Of course the tradeoff wasn’t exactly terrible. Shacked up with Gabe and all the time they’d get to spend together around his assignment? No way in hell was he complaining about that.
His stomach rumbled as he stepped out of Gabe’s room after depositing his luggage just inside the doorway. Gabe had definitely made him work up an appetite last night and this morning.
While Gabe locked up the room, Matt went over to wait by the sedan, taking in the destruction of his rental in the bright, glaring light of day. It wasn’t pretty, and the yellow crime scene tape somehow made it worse. Glass was scattered in all directions and even though he couldn’t see the graffitied words from where he stood, they were seared into his mind well enough he could imagine how the black spray paint would stand out against the silver-blue of the car’s panels under the bright Texas sun.
Movement across the parking lot caught his attention, and he looked over in time to see Thomas quickly walking away from him, past the motel’s office toward the street.
He didn’t hesitate, taking off after his cousin at a run. It looked like Tommy was alone and he might not get another chance to talk to him. No way was he about to confront him in front of any ALP assholes again, not after yesterday.
“Matt!” Gabe yelled from somewhere behind him.
“Just give me a second,” he called back, not slowing his run.
He heard Gabe cursing in a mixture of English and Spanish, which possibly meant he was in for a lecture in his near future considering Gabe’s warning earlier about not going anywhere alone. But he wasn’t, not really. He could already hear the echoing footsteps of Gabe trying to catch up with him.
Matt rounded the front of the motel office as he came out on the street, but then had to come to a quick stop when he found Thomas striding away only a few steps ahead of him—not running off like Matt had assumed he was going to.
“Thomas!” He caught up to his cousin and grabbed his arm in a loose hold.
Unsurprisingly, Thomas roughly shook him off and rounded on him with a scowl. His face was bruised and his lower lip was split. Looked like someone had punched him a good couple of times.
“Tommy, what happened to you?” His demand came out a little breathless from the short run.
Tommy crossed his arms, expression landing somewhere between belligerent and miserable.
“Why did you have to follow me to Texas, Matt? I had my reasons for leaving San Francisco, but like always, you just couldn’t leave it alone.”
Matt sensed Gabe coming to a halt less than a step behind him, and Tommy’s gaze briefly flicked to him, clear disgust curling his lip as Gabe’s hand settled on Matt’s shoulder in silent support.
“Because you’re family. And you didn’t leave, you ran away. For what? To join the ALP, a bunch of white-nationalist assholes?” Matt felt Gabe stiffen next to him, but didn’t take his attention off his cousin. “Do you know how worried your mom has been—”
“Like I care!” Tommy threw out his arms, temper quickly sparking. “None of you understand me. I’ve finally found people who get me, and you’re ruining it for me.”
“They do that to you?” Gabe interjected, nodding at Thomas’s bruises. “You really think they care about you more than your own family?”
“It’s none of your fucking business.” Tommy barely spared Gabe a glance, and what little he did was filled with disdain.
“Don’t speak to him like that,” Matt said, the words coming out tight through his clenched jaw, his own anger pushing up within him.
Gabe’s hand tightened gently on his shoulder, though Matt wasn’t sure if it was to hold him back or to comfort him. Didn’t really matter, Gabe’s solid presence at his side was all he needed.
Thomas, however, didn’t seem to care about his words. “You’re out of your depth here, Matt. Go back to SoMa where you belong before something other than a few windows get broken.”
Gabe abruptly brushed by him and grabbed Tommy’s upper arm as he started to turn away.
“Do you know who vandalized Matt’s rental?” Gabe demanded in a hardass voice Matt hadn’t heard him use before. It sent a shiver down his spine and made him very glad he was not currently on the receiving end of the glacial glare Gabe had pinned on Thomas.
His cousin jerked out of Gabe’s hold, mouth pressing into a thin line as his expression became familiarly stubborn.
“Was it the same person who beat you up, Tommy?” Gabe pressed, getting into Tommy’s space, using his slight height advantage. “You don’t have to like me, and you don’t have to go back home with Matt, but if you’re in trouble, I can help you.”
Thomas backpedaled a quick few steps, clearly not willing to talk or help himself. Probably didn’t even think he needed it.
“My only problem is Matt sticking his nose into things he’s got no right to. The sooner he’s gone, the better I’ll be.” Thomas sent him one last look filled with loathing and disgust. “Leave me the fuck alone. I don’t want to see you again.”
Thomas spun on his heel and jogged off across the street. Matt automatically started to step after him, not even sure what he could do or say, but Gabe caught his hand and held him back.
“I can’t just let him go.” There was a bad feeling sitting in his stomach, and he didn’t know if it was the idea that Tommy had gotten himself into a terrible situation and someone had clearly hurt him, or the fear from the pamphlets and the car vandalism getting all tangled up with the hurtful things his cousin had said, leaving him wanting to get the hell out of this town before Tommy’s warning eventuated into something far worse than a few spray-painted words.
“I don’t think you’ve got a choice,” Gabe said, voice tight, still with a hint of chill to the tone. “He made his position pretty clear.”
