When he pushed forward, Sam didn’t hesitate, wrapping strong arms around him and letting him cling on tightly.
Chapter Twelve
Drew was back in his arms again, fine tremors wracking him. Whatever was going on with this Russ guy, it had Drew scared into silence.
“Just tell me,” he urged. “Tell me what made you run.”
Drew’s face was pressed against his neck, his hands fisted in his shirt.
“I think he had someone killed,” Drew murmured softly next to his ear. “The head of a company he and his main competitor were vying to buy.”
Well, fuck. Of all the things Sam had been expecting, a murder conspiracy wasn’t one of them. Where was Sherlock Holmes when you needed him?
“Why do you think that?” he asked, his voice equally soft, conscious of Matt sleeping in the next room.
“He had a personal computer in his penthouse, completely separate from his work laptop and his PDA. I got curious, and I looked at it. It had much better security than any of the company stuff, and I guess that made me even more curious. I broke through the encryption and it was all laid out, in black and white.”
“What was? What was he doing?”
“Fraud. And some stuff that I guess falls under competition law. He had insider information into his competitors, into companies he had shares in. But there was this series of emails and transactions through an offshore shell company. I didn’t figure it out until later, when I lined up the dates. Two twenty-five thousand dollar transactions and another fifty the day after it was done.”
“Do you have any proof of this,” Sam asked, cupping Drew’s cheek and directing his gaze up.
“Maybe,” Drew replied, biting his lower lip. Sam used his thumb to gently free it from his teeth. “Maybe?”
“I knew I’d only have one chance at it. The computer had key logging software I couldn’t disable so one way or another Russ would find out I'd snooped. It didn’t have any ports, like USB, or disk drives. The wireless access was heavily encrypted, but I managed to get limited access and emailed copies of everything I could to a friend of mine.”
“Key-logging software? Doesn’t that mean Russell knows you’ve got the information? That you sent it by email?”
“No, the email address sends a spoofed reply telling you the email failed to send. Russ was crowing about it afterward, telling me how foolish I was.” After leaving him bloody and bruised, Sam guessed.
“Why didn’t you run before he figured it out?”
Drew tried to duck his head again, but Sam placed two fingers under his chin, urging his gaze upward.
“He came back before I could leave. Turns out there was a motion sensitive camera trained on the computer. He knew what I’d done. Before I could get out, he’d locked the door and come at me. I hit my head and woke up on the bed a while later with him sitting next to me telling me how disappointed he was and how I’d betrayed his trust. But that it was okay, the email hadn’t sent, we could start over.”
Sam let his fingers slip lower, to Drew’s throat, feeling the other man swallow hard, his pulse thrumming under his skin.
“That was the first time he threatened to fake my involvement. It wasn’t like it would be hard. I’d been living with him for a year. We shared a bed. I worked in his company. Why would anyone believe I was ignorant of what was going on, especially if Russ was telling them otherwise?”
“But you still ran?”
“I went back through Russ’ work calendar on his phone for the dates of the emails and the transactions. The first email was two days after that company refused a buy out offer from Russ for the second time. The second payment was two days before the director died. The final payment was the day after. The emails were cryptic but once I knew what to look for, it wasn’t hard to fill in the blanks. That was why I ran. He’s only a year and one more contract away from being a billionaire. If all it costs to have someone in your way killed is a hundred grand, then he could end me ten times over and put barely a dent his bottom line.”
“And the evidence is out there?”
“I’m not certain. I never made contact with my friend out of fear of drawing him into the middle of this mess. But, in theory, yeah, he should have it.”
“And it’ll prove what you’re telling me, about the fraud and the insider information?”
“More or less. And it might be enough to open an investigation into that director’s death.”
“How’d he die?”
Drew sighed against him, swallowing again. “Scuba diving accident, supposedly. I guess it all looked so innocuous that no one suspected foul play.”
Sam stroked his fingers across Drew’s cheek. “Logan did warn me you might be trouble. But this is a bit more than I was expecting.”
Drew laughed, then clapped a hand over his mouth, gaze moving to Sam’s bedroom door. The only noise from inside was the quiet sound of Matt's breathing. He sobered quickly.
“Logan doesn’t know any of this. Or my dad. I need to keep them out of it. Not just because they don’t know about me, that’s… that pales in comparison to the risk putting them under Russ’ spotlight would bring.”
“He won’t hear it from me. Besides, I doubt he’d believe me.”
Drew went still in his arms, one hand clutching his shirt collar.
“Do… do you believe me?” The tense way he held himself betrayed his doubt.
“It all sounds a little far-fetched but right now I have no reason not to believe you.” He tugged Drew’s shirt up, his eyes on the still fading bruises. “And a dozen reasons to hear you out.”
“What would you do, if you were me?” Drew relaxed a little, leaning against Sam once more.
“I’d get a good night’s sleep and not make any decisions until tomorrow morning.”
Drew made a face. “Are you always this sensible?”
“Cop and former soldier here. What do you think?”
“And you’re going to sleep out here? Couldn't you stay in with me?”
“I need to be here if Matt needs me and I don’t want him slipping past to the front door.”
