Without Fear

by Reese Knightley

  Logan cupped Macy’s soft cheeks and brushed the pad of his thumb over his pink bottom lip.

  “Ask me a question,” Macy urged.

  “Was the FBI the reason you disappeared for those two weeks?”

  “Yeah,” Macy admitted.

  The silence stretched when Macy didn’t elaborate.

  “How did you come to be undercover against your own stepfather?” he probed.

  “Ex-stepfather,” Macy said firmly.

  “Ex,” he amended.

  “Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Alexander Channing recruited me when he found out that Tony Siegel was my mom’s ex-husband.” Macy’s face flashed with anger when he said his stepfather’s name. There was a story there, but he didn’t push.

  “When do you need to check in?” he murmured instead and carded his fingers through Macy’s long hair. The man closed his eyes beneath his touch.

  “I checked in earlier. They won’t be expecting a call for a few days,” Macy mumbled. Opening his eyes, he plucked at his pants. They’d both showered, regretfully alone, but Logan had seen the wisdom of it since they didn’t have condoms and lube.

  “I’m worried about Frank.”

  “How long has he been missing?” Logan tugged Macy back until the man was leaning against his chest. He tightened his arms.

  “For three days, I think,” Macy answered him, then grew quiet.

  Logan tipped his head to the side so he could see the curve of Macy’s cheek and the thickness of his lashes.

  Feeling his gaze, Macy flashed him a quick, sweet smile. Even without makeup, Macy’s features stood out. The man was absolutely gorgeous. Not in a cutesy, boy-next-door kind of way, but more in the clean lines of his facial features, the long neck and strong jaw, the sweep of his brow. He could literally look at the man for hours and never grow tired.

  “I need to draw Siegel out. I need to find out if he’s got anything to do with Frank’s disappearance,” Macy said and hopped off the couch.

  “I don’t think that’s a good-” He stopped mid-sentence when Macy whirled around and glared at him.

  “That’s not a good what? A good idea?”

  Shit. Temporarily, he’d forgotten who he was dealing with and was again reminded of just how stubborn this man could be.

  “Okay, that was a bad choice of words.”

  “Yes.” There went that chin, tipping high. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know my shit.”

  He gnashed his teeth and stood. “I have a whole security team on standby. Don’t you think it might be beneficial to let us help?”

  Macy studied him for a long moment, and Logan could almost picture the wheels turning in that beautiful head.

  “I don’t want you involved.”

  He cleared his throat before responding. “That’s kind of hard since I am.”

  The muscles along Macy’s jaw flexed, then his hands perched on his trim hips.

  “Okay, but we do this my way. And stop treating me like I’m made of glass.”

  Logan pulled a hand over the stubble on his lip, chin, and jaw to hide his smile.

  “You’re the boss.”

  Macy reached out and fisted the front of his t-shirt and yanked him close.

  “Progress.”

  Logan released the breath he’d been holding, glad he hadn’t totally fucked up by coddling this man yet again. It was going to be hard to keep his protective urges in check, but he was going to try. He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to succeed. Where Macy was concerned, he wanted to fight every one of the man’s enemies.

  Yet, he knew Macy was beyond cautious and willing to end what they had started before it truly had a chance to get going. Navigating Macy’s temperament was like moving through a minefield. But holy fuck, the man kept him on his toes.

  “I bet you were a pistol as a kid,” he grumbled.

  “You have no idea.” Macy smirked.

  “Tell me.”

  “It would take years.”

  “I’ve got time.”

  Macy rolled his eyes and climbed back on the couch. He sat on the cushion next to him, but turned to face him and Logan leaned back, getting comfortable.

  “Once upon a time,” Macy began.

  “Hey…” he gave a teasing scowl. “I’m serious.”

  Macy giggled. “I bet you were a serious little boy, weren’t you?”

  “I’m the oldest, it kind of comes with the job.”

