by Avril Ashton
“And just how does he propose to do that?” Blond dude lashed out. “He gonna bribe our enemies with the women he smuggled into the country?”
“Do I know you?’ Tek asked mildly. “I mean, we must know each other the way you’re riding my cock. I fucked your wife or something?”
Blondie lunged at Tek, but another man grabbed him by the neck and held him in place.
“Dude, calm your ass down.”
“Thanks, Vince.” Dutch nodded at the guy who held the blond—Jack—in place. “As I was saying, Stavros Konstantinou is the obvious suspect with the list. We think he might put it on the black market. We need someone to get close to him to find out who that buyer is.” He met Tek’s gaze with soul deep eyes. “Tek is the only one of us in this room who can get close to Stavros without arousing suspicion.”
The one named Vince stared at Tek with unblinking eyes. “You fucking that monster?”
Tek shrugged. “Takes one to know one, right?” He turned to Dutch. “Anything else you need?”
Dutch opened his mouth as the door opened and two men strode in.
“Sorry, we’re late. I—” The one who spoke, tall with a head full of black hair and green eyes, stopped in his tracks, gaze widening. “Jack.” The name was whispered, but all kinds of emotion was happening behind it. Surprise and shock and affection.
“Hello, Shane.”
Well. Tek didn’t know what he was witnessing, but he didn’t care because a familiar face snagged his attention and he gaped. “Juan Pablo Castillo.”
The sexy tattooed Latino, shaved skull gleaming, tore his narrowed gaze from Jack’s face to look at Tek.
“Tek Ng.” Pablo grinned and grabbed Tek into a loose hug. “Fuck you doing here, son? Working with the enemy?”
Tek chuckled. “I could say the same about you,” he said as he pulled away.
Pablo shook his head. “Nah, son. I married the fucking enemy.” He jerked his thumb toward the man he’d arrived with. “DEA.”
“Oh shit.”
“Right?” Pablo laughed then sobered. “You behind all that shit I’m hearing about human smuggling?”
Tek shrugged. He didn’t have to say anything else. Pablo just nodded. At one time they’d been friends, not too close, but close enough for Pablo to know some things.
“Tek is going to help with our problem,” Dutch’s voice lifted above the hum of conversation in the room.
“What problem?” Shane asked. “Why did you call us in?”
Dutch waited a beat then spoke. “I learned recently that the names of everyone who’d been on the strike team in Sag Harbor to take down Seraphina Cook has been compromised. In addition, everyone on my team has been compromised.”
“Come again?” Pablo stepped forward, standing beside his husband. “Are you saying your enemies know who Shane is?”
“The names are on a list somewhere. A list we can’t find, but I suspect it might be in the hands of people we do not want to have it,” Dutch said calmly.
“Oh hell no,” Pablo exploded, but his husband’s hand on his arm calmed him immediately.
“The names of undercover agents out there for everyone to see,” Shane said slowly. “That’s—” He shook his head. “Wow.”
“It can’t happen,” Renzo spoke for the first time. “None of us can afford to let it happen.”
“Which is where I come in.” Tek grinned when all eyes turned to him. “I will get the list from Stavros.”
“You still hanging around that dick?” Pablo asked.
“And isn’t it a good thing I am?” Tek nodded to the room then turned to the door. “I’ll let you know when I make progress.”
“I don’t like it,” Jack said behind him. “We can’t trust this person to deal with Konstantinou and do what needs to be done.”
“Shut your ass up, Jack,” Pablo snarled.
“J.P.”
“Shane and I are leaving,” Pablo said firmly. “I don’t trust none of y’all muh’fuckers with protecting my family.”
Tek shook his head as he walked out the room. Pablo was always so damn abrasive. And violent too. Footsteps echoed behind him as he strode down the hallway.
“Tek.”
He glanced over his shoulder. Pablo and his husband walked up to him.
“This is my husband, Shane.” Pablo touched his husband’s nape. “Pretty Boy, this is Tek. We go way back.”
Shane smiled and shook the hand Tek offered. “Thanks for what you’re doing,” Shane said. “I’m guessing it’s not going to be anywhere near as easy as you’re making it out to be.”
“It’s not,” Tek agreed. “But I’ll get it done.” He grinned at Pablo. “So this is where you disappeared to. Moved to the ATL and got yourself a husband, eh?”
“Hey, what can I say?” Pablo shrugged. “I found something more important than the streets.” He gazed at the man at his side, and jealousy flared white-hot in Tek’s chest.
“We have to go.” Shane murmured to Pablo. “Heather’s with the baby.”
“You have a baby?” Tek stared open-mouthed at Pablo. “You. With a baby?”
“Don’t look so damn surprised. I’m a man of many talents.” He winked. “We have a son, yes.” He pulled out his wallet and pointed to a chubby baby with pink cheeks and a head of dark hair. “That’s Easton Castillo-Ruskin.” The pride in his voice and eyes was all too clear.
“Good for you.” Tek hugged him again, and Pablo grinned.
“Good to see you again, my friend. Try not to get killed, yeah?”
“Gonna try really hard.” Tek shook Shane’s hand. “Take care of him.”
“Oh, I will.”
The two men walked off, and Tek ducked into a stairwell. He leaned against the wall, hands shoved into his pockets as he tried to get his mind right. Seeing someone like Juan Pablo Castillo have what Tek had wanted for so long created a tug of war of emotion inside him.
Hope, yes.
But despair, too.
It was possible. Happiness was possible.
****
“So?” Low leaned closer to Quinn, speaking loud over the noise of the bar.
He’d decided to take his friend out for drinks, and to maybe kinda explain why he’d been so off lately. His mistake had been in letting Low pick the place. Quinn looked around as someone yelled at the TV where a football game was on.
