his arms started moving, swinging back and forth close to his body. The young man was clearly agitated and
began to rock.

  Ryder’s fingers closed tightly around Harrison’s and drew him close. Relief swept over Harrison and his eyes stung.

  Damn it. All this was making him afraid of his own staff!

  Harrison turned at Ryder’s side in the doorway. “John, if you need your mom to come get you, I can call her.”

  John gazed at him, his face confused. “I work today, Harrison.”

  Ryder moved him back from the door when John approached. The janitor walked out into the hallway and approached the mop and broom cart. Once there, John grabbed the handle and moved the cart along.

  “Bye, Harrison,” John called out.

  “Bye, John.”

  “Are you okay?” Ryder said huskily against the side of his head.

  Harrison nodded. “Yeah. He just surprised me. It’s surreal thinking that Shelby hit him. John’s so sweet.”

  Ryder slipped an arm around his waist. “I know, baby.”

  Together they headed down the hallway that would take them to the front main lobby and elevators.

  “Welcome home, Mr. Trudel. Welcome back, Mr. Freeman,” Brian said, coming forward to shake Ryder’s hand in a firm grip.

  “Good to see you, Brian,” Harrison said.

  “I’ve hired several temporary security from Logan Cobalt and I’ve started the interviewing process for permanent security for here and Mr. Trudel’s home,” Brian told Ryder.

  “I’ve also deactivated Shelby’s badge and have the guards on high alert if he should try to enter the building,” Brian continued speaking to Ryder as if Harrison wasn’t there.

  Harrison thought it amusing and waited.

  “Thank you, Brian. I’d like to take a look at the resumés,” Ryder said.

  “Yes, sir,” Brian said, and then turned to him and smiled. “If you need anything, you let me know, Mr. Trudel.”

  “Thank you, Brian.” He smiled and headed toward the elevator.

  The small door to the video electrical room near the elevator suddenly opened.

  Toby came out the door and closed a hand around his arm.

  “Oh my god, Harrison, where have you b-” Toby’s words ended abruptly when Ryder knocked Toby’s arm away.

  A large hand to the small of Harrison’s back guided him into the elevator.

  “Been…” Toby gaped at him and Harrison turned around and smiled.

  “Toby, in Shelby’s absence, please have the Patterson report emailed to me tomorrow morning.”

  “Sure, but can we…” the elevator doors started to close and Toby frowned. “Where are you going?”

  The doors closed before he could answer Toby. He shot Ryder an amused look. “You sure have gotten possessive.”

  Ryder spun and stalked closer, backing him up against the side of the elevator.

  “I don’t like him touching you,” Ryder growled, and the deep possessive tone sent a shiver down his spine and thickened his cock.

  Running hands up Ryder’s big biceps, Harrison felt the coiled muscles bunch and cord. He slipped his arms up and around Ryder’s neck.

  “I don’t like him touching me either,” he soothed.

  Ryder’s head dipped, the elevator doors pinged, and his lover groaned.

  “Why didn’t we just go home first,” Ryder complained for the twentieth time.

  “I only need to grab a few files and then we’ll leave,” Harrison chuckled and headed down the hallway.

  True to his word, they were back down the elevator and across the lobby in minutes.

  “This way,” Ryder said and ushered him toward the front doors where a car sat waiting outside.

  Between them and the car stood a group of reporters.

  Brian shoved through the reporters along with three other security guards to hold them back. It was a lost cause with so many of them and they surged around the men’s outstretched arms.

  Stepping out the door, he was assaulted with questions.

  “Mr. Trudel! Is it true that your head of the video feed division made the attempt on your life?”

  “Step back,” Ryder growled, shoving one of the reporters. A warm hand on his back guided him forward.

  “No comment,” he said.

  “Did you fire Shelby Clark?”

  Harrison said nothing and took another step forward. Ryder physically moved another reporter.

  “Is Clark responsible for shooting Mr. Freeman?” another one shouted, waving a microphone at him.

  “No comment,” Harrison repeated woodenly, holding tightly onto Ryder’s hand as the big man pushed through the crowd and the path Brian’s security had cleared toward the waiting car.

  “What about your previous bodyguard, Mitchell Anders. Can you comment on his death?” someone yelled.

  He froze, déjà vu swept around him and the crush of reporters suddenly resembled the crowd when Mitchell had been gunned down on these very steps. Except that Ryder replaced Mitchell in this new scenario and his knees wobbled. He couldn’t seem to get his legs to work.

  He panicked and stumbled. Ryder’s strong arm around his waist held him up and the man guided him into the back of the town car and followed him in.