  And he had been serious as a child and was still serious now. It was one of the reasons his parents, when he and his siblings were younger, had left him in charge. It was also the reason his siblings still came to him with their problems or when they needed advice. His seriousness had its drawbacks, though. It was also the reason most of the time, he didn’t date. Most men found his seriousness a turn off. Macy, surprisingly, wasn’t turned off. It might be because whenever he was with Macy, he smiled more.

  Macy made a sound in his throat and when he shook his head, his long hair spilled over one shoulder and down his arm.

  “So, you were the rule maker for your siblings?”

  “Yeah.” He caught a thick strand and let it slide through his fingers.

  “So, why didn’t you become a colonel in the army like your twin?”

  “Too many rules,” he murmured, lifting his eyes from the silky hair in his fist. “I liked the army well enough, but at the end of the day, I wanted to make my own decisions.”

  “Control freak?” Macy’s lips pursed with a slow smile.

  “No.” He squinted at the smartass. “Besides, weren’t you going to tell me about your antics as a child?”

  “Was I?” Perfect eyebrows lifted.

  Logan snatched up Macy before he could react and plopped the slender man’s back on the couch cushion. He leaned his frame over Macy and then reached down to lightly dig his fingers into his rib cage.

  “Oh god no! Logan!” Macy squealed with laughter and wiggled so much that they tumbled off the couch and onto the floor.

  His wound smacked the edge of the coffee table, lancing a burning pain through his arm, but he buried his face in Macy’s hair and hung onto the laughing man, wanting to enjoy this moment forever.

  Macy tried to return the tickling, and Logan chuckled, lifting his head.

  “I’m not ticklish.”

  Macy glared teasingly up at him. “I’ll have to think of another way to get my revenge.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Macy

  “I had a relatively normal childhood growing up. If you can call the son of a Vegas showgirl normal,” he said lightly.

  Logan looked up from a slice of pizza. They’d ordered it delivered and were sitting on the couch.

  Rather than look turned off, Logan looked intrigued. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his mother. On the contrary, he admired her and loved her very much. She had been the one constant in his life, there for him through any adventure he’d attempted and there had been many. She’d loved him unconditionally.

  Logan had been right, though, he had avoided any type of intimate conversation over the past several months with the man. Hell, he’d even withheld his age from Logan… It was a wonder Logan kept coming back at all. He’d wanted to share, but feared saying too much. Logan now knew almost everything and Macy felt lighter for it.

  “Tell me.”

  Macy smiled at Logan’s demanding tone.

  “Mom danced in Jubilee.” Macy waved a hand down his frame. “I learned to wear a towering headdress from the best of them.”

  Logan chuckled just as he intended, but it was all true.

  “I knew I was gay at the age of thirteen when the boys in Vegas held my attention more than the girls.” He shrugged. “Mom noticed that and my fascination for pretty clothes.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “In Vegas. She’s semi-retired. The show ended in twenty-fifteen after a thirty-five-year run. She works part time filling in for various shows around town.”


  “Where’s your dad?”

  “Pops? He’s probably on the ranch in Wyoming.”

  “A Wyoming rancher and Vegas showgirl?”

  “I know, right? Pops went on a week-long trip to Vegas with friends. He met my mom and the rest was history.”

  “Wait… did they do the drive through wedding?”

  Macy laughed around a bite of food. “No. He knocked her up and left.”

  “What?” Logan’s brows drew together.

  “Just kidding, it wasn’t like that. She called him when she found out about me. He wanted to do the right thing, marry her and bring her back to Wyoming, but mom said hell no.”

  “Did she tell you about him?”

  “I spent three months out of every year until I turned seventeen at the ranch. Pops isn’t a dead-beat dad or anything like that. Of course, he doesn’t quite know what to do with me,” he admitted.

  Logan brushed a piece of fallen hair away from his cheek and Macy shivered beneath the man’s touch and wiped his hands on a paper towel.

  “That’s his loss.”

  “Oh, he’s not mean or anything. It just became awkward when I hit puberty. Having a gay son hadn’t been on his agenda.”

