by Victoria Sue
Gray held his breath as the pause between them lengthened. For what seemed forever, Gray seriously wondered if he would ever take another one. “I was never at home for long enough. Then I guess it got easier to just be on my own.” His lips twisted. “Less likely to screw things up.” He stood up, his legs a little shaky, and risked looking over.
Seb nodded as if making a decision. “Do you want anything else to eat?” he asked and went to pick up his plate.
“No, thank you,” Gray replied firmly.
“Would you do something for me?” He took the plates to the sink to rinse and glanced over his shoulder at Gray, obviously waiting for an answer.
He would do anything.
“Will you listen to me play something?”
“Play?” Gray repeated in confusion as he got up and walked to where Seb could see him as he rinsed the plates.
“The piano. I’m writing this song, and I never get the chance to see what someone else thinks.”
Gray nodded slowly. “Although I’m tone-deaf and can’t sing a note.” He thought about his music tastes and realized he didn’t have any particularly. He never listened to music for pleasure. Sure, the radio played on base sometimes, and he generally had it on in the car, but he never cared what it was.
Seb grinned. “Yeah, but you can hear. So how about I sing, and you listen?”
“Sounds good to me,” Gray agreed and followed him upstairs. He made sure everything was locked and the video feeds were all working fine. Seb walked over to the small fridge in the corner of his room that had arrived that morning and got out two bottles of water, then passed one to Gray. Gray smiled in approval and sipped his while Seb arranged his notes in front of the piano. Gray glanced out the window at the miserable day. It had been overcast and raining on and off all afternoon. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was dark in another hour. It was already four o’clock.
Gray sat on the couch and listened as Seb played a few notes of something that seemed vaguely familiar. Seb hummed and then sang a couple of lines. For all he didn’t listen to music much, Gray recognized the song instantly. It had been very popular with a boy band that had won some sort of talent show.
“What do you think?” Seb turned to him.
Gray shrugged. “I recognized it of course, but I’d rather hear something of yours like the one you sang yesterday.”
Seb chuckled. “That one was more my thing, yes, but I wrote them both.”
Gray stared at Seb in shock. “You wrote ‘Yesterday’s News’?”
“And ‘Where You Go,’ ‘Take Me Back,’ and ‘Tomorrow.’”
“Tomorrow?”
“Blake Derr,” Seb replied, naming a very famous country-and-western singer. Gray had heard of the guy but never listened to his music.
Gray leaned back, stunned, and thought hard about what he was learning about Seb, and he was amazed. Seb was talented, seriously talented, and Gray was sure it was only Seb’s lack of confidence that was stopping him having a chart-topping record himself.
“I’m surprised you bother with the translations,” Gray mused half to himself.
Seb shrugged. “Steady paycheck.”
Gray opened his mouth to ask why the hell, with all his and his father’s money, Seb needed to consider that, but the words died on his lips. It wasn’t his business. Keeping Seb safe was his business, and all the rest were things not his concern. Temporary. All the jobs were temporary. That’s how he liked it.
It was just getting harder at the moment to remember that.
Seb had turned back to the piano and was singing “Boundaries.” It was the one from yesterday, and Gray listened intently to the words.
You never touch me how I need to feel
You never tell me what I need to hear
Gray sat and let the words wash over him and tried not to squirm. Every note Seb played seemed to come from somewhere deep inside. Every word he sang screamed loneliness, frustration. Gray had never met anyone who needed to be heard so fucking badly, and Gray ached to give him that. He stood up and walked over to the piano stool. Seb hadn’t put the headphones on, and his eyes were closed. He was in his own little world, and somehow for some ridiculous reason Gray couldn’t put a name to, he didn’t want Seb to be in there on his own anymore. He knew Seb would feel him sit at the piano. Seb’s voice changed almost to a whisper, and his hands slowed to picking out the occasional note.
“Ever played the piano?” Seb didn’t open his eyes, so Gray didn’t bother answering him.