He turned to face Gabe, the bad feeling in his stomach building until it pressed up into his chest, making it hard to breathe.
“So, what? I’m just supposed to give up on him even though he’s clearly in trouble?”
“That’s exactly what you’re going to do.” Gabe drew him closer and urged him into a fast walk, back into the interior parking lot of the motel. “If the same person who hit your cousin is also responsible for the vandalism of your rental and the victim we’ve got in the hospital, then I’m sorry, but I’m way more concerned about your safety than Tommy’s, especially since he’s clearly not willing to listen to reason.”
He let Gabe lead him back to the sedan, automatically getting in when Gabe held the door open for him. His brain was spinning, too many thoughts colliding inside his head, and he barely noticed the short drive to the diner.
When they arrived, Gabe cut the engine but didn’t move to get out of the car. His shoulders were tight and his expression had become grim.
“Your cousin got mixed up with the ALP. That’s what brought you to town.” There was an odd, empty note to Gabe’s words.
“Yeah, I didn’t really know who or what they were until I got here, though,” he answered, not liking the look in Gabe’s eyes or the thoughts beginning to form at the periphery of his mind. “Why, is that a problem?”
Gabe blew out a hard breath and raked a hand through his hair. “I came to town to investigate the ALP. Yes, it’s a fucking problem. If anyone finds out I was sleeping with you, and you have ties to the group—”
“Ties to the group?” he repeated, stomach pitching at the sickening idea he’d voluntarily have anything to do with people so full of hate.
Gabe sliced him an unreadable sideways look, but his gaze quickly skipped away from him again, as if Gabe suddenly couldn’t even stand to look at him. So that was it? Gabe found out his moron of a cousin had gotten mixed up in the ALP and suddenly Matt was painted with the same brush? He thought Gabe was a better man than that. Of course, they’d barely known each other a week. Truthfully, he basically knew nothing. Maybe Gabe was exactly that kind of guy.
Except his instinct told him to listen and watch, not react to his own assumpti
ons based on emotional upheaval. Something was clearly going on in Gabe’s mind, and until he had the entire story, jumping to conclusions wouldn’t help either of them.
“I’m compromised,” Gabe said into the heavy silence. He closed his eyes for a moment, emotion flitting over his features before he schooled them.
“I’m sorry.” Matt didn’t know what he was apologizing for; it just seemed like the thing to say. He definitely wasn’t sorry they’d met. He sure as hell wasn’t sorry they’d fallen into bed together. He was sorry, however, that Thomas’s poor choices were spilling over to mess up his own life. That he’d inadvertently put Gabe into an untenable position.
Gabe shifted in the seat, turning to stare at him. He reached up with one hand and cupped Matt’s cheek. Right away, the turmoil within him settled and tension leeched from his spine, the innate knowledge that everything was okay as long as Gabe was here blooming in his chest. He still had no idea how the guy could do that to him with the simplest of touches, but it was one of the things that had drawn Matt in from the very start.
“I’m not sorry. Not about us, anyway.” Gabe’s voice was intent, matching his steady stare. “But now that I’m aware of your situation, it’s no longer about what I want.”
Matt swallowed against the sudden lump in his throat, already knowing what Gabe was going to say and not wanting to hear it.
“Does it matter? As long as no one knows—”
“Yas already knows.” Gabe didn’t soften the blow, even if Matt could tell he was struggling with this just as much as Matt was himself. “I can’t ask her to lie for me. I have a duty to the people of this country. Innocent people could live or die depending on what goes into my report and final recommendation. If I tried to hide us and then it came out that I was sleeping with you—even though I know you would never have anything to do with the ALP—my intentions, my actions won’t matter if something went wrong down the line. On paper, under investigation, it will look bad and undermine everything I’m trying to do here. I have to report it and make sure everything I do from here on out is impartial.”
Matt swallowed down the ache in the back of his throat, Gabe’s unwavering honor to his duty and job with the FBI just one more reason he was such an amazing guy. Didn’t mean Matt had to like it, but he could respect the hell out of it.
“So that’s it, we’re done?” It shouldn’t have hurt this much. His chest shouldn’t have been aching, emotion threatening to surge up to sting his eyes. This was meant to be a fling, a brief affair. No strings, no complication, no future. So why the hell didn’t it feel like that?
“Is that what you want?” Gabe asked instead of answering, searching his face as if looking for something in his expression.
“I thought we didn’t have a choice.” He was probably hedging, but he didn’t want to blurt out how much he wanted Gabe in his life after they got out of this hellhole of a town. Yes, they practically lived on opposite sides of the country, but he was starting to think maybe a long-distance relationship would be worth the trouble and they could work out the rest later.
“Right now, no, we don’t. But after….” Gabe’s hand found his, tangling their fingers together and squeezing.
“After?” The single word made his heart pound, the small hope sparking within him creating an immediate wildfire of happiness, even though Gabe hadn’t actually said anything.
“As crazy as it seems, I think we’ve got something here. Don’t you?”
He could only nod, breath catching in the back of his throat at the gleam in Gabe’s dark eyes.
“Then after, we’ll figure something out. Together.”