“You’re a good friend to him.”
“I don’t know if I believe that. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do, things haven’t gotten any better.”
Drew pulled away, getting to his feet. Sam let him go reluctantly, settling against the back of the couch, and closing his eyes.
Footsteps returned a moment later and Drew resumed his seat beside him, a blanket in his hands. He’d shed his clothes in favor of boxers and an old T-shirt.
“Drew…”
“I’ll keep you company. And you can keep me company. It’s not like either of us are going to get a lot of sleep.”
Drew was waiting for a response, eyeing him hopefully.
“Fine,” Sam said, standing up and tugging off his button-down shirt and pants, leaving him in boxers and a vest. “But let's at least try to get some rest, okay? Here.”
Reaching for Drew, he maneuvered him so that they were lying on their sides, lengthways along the couch, Drew’s back toward his chest. He drew the blanket up around them both.
“Sleep, Drew. I’ve got your back.”
Drew chuckled at that. “Literally.”
Sam ran the palm of his hand down along Drew’s spine over his T-shirt, earning him a muffled sound of surprise as Drew arched against him. Teasingly, he slipped his hand under Drew’s shirt, gently gliding upwards, avoiding the bruises hidden beneath the material. He didn’t need to see to know they were there. Their existence had been burned into his memory, the image of Drew, beaten, bruised and bleeding easy to call up to the forefront of his mind, Drew’s frightened eyes watching him.
“Sleep,” he said, withdrawing his hand, and pressing closer to Drew’s back. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
He had no idea what they were going to say or how he was going to fix this. But he was just going to have to figure out a way. To help Matt, to help Drew, and not to l
et his team down. He needed one hell of a juggling act.
Chapter Thirteen
He heard Matt moving around sometime after dawn. Drew was fast asleep, his head pillowed on Sam’s arm. He didn’t try to move him, listening out for Matt instead. The door to his bedroom creaked and footsteps padded out. There was a wordless sound of surprise before the footsteps moved in their direction. Sam craned his neck, seeing Matt come into view, sleep tousled and rubbing a hand across his eyes.
“Morning, Sam. I—” He caught sight of Drew. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t realize you two were—”
“We’re not,” Sam interrupted him, keeping his voice a little above a whisper. “This is just… I don’t know what this is. We talked, he was freaked out. He didn’t want to sleep alone.”
Matt sat down heavily across from him. “Those pills you gave me were pretty good stuff. I feel like I actually slept.”
“Good, that’s good. So I’ve been thinking that you should move in here with me for a bit. I can take some time off work, or Drew and I can work it out between us so there’s always someone here. Until things turn around and you get back on your feet.”
Matt scrubbed a hand across his face, speaking softly.
“Sam, I know you mean well and you’d go to the ends of the earth for me, but I think we’ve gone beyond that. Things aren’t going to just turn around.”
“You just need time, Matt, time and support. I can be there for you. I can get you through this.”
Sam could hear the desperation in his voice, and Drew stirred, murmuring something in his sleep. Matt’s hands dropped to his knees, clutching them tightly.
“No, this can’t all be on you. I can’t expect you to keep carrying this single-handedly. I’m a drowning man and I’m pulling you right down with me. Let someone else take care of this. There are people, professionals, it’s their job to keep me afloat and they won’t be doing it alone.”
Sam shook his head. He knew Matt’s feelings on that, knew what lengths he’d go to, to avoid it. “I’ll do this for you, Matt. I know you don’t want—”
“No, Sam. No. I know how deep I’ve sunk already. I called by your apartment to say goodbye. I only stayed because Drew knows his shit and saw right through me. I know what I would have done last night, and what that would have done to you, too. I’d never forgive myself for pulling you over the edge with me.”
Matt sounded certain, his eyes clear, his expression determined.
“Are you sure this is how you want to do this?” Sam asked. Matt had been vocal about not putting himself in the hands of people he didn’t trust.
“No, but there’s no other way I can see that gives me half a chance of walking out the other side. I know that now.”
It was a big step for Matt to admit that, a huge step, and Sam felt guilty at his sense of relief, a weight falling from his shoulders.
“I met Declan Mannion the other day, you remember Declan, right?”
Matt nodded slowly. “Sure, Declan, Irish out of Boston. He was with us in Kandahar.”
“Yeah, well he’s here in the city. He volunteers as a counselor with the VA. I could give him a call, see what he suggests?”
Matt considered that for a moment. “Yeah, that would be good. Declan was a nice guy, I’m sure he’ll steer us in the right direction.”
“Great, I’ll get in contact once we get to a reasonable hour of the morning. Are you hungry, do you want some breakfast?”
“I could eat. What about sleeping beauty?”
Sam glanced down at Drew, startled when the other man spoke, his face hidden between the couch and Sam’s arm. “I might be a beauty, but I’m not asleep.”
“Morning, sunshine,” Sam said. “Have you been awake long?”
“Not long. I just didn’t want to intrude on a private conversation,” Drew replied, turning around with a grimace. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, couch-sleeping leaves a lot to be desired,” Sam said sympathetically, helping Drew sit up. The other man looked over at Matt. “You look a little better this morning.”