Slowly, breathlessly, Gray rested his right hand over Seb’s and felt Seb’s fingers moving underneath him. He closed his eyes and tried to follow Seb’s dexterous fingers, but in the end, he just relaxed and gave Seb his hand’s full weight and let him take it where he wanted. Gray would have loved to do the other one, but he couldn’t reach, so his left hand he set gently onto Seb’s thigh. Seb changed the music and started singing something else Gray had never heard. If he had to guess, it was a lullaby, and he remembered Seb telling him he had learned to play from following his mom’s hands while he was small. The thought that Seb was including Gray in what must be such a powerful memory for him was humbling. He could feel the muscles under his left hand harden as Seb pressed the pedals. Gray was torn between not daring to move and needing to jump away because any second his fingers would slide higher up Seb’s leg, and he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. If he concentrated really hard, he could keep them still.
“Gray?”
Gray’s eyes focused on the luminous green ones staring at him. Seb’s hands were still, but Gray’s right one curled over Seb’s fingers, and his other clutched Seb’s thigh. They were plastered together. Hip to shoulder. Warm minty breath wafted over him as Seb was so close when he spoke. “Did you like it?”
Gray nearly said what, and then realized what he was supposed to be doing. He cleared his throat and moved his hands. He couldn’t bring himself to stand up, though. “You are incredibly talented.” Gray watched the faint flush appear on Seb’s throat.
“Really?” Seb’s eyes were sparkling, and Gray was lost.
He was seconds away from leaning forward and brushing his lips over Seb’s. Gray needed to move, but just as the thought formed, the decision was taken away from him, because Seb closed the gap and kissed him. Not that he would have called the too-hesitant, softly brushed, barely there glance a kiss, but as Seb drew back not even an inch from his face, it was enough for Gray to follow, chasing the hesitation, the warmth, the whispered moan that flew all the way to his groin and settled there.
Gray closed his eyes and copied the shy movement from Seb. If there was even a second of pause from Seb, it would be enough to stop him. Gray wouldn’t hurt him for the world. He was here to protect—
Gray yanked himself away and nearly fell over as he stumbled away from the piano. Protect. Seb was a client, even if the other obvious reasons weren’t enough of a deterrent, not least his age.
Gray dragged a shaky hand over his face. “I’m—”
“If you’re going to apologize, I will steal your gun and shoot you with it.”
Gray opened his eyes wide at the anger in Seb’s voice, but even as he stared, Seb relaxed and gave him a hesitant smile.
“I don’t need to be able to hear to understand that sort of message.” Seb’s gaze fell to the large bulge in Gray’s jeans. “And I’m not blind either.”
“But—” This time Gray snapped his mouth closed over the sentence. Seb was intelligent. He didn’t need Gray to point out why this was such a bad idea. “It’s a line I won’t cross,” he said simply. “Not while I work for your father.” He counted his own heartbeats while he waited for Seb to acknowledge his words. When the small nod of Seb’s head came, Gray would never ever admit he was a little disappointed.
Chapter Fourteen
GRAY SHOOK Seb awake the next morning. “I got a text from Rig. Him and the boys are dismantling the place this morning after last night’s concert, and he wondered if we
could stop by.”
“On a holiday?” Seb added with surprise.
“Yeah, the equipment has to be altered for another gig tomorrow.”
Gray solemnly handed Seb his smoothie. Seb took it without protest. He glanced to the windows, which forestalled Seb’s question about them exercising. It was raining really hard, and Gray thought about Seb’s original offer to use the dining room, but he’d opted against it. It was more about the benefits of being outside Gray was after.
Seb thanked him and took his smoothie into the bathroom. Gray followed him—or at least with his eyes… his feet he managed to keep rooted to the floor.
“THIS IS a human doctor, right?” Rig asked quizzically an hour and a half later, holding out his phone and the picture Gray had taken.