Together was the best damn thing he’d ever heard. However, before he could say that, Gabe closed the distance and caught his lips in an intense kiss, regret and longing and sorrow and hunger all mixed up in the slide of Gabe’s mouth over his.
Matt found a handful of Gabe’s shirt, clenching his fingers in the material, not wanting to let go ever. Gabe’s arms tightened around him, anchoring Matt against his chest. Everything else fell away until nothing existed but the taste of Gabe on his tongue, the scent of Gabe’s aftershave chasing every bated breath, the solid feel of Gabe against him.
No kiss had ever sunk to the very depths of his soul like this one seemed to, spreading heat and light and something completely new through his body until he knew he wasn’t going to leave Everness the same person he’d been when he arrived.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when they finally yet reluctantly pulled apart, neither of them breathing very steadily any longer. Gabe’s gaze trailed over his face, thumb dragging lightly across his lower lip.
“This isn’t goodbye,” Gabe told him, determination and maybe a hint of possessiveness in his expression that sent a tiny thrill skittering beneath Matt’s skin. “But it’s the end for now.”
He nodded, hating the way he felt hollow when Gabe’s hand dropped away from his face and he retreated to his side of the car.
Gabe took a long breath, tugging his shirt and tie straight while Matt didn’t feel even a little bad about messing up his usually impeccable appearance. Lastly, Gabe leaned sideways and attempted to fix his hair in the mirror.
When he was apparently satisfied with his appearance, Gabe seemed to notice how intently Matt had been watching him and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“You about done?” Matt asked with a small smirk.
“Not like you can talk. I saw how long it took you to style that just-got-out-of-bed careless scruff you’ve got going on up there.”
“That’s—” he started but then snapped his mouth shut. Okay, so maybe he liked his hair to look a certain way, and it took a bit of effort to make it look like it took no effort at all.
“You owe me blueberry pancakes,” he said instead of wasting breath trying to defend himself.
“Do I just?” Gabe drawled.
“Yep, so hurry up.” Matt didn’t wait for Gabe to reply but got out of the car, pausing to gather himself when the fresh—admittedly warm—air hit his face. He hated the fact he and Gabe had to end things, even temporarily. No one had ever gotten him off with the same intensity Gabe had and the prospect of spending the nights in Gabe’s bed had made the idea of staying in this town after everything that’d happened easier to stomach. It wasn’t just the sex, though. He’d connected instantly with Gabe in a way he never had with another person. Around Gabe, he felt as comfortable as he did with Sammie, and that had been years in the making. That he could feel as secure with Gabe in a matter of days was amazing.
But like Gabe said, this wasn’t the end and whatever they had next after they got out of Everness was sure to be better—an actual relationship, he hoped. The distance was going to make things tricky, but Gabe was definitely worth it.
Now he just had to figure out what the hell he was going to do about Thomas, who very definitely didn’t want his help and didn’t want to come home. And he was going to have to find a way to do it all while keeping his head down. Despite the assurance of Gabe’s presence and vow the FBI would catch whoever was responsible for the pamphlets and vandalism of his rental, he couldn’t help feeling like he had a huge target painted right in the middle of his back.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
UNSURPRISINGLY, YAS gave Gabe a look as he paused to let Matt slide into the booth and then took a seat next to him.
“We ran into a complication,” he said when it became clear Yas wasn’t going to say anything in favor of her pointed silence.
“Do I want to know what kind?” She didn’t need to roll her eyes when it was apparent in her voice. “Was it a naked complication?”
“No,” he shot back with a quelling glare as a waitress came by to take their order.
Yas took a sip of her coffee to cover the fact she was trying not to laugh, but he’d known her long enough to recognize the way her eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
True to his word, Matt ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes, his mann
er subdued. Gabe couldn’t blame the guy. It hadn’t exactly been a fun realization to discover Matt’s cousin was a member of the group Gabe had been sent here to investigate. In fact, it’d pretty much carpet-bombed their fledgling relationship like a dedicated missile strike. Even if things between them had started out as a good-time fling and nothing more, it clearly wasn’t what either of them wanted any longer.
Never mind the distance. Until he got himself off the ALP case, they pretty much couldn’t go near each other. What he hadn’t told Matt, however, was the small possibility that it could be months, depending on how his report came together or if the powers-that-be decided they wanted more information.
Gabe distractedly ordered some pancakes with butter and syrup, while Yas got some kind of Danish pastry.
When they were alone again, Yas put her coffee down and focused her attention laser-like on him, shifting into business mode like the pro she was.
“So I’m assuming your complication was work related.”
He nodded, but before he could say anything, Matt beat him to it.
“The complication was my cousin, Thomas, and the fact he’s the ALP’s newest recruit.”
Yas sucked in a sharp breath, her gaze snapping back to him. “Hell, Gabe, you need to shut this down right damned now—”
“I know.” The words came out a little louder and sharper than he’d intended, so he took a breath to get some chill and make sure he kept his composure a little better. “I know. Matt and I are over.”
For now, he added silently. No way was he ready to give up Matt for good, especially because of some hate group that might or might not be a threat to the wider community.
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