“I don’t know if I feel it but I guess my thoughts are as clear as they were yesterday evening but with a different direction in mind.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re making the right choice,” Drew offered. “Now, someone said something about breakfast?”
Matt looked down at himself then back up at Sam. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”
“Go right ahead. Towels are on the shelf. You can borrow some clothes from my room.”
While Matt wandered about, he and Drew got up, stretching out the kinks from the night before. Sam went to put on some coffee while Drew hovered nearby. The shower turned on as Sam poured a cup for both of them, bringing them over to the table and urging Drew to take a seat.
“We need to talk.”
“Like I said last night. You’ve got enough on your plate with Matt.”
“Matt wants help, real help. Very soon, he won’t be my responsibility, he’ll be under the care of people who know how to get him better. Leaving me free to help you.”
“How?” Drew asked simply. There was no challenge or expectation in his voice.
“If your story is true, and let's take it as a given that it is, then what you need most is proof. Proof that you say is out there somewhere.”
“Right. With my friend.”
“But you can’t go and get it, because, even though Russell doesn’t know the evidence exists, he is tracking you.”
“Exactly. And I won’t risk anyone else in this.”
“I’m going to help you get that proof. If it’s there, if it exists, and it says what you’re saying it says, then you’ll take it to the police, get it in front of a prosecutor and negotiate a deal that whatever Russell tries to claim, you won’t be prosecuted.”
“It’s that simple?”
“No, Drew. It’s going to be far from simple. But if you’ve been truthful in what you’ve told me, then it’s possible and the best outcome you’re likely to get. One that doesn’t involve you living under that man’s control, on the run the rest of your life, or in jail for crimes you had no part of.” He deliberately left out the other potential outcome. If Russ had killed once before, he would kill again.
“I can’t expect you to just drop everything.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Think of it like having a bodyguard, someone to watch your back while you do what you should have done in the first place, that first time you ran. It won’t be easy to put this to rights, Drew, but it’s far from impossible.”
He could see doubt on Drew’s face, and fear. But to Sam, the choice was simple.
“You don’t have to decide right now. I’ll make us some breakfast, we’ll get something sorted for Matt, then we’ll talk again.”
Chapter Fourteen
Drew sat at the table, dragging his fork absentmindedly across the omelet Sam had made for him. Matt, sitting next to him, wasn’t doing much better, half of his omelet still on the plate. Sam’s clear plate sat over by the sink, mocking them both.
Drew could just about hear Sam’s voice through his bedroom door. As soon as he’d finished eating, he’d gone to make some calls, fully intending to follow through on Matt’s request for help. Professional help. While Drew knew Sam wasn’t keen on the idea, he felt it was right. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone in the state of mind Matt was. When they’d first met, he had seen the strain on Matt from trying to hold himself together. Now, he didn’t seem to have the energy left to try.
“Do you want something else?” he offered. “Toast or a bagel.”
Matt shook his head. “I’m not that hungry. You neither, huh?” he asked, indicating Drew’s plate.
“Sam said some things. I know he’s right and I can see he wants to help, but it doesn’t seem fair to put him in the middle of my problems.”
“You and me both,” Matt replied. “But that’s who Sam is. He gives and gives. He was the same with his family, and
when we were deployed. He was known as the person you went to if you needed a helping hand. I don’t think I ever saw him turn anyone away. I don’t know how he does it. I’m exhausted just trying to help myself.”
“But that’s different. That’s family. With the people you serve with, there are bonds there I’m guessing. I’m just a stranger he gave a room to.”
“If that’s all it was, I don’t think I’d have found you sleeping together on the couch this morning.”
He felt his face heat at Matt’s words.
“That was just—” Just what? Just comfort? Just kissing, like the other night? Whatever they were ‘just’ doing, it was a damn sight more than two strangers sharing an apartment.
“I know you’re scared, Drew. I get that. Maybe you’ve lost trust in the people who are supposed to have your back in all of this. Maybe you’ve never had anyone you felt you could trust enough to help. I’m saying Sam will do that and he won’t exact a cost. That’s just who he is.”
Sam’s phone call ended and his door opened. Drew gave Matt a grateful smile, resolving to think over everything the other man had said.
Two pairs of eyes watched him return to the room and take a seat at the small table.
“Declan has some contacts, he’s going to call them and get back to me. He said it might take a day or two to get something sorted. For now, you stay here.”
Sam turned to Drew. “You, too. It would be safer for you right now if you stayed in the apartment until we decide what we’re going to do.”
Matt looked puzzled, glancing from Sam to Drew. Drew caught his look, admitting with a shrug, “My ex is stalking me and getting me fired.”
“And might have been the reason Drew was assaulted,” Sam added, wanting Matt to know the gravity of the situation.
“Damn,” Matt said. “I guess misery really does love company. Welcome to the club, Drew.” He patted Drew on the back as the other man stared at him, bewildered, before breaking out into a grin. “Not the kind of club I was planning on joining.”
Sam’s phone rang and Matt started, knocking his glass off the table where it smashed on the floor. He was frozen, eyes wide, alert and searching for danger.
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