  His big, gruff father hadn’t known what to say when he’d told him he was gay. Other than a soft pat on his shoulder, the man had nothing further to say. At first, he’d regretted telling his dad when their normally long silences went on uncomfortably, but after several years, his father had learned to live with it and had loosened up a bit. In fact, the last visit to the ranch had been initiated by his father and when Macy had arrived, he’d found documents waiting. His father was leaving him the ranch in his will, but wanted to give him fifty percent then.

  “Why?” He’d stared in shock into eyes as blue as his own.

  “Because I want to do right by you.”

  And then he’d seen it, the guilt, and he’d walked into his father’s arms and held him. With no hesitation, his father had squeezed him tightly.

  “I’m glad his son is gay.”

  He was jogged from the past by Logan and smiled.

  “I’d like for you to meet him. I think he has it in his head that all gay people look like those stereotypical people on the TV. Of course, I don’t help his misunderstanding by wearing makeup and shear shirts when I visit.”

  “You’re perfect.”

  “Keep saying those things and I’ll have to keep you,” he said lightly and pulled out of Logan’s arms. It was getting too comfortable and too safe in this man’s embrace.

  “Okay,” Logan deadpanned.

  With a slight smile, he shook his head and closed the empty pizza box. “Did that answer all your questions?”

  “Why the FBI?”

  He drew in a deep breath, let it out, and settled on the cushion next to Logan again. “I want to be a part of something good, something that matters.”

  Logan smiled and Macy closed his eyes when the man cupped his jaw.

  “Come on, it’s getting late,” he said and stood, holding out his hand. When Logan took it, he pulled the man to his feet.

  “You’re feeling warm.” He frowned and placed a hand to the side of Logan’s face.

  “I am?” Logan put a hand to his own forehead. “I do have a headache.”

  “I bet it’s your arm,” he muttered. “If that gets infected…”

  “It won’t,” Logan said huskily.

  Sitting Logan on the edge of his bed, he went into the bathroom. Returning with new bandages and some ointment, he changed the dressing. The wound didn’t look any worse from this morning when he’d changed the dressing for Logan, but to his untrained eye, it didn’t look any better, either. He handed Logan two ibuprofen.

  “Find something for lube,” Logan said huskily after taking the pills.

  “You’re in no condition.”

  Logan’s lips pressed flat. “Are you kidding me? It’s only a scratch. I’ve had far worse.”

  He eyed the sexy hunk and his dick perked up. “Okay, I’ll see what I can find.”

  He stalked out of the room and through the house, searching each room for condoms and lube.

  Of course, there were zero condoms in the whole freaking house, but he found a jar of coconut oil in the kitchen.

  Logan’s face was comical when he returned to stand in the bedroom doorway with the jar in hand.

  “What’s that?”

  “Coconut oil.” Macy smiled slowly and flipped open his robe to place his free hand on his waist, slipping one finger into the lacy edge of his pink boy shorts.

  “Ever tried it?” He sashayed toward the bed.

  “No, but I’m down.” Logan crooked a finger.

  “Progress,” he said cheekily.

  Logan’s deep, husky laughter filled the room.

  Over the next several hours, he found out how much fun Logan could be. And even though they hadn’t had sex, Logan was very skilled with his hands and mouth. Perhaps, it was possible to keep this light.

  The sheets squished beneath him and at some point, they’d lost the jar of oil. The bed was a mess. Logan sat up from beside him and pulled him from the bed before stripping the bottom sheet.

  “You don’t like sticky sheets?” Wrapped in the top sheet, Macy sank to the cushioned chair nearby and chewed on his lip to keep from laughing.

  “I don’t mind sticky sheets, but the amount of oil on this bed is going to ruin the mattress.”

  “Can’t you just buy the owner a new one?”

  “Yes, mister smartass, I can. But not tonight. Tonight, I have plans that don’t include an oily bed.”

  “Do tell?” He laughed. “You do know there are seven other bedrooms, right?”