Gray frowned. “Of course, why?”
“Because, my friend, that small box there is a bat detector.”
Gray laughed shortly and looked at Seb, wondering if he had managed to read Rig correctly.
“A what?” Seb murmured as if he needed clarification before he made an embarrassing guess at what he thought the man had said.
“Yeah, you heard me correctly.” Rig frowned. “Sorry, saw me correctly?” Then he shrugged.
“What the fuck is a bat detector?” Gray snapped impatiently.
“Humans hear around 20 Hz to 20 kHz, sometimes slightly better, but that’s a good general rule of thumb. This thing”—Rig pointed to the photo—“includes sounds more in the range that bats can hear, anything from as low as 1 kHz to as high as 200 kHz, depending on types of bats. My friend said the only reason for having that equipment there is to test if Seb hears in a different range no regular humans could manage.” Rig looked with interest at Seb. “That your ability?”
Seb shrugged, seeming at a complete loss of what to say.
“That’s some pretty cool shit, man,” Rig added.
“Who was your source?” Gray asked immediately.
“My brother-in-law,” Rig replied immediately. He swiped his finger over his closed lips.
Gray nodded at the unspoken reassurance. “Keep it private for now.”
Rig held his hands up. “Like you have to ask?”
Seb was silent as Gray steered him to the car.
“What do you think?” he asked. Seb shook his head and didn’t reply, but a few minutes later, Gray was pulling into a Starbucks drive-through, and he looked inquiringly at Seb.
“Decaf latte, please,” Seb murmured, and Gray ordered it along with his own flat white and two sugars. Seb never said a word when Gray asked for the extra shot in his own. He must have thought Gray was going to need it. They got their coffees and then pulled into the small parking lot.
“What are we doing?” Seb said when Gray put the car in Park.
“Privacy,” Gray said and then took a breath. “I think your dad knows you can hear with the headphones on.”
Gray watched Seb stare at him with absolutely no reaction whatsoever. For a second, he wished there was some doubt in his mind Seb hadn’t read his lips properly, but the sinking feeling in his stomach told him the truth. Seb had arrived at the same conclusion he had.
“What makes you say that?” Seb asked lightly, but the slight wobble in his voice gave him away.
“The bat detector first and foremost,” Gray said. “I just don’t see any other reason for it.”
“But how would he know?” Seb asked, the distress now evident. “My dad hasn’t been in my room since I was sick from the implant, and before that, I can’t even remember.”
Gray frowned, knowing the answer was going to pain him. “There is the possibility Arron told him.”
Seb shook his head. “But Arron didn’t know everything. He….” Seb sighed. “He thought I heard vibrations. I guess that’s not so much of a stretch to echolocation.”
“Why do you think your dad wouldn’t just talk to you about it, though?”
“I don’t know. He’s spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on research just to help me. It makes no sense not to tell me he thought he might not need to.”
Gray opened his mouth but closed it immediately. He had his own theory, and it wasn’t pretty.
“What?” Seb asked.
Gray blew out a long breath. “I’m not sure.”
“You’re lying,” Seb said flatly.
Gray laughed humorlessly. He was. “Hear me out, remembering I don’t know your dad as a person and I could be completely misjudging it?” He could only call it as he saw it. “If you knew your dad was aware of your ability, there would be no reason to continue the research. He says he’s doing this to help you, but you can sign and read lips extremely well. You don’t need to be able to hear to do what you want to do.” Gray swallowed. “What if he’s doing this to, well, simply to make money? What if the doctors think there’s some way they can harness your ability?”
Seb winced but shook his head adamantly. “My dad only started all this to help me, and he’s got loads of money.”
“Then maybe… maybe there’s something else I’m not seeing.” It was like navigating a minefield. He was convinced Seb was deliberately burying his head in the sand, and he needed Seb to come up with the motives himself, although the lack of surprise on Seb’s part when Rig told them was very telling. “Why do you think your dad is so desperate for you to hear that he would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to make it happen?”