  Harrison scooted to the far side when the door closed.

  “It will pass.”

  “Maybe.” He swallowed, squeezing his hands into fists.

  “Harrison.”

  He pulled his hand away when Ryder reached for it.

  “I need to make a stop.” He turned his face from the man’s searching gaze and gave the driver an address to a nearby building.

  “Babe?” Ryder looked confused and Harrison had to steel himself before he broke down. The next thing he had to do was killing him, but he didn’t see any other way to keep Ryder safe.

  “You know that the next celebrity to post a naughty picture online will take their attention away from us,” Ryder joked.

  “I think it’ll take a bit more than that,” he murmured.

  Ryder

  “No,” he said flatly. No way in fucking hell!

  “Yes,” Harrison insisted with a stubborn tilt to his chin.

  “I don’t agree with this,” Logan said.

  Surprise of fucking surprises, Logan now had an office in Denver. And somehow, Harrison had known the address, but Ryder hadn’t. He gazed at his friend accusatorily.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you finally had an office here?”

  “Have you checked your email? Because I sent both you and Harrison the address.” Logan eyed him.

  No, damn it, he hadn’t checked. He gnashed his teeth.

  “But you didn’t tell me about this stupid plan,” Ryder snarled, throwing up his hands.

  “It’s not a stupid plan!” Harrison’s voice lifted.

  Logan held up his hands. “It’s not my idea.”

  “Well whose brilliant idea is it then to leave him defenseless?”

  “Ryder!” Harrison took a deep breath and blew it out.

  “And you.” He turned on Harrison. “What the hell are you thinking?”

  Harrison’s blue eyes filled with his temper. “I’m thinking of keeping your ass safe! That’s what I’m thinking.”

  “By taking me out of the picture? Are you fucking out of your mind?”

  Harrison turned to Brian Sanders who just happened to show up a few minutes ago. He suspected that Harrison had texted the Trudel security manager.

  “Are you ready?” Harrison asked Brian.

  Brian looked worried but nodded his head.

  “Harrison, don’t do this,” Ryder pleaded.

  “I have to. I can’t stand by and let Shelby kill you. I can’t.” Harrison turned to leave the room, but Ryder gripped his arm, keeping him still.

  “You’re safer with me,” he insisted.

  “Am I?” Harrison rounded on him.

  Ryder jerked back, the words landed like a slap. “You said so.”

  “Well, I was wrong. You couldn’t keep me safe at my office when we were shot at, or at the cabin! O
r even at the restaurant with your family and those damned reporters!”

  Harrison was right, and the words crushed a heavy weight of guilt on his chest.

  “You said I took a bullet for you.”

  Harrison closed his eyes for a brief moment. “And you’re lucky that’s all that was done. You could have been killed.” Harrison dashed at his cheeks.

  “Why are you doing this?” he grated out.

  “Because I have to.” Harrison squeezed his hands tightly.

  “What about us?” he asked woodenly.

  “That has to wait.” Harrison dashed at his face.

  Wait? Wait for what? Until a psychopath killed one of them?

  He held Harrison’s turbulent gaze, failure clawing at him. He’d been so sure of Harrison’s love, it hadn’t dawned on him the man was having second thoughts.

  He’s not having second thoughts. This is about something else entirely.

  “I don’t believe you,” he rasped suddenly, narrowing his eyes.

  “Well, believe this. I’m leaving here without you.”

  Tears fell from Harrison’s eyes and trailed down his cheeks. Ryder stood frozen, unable to react, his mind racing at this new turn of events.

  After another moment, Harrison turned and left the room with Brian following. Ryder spun back to Logan.

  “He’s right. I failed him.” He sank into the chair in front of Logan’s desk, clenching his fists.

  “Did you? He’s unharmed and he’s alive. I’d say that you did an outstanding job.”

  He rubbed a hand over his chin and mouth staring at Logan.

  “Brian can’t protect him like you can,” his boss went on.

  “Don’t you fucking think I know that?”

  “Well, I can’t do jack shit,” Logan growled. “Your man has it in his head to keep you safe and he’s severed his contract. You didn’t believe all that bullshit, did you?” Logan eyed him.

  “No. I didn’t believe any of that bullshit. I know why he’s doing it.” He loves me and wants to keep me safe. He had to come up with a plan.

  “Well, my hands are tied. I can’t do anything without a contract.”

  “You’re right, you can’t, but my hands aren’t fucking tied,” he growled.

  “So get the hell out of my office and go patch that shit up. Felix and Brick just walked out before you and Harrison got here.” Logan waived a dismissive hand at him.