  Logan scowled at him and flipped the bedspread over the mattress and snatched up several folded blankets from the closet.

  “I’m partial to this bed,” the man huffed and slipped beneath the blankets.

  Macy grinned at Logan’s disgruntled look and stood. “Why’s that?”

  “Right now, I can’t remember. Maybe if you came over here and refreshed my memory, it’d help.”

  Macy silently vowed then and there to buy and stash condoms in every room in the house just in case they came back this way.

  Approaching the bed with a smile, he sank down at Logan’s side and brushed the hair away from his forehead. “You feel cooler.”

  “I told you, it’s only a scratch,” Logan breathed and tugged at him.

  Logan

  They left just before dawn the next morning.

  He felt sad to leave the seclusion Sam’s estate had given him, mainly because he’d miss having Macy all to himself. They hadn’t come out of the bedroom the previous night except to eat.

  After food, he’d wrapped Macy up in his arms for the rest of the night. He’d awoken with a crick in his neck and a headache, but it had been worth it.

  “We can go back anytime,” Macy murmured as they flew down the freeway toward Crumpet.

  “What?”

  “The estate. We can use it anytime, Sam won’t mind.”

  “Did you just read my mind?”

  “You looked sad.”

  “Who is Sam to you?”

  “I told you, he’s an old friend of mine and my mother’s. We used to live next door to each other in Crumpet. Let’s just say, I wish my mom would have married someone like Sam instead of Tony.”

  Macy took the freeway off-ramp and drove through the quiet streets of Crumpet.

  After some very fast talking, he’d gotten Macy to at least agree to meet with his team. If things went south from there, he’d come up with another plan. It had been touch and go for a moment. He could see Macy was torn between letting him help or ditching him at the first chance.

  His team was near the airport at the only hotel in town. Jaxon had rented the top floor of the three-level hotel, and all of his men were waiting for them to arrive.

  Macy turned down the next block and got off the main street. He drove dow
n an alley that Logan hadn’t known existed in the small, one street town. Some spots didn’t even look wide enough to drive a car through, but Macy expertly handled the Audi. Pulling up to the back of the hotel, Macy shut off the engine and reached over to pluck the gun from the glove compartment.

  Logan pulled out his phone and sent a text to Jaxon.

  “It looks deserted.” He gazed covertly around, checking out the dimly lit back lot.

  “It does,” Macy agreed and slapped the cartridge into the chamber of the nine millimeter handgun. “Looks can be deceiving, though.”

  The back door to the hotel eased open and Jaxon motioned to them.

  Sliding out of the car, he waited until Macy came around and grabbed the younger man’s hand.

  Macy shot him a look, but Logan ignored it and laced their fingers together.

  Reaching the opening, he pulled Macy through and Jaxon closed the door. The automatic lock clicked into place.

  “Hey boss.”

  “Hey Jaxon, this is Macy.”

  “Hiya.” Jaxon returned Macy’s smile.

  “How many are here?” Logan asked as they took the stairs up to the top level.

  “Felix, Hayden, Ryder, and me. Gunner and Brick are getting the Carson case started,” Jaxon said, entering the hotel room and locking the door behind them.

  Nails clacked on the floor and Echo raced across the room.

  “Echo,” Macy breathed and dropped to his knees on the floor. It was the first sign of softness Macy had shown all morning.

  The big Bull Mastiff charged into the slender man, almost knocking him over. Macy didn’t mind, he wrapped his arms around Echo’s neck and buried his face in the dog’s fur.

  Echo loved Macy, and it was clear to all in the room the feeling was mutual.

  Echo had never attached himself to anyone the way he did Macy. It was the weirdest thing Logan had ever seen. The bond between the pair had happened when he’d been on a job to catch a diabolical killer who’d been after Elijah’s husband, Justin. To get the perp, Logan had brought his best dog.

  Echo had caught the perp holding a gun in his hand and had taken the guy to the ground. Logan had called the dog off and got him settled when the café door had opened.