Maybe it would be a good idea to look further into Armitage’s finances.
“Can we go home?” Seb almost whispered.
Gray started the car. He spent the next ten minutes or so trying to think of something to take Seb’s mind off what must be a completely shitty situation for him. They slowed just after the lights and in another five minutes turned into the driveway, the gates swinging back as they pulled forward.
Gray and Seb both climbed out after he stopped in front of the house. Seb jogged to the front door, but Gray quickly caught him. “I go in first always, you—”
The sudden rev of an engine and squealing tires had Gray jerking and glancing back just in time to see a black SUV crash through the gates. Gray’s brain switched gears in less than a blink, and both guns were in his hands and firing before he took another breath.
Suddenly it was imperative to get Seb into the house and protected from the men who poured out of the car. They were too exposed, and Gray did his best to shield Seb as Seb, quickly seeing the problem, tried desperately to unlock the door with fumbling hands. Gray had a second to wonder why the fuckers weren’t returning fire but ducking from his as Seb yanked the door open and Gray practically shoved Seb through it.
Another second later, a grenade was lobbed through the door with only a fraction of an inch to spare before Gray managed to close it. Gray had barely a moment to react and threw himself at Seb, landing on him as his whole world seemed to explode and noise and light ripped through him.
Still alive was his single thought as Seb struggled underneath him and roughly pushed Gray to one side, scrambling for something because Gray couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and was useless as fuck. Stun grenade. He’d been on the receiving end enough times to recognize it and wanted to laugh at the person who was trying to yank him to his feet, because it would be pointless as he couldn’t stand. Wouldn’t be able to stand for more minutes than it would need to get to Seb.
He tried to fight off the hands pushing at him, but it was useless. Stumbling, legs like jelly, eyes unseeing, hearing full of white noise, he had no choice but to let himself be maneuvered and fell more times than he could count before being yanked up again. Then, blissfully, it was quiet for a few seconds. Gun? Where was his gun? Hands cradled his head, and he tried to think. That was wrong. He wasn’t being dragged or beaten or shoved into the trunk of a car. He was in a dark space and realized when his head stopped spinning that the hands were still holding him. He couldn’t see for shit, and just as he recognized the faint minty smell of the breath that wafted over him, his brain
registered the small space and he panicked and struck out. The resulting yelp was enough to jerk his head again and this time to knock some sense in there.
His vision cleared a little, and he saw Seb holding his jaw. “Fuck. Seb,” he groaned.
“Can you hear anything?” Seb hissed, the panic evident in his voice. Gray pushed himself up to a sitting position and blinked. The light from Seb’s phone was above him, and looking around, it wasn’t the dark enclosed space he hated. It was also larger than he thought. Freezing cold, but dry. Gray thanked Seb’s quick thinking to use his phone as a flashlight.
“How the fuck did we get in the cellar?” Because that was where they must be. He tried to sort out what had happened after they’d pushed in the door, but his head was full of exploding lights and noise. “It was a stun grenade.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Seb answered dryly.
“You got us down here?” He counted slowly to ten to clear his head.
“It was the only thing I could think of. I haven’t been down here in years.”
Gray squinted and looked at the stone steps. He could see the old door at the top.
“It’s bolted, and the door’s ridiculously old and thick. They haven’t worked out we’re here.”
“How are you not affected?” Gray’s vision was all but back to normal, and he had just a slight ringing in his ears. A side effect of being on the receiving end of a stun grenade too many times to count meant a faster recovery time. Then he wanted to slap himself. “Of course.”
Seb smiled slightly. “I never thought being deaf would give me an advantage in a stun grenade attack. I couldn’t see either for a few seconds, but I managed to kick the front door shut. I don’t know whether they got in or not, because I dragged you in here. And my cell’s got no signal,” he added. “I just checked it.”