“You couldn’t have picked someplace quieter?” He yelled into Low’s ear.
His friend grinned. “Don’t try to change the subject.” He sipped his beer then put down the bottle. “What’s going on with you? Care to share?”
Low had been the only person he’d allowed himself to get close to, and even that had been a pretty meh kind of relationship. Low was a good guy, but Quinn never felt comfortable telling him what he’d been through.
“I’m not going back to the job.” He didn’t look at Low, choosing instead to fix his gaze on the game.
“Yeah, I got that part. Now tell me why?” He touched Quinn’s arm, a hesitant and fleeting connection. Obviously he remembered Quinn didn’t quite care for human contact. Funny he’d never straight up asked why or questioned Quinn’s ability to do his job.
“I was assaulted,” Quinn told him. “That’s why I don’t like being too close to people physically. It’s—I can’t do the job so I quit.”
“Shit, man.” He felt Low’s stare. “You should have told me. Damn.”
“I’ve been in a really bad place, recently, but I—” He gulped the beer, coughing when it went down the wrong way. “I met someone.”
“You did?” Low’s question boomed, rising above the noise in the bar. “Who is he? Someone I know?”
Quinn shook his head with a laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think you know him. But he’s… good for me.”
Low caught his face and stared at him.
“What?”
“You in love? You desert me, and go and fall in love? Who is this dude?”
“You didn’t call,�
�� a low voice whispered in Quinn’s ear.
He stiffened. Oh shit. He turned away from Low and smiled up at the man staring down at him with an easy grin on his face. “Lorenzo.”
“Quinn.” Lorenzo sat at the spare chair at the table and glanced from Quinn to Low who stared at them with bulging eyes and tight lips. “Quinn’s friend.” He nodded at Low who didn’t acknowledge him, so he turned back to Quinn. “Fancy seeing you here.”
The memory of their encounter brought heat to Quinn’s cheeks. “Yeah. I—Uh, this is my coworker Low, Low this is—”
“Renzo Vega.” The venom in Low’s voice could not be missed. “I know who you are.” He turned to Quinn. “Please tell me this isn’t who you’re involved with.”
“Uh. No.” Quinn tried to covertly glare at his friend. “My guy’s name is Tek.” The last thing he wanted to do was piss off Lorenzo, or Renzo Vega. Whatever name he went by, obviously he wasn’t someone to be crossed. Quinn desperately wanted to forget that kiss they’d shared.
“You’ve heard of me.” Renzo turned his attention to Low. “Something tells me you have an opinion.” He and Low had a stare off that Low broke as he stood abruptly.
“Low.”
“I’ll be back.” Low disappeared into the crowd.
“Was it something I said?” The laughter in Lorenzo’s voice rubbed Quinn the wrong way.
“I’m sorry if I led you on,” he told the other man. “The truth is, I’m with someone. Tek. You guys work together, right?”
Renzo shrugged easily. “Not the first time I’ve been thrown over for someone else. And yes, I know Tek. Lucky guy.” He winked. “So where do you work?”
“Huh?” Quinn blinked at him.
“You said you and Low were coworkers. Where do you work?”
“Ah.” Quinn picked back up his beer. “EMTs, but I quit recently.”
“That’s too bad.”
Quinn finished his drink and looked around for Low. What had Renzo done to piss off his friend? He’d never seen Low react that way to anyone before. “Seems like your reputation precedes you.”
Renzo held his gaze. “You knew who I was when you kissed me.”
“I did.”
As he pinned Quinn in place with that searing gaze, a smile curved his mouth. A smile that did not reach his eyes. “My first kiss in a long, long time, Quinn.” He dipped his head. “I thank you for that.”
What did someone say to that? “Uh, you’re welcome?”
Low appeared suddenly, just behind Renzo’s chair. “We should leave,” he told Quinn. His tone left no room for arguments so Quinn got to his feet and pulled out his wallet.
“Allow me.” Renzo caught his hand. “Drinks are on me.” He turned away then stopped next to Low. “If that man of yours doesn’t work out, you have my number.” The words were meant for Quinn, but his mocking gaze settled on Low and seemed to remain even after he’d walked off.
Quinn waited until they were outside before he asked, “What the hell was that?”
“What?” Low stared at his phone.
“Did Renzo do something to you?” Quinn grabbed his hand, forcing Low to look at him. “Because you damn sure acted like it in there.”
“He’s a fucking criminal, Quinn. Tell me you know that.” Low glowered at him. “He is not a good guy.”
“I know that he’s a very powerful man who neither of us want as an enemy.” He sighed. “Nothing is black and white, Low. Trust me.” He thought of Tek, who he was and what he’d been through. “Sometimes the worst thing we can do is judge someone based on who we think they are or should be.”
Low snorted. “He didn’t have your cousin gunned down in the streets. Talk to me after he’s killed someone you love.” He waked away, leaving Quinn standing there, his mouth open.
Chapter Eighteen
Quinn spent the morning talking until he was hoarse. His shrink, Dr. Colville, gave him the floor to just speak. So he did. Mostly he talked about his life before the assault. It was refreshing to revisit that time in his life without breaking down.
Progress for sure.
Tek in his life had a lot to do with it, sure. But he wasn’t the whole, or only, reason. Fact was, Quinn wanted to be whole. He wanted to be strong again. He wanted to be one hundred percent there. If sitting opposite Colville discussing how he felt about being raped with an inanimate object would help then he’d be there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at eleven-thirty sharp.
He wasn’t the only person broken, though. He wasn’t the only one of them weighed down with harsh memories. He couldn’t begin to imagine Tek’s life, being ignored by his parents and what he’d gone through in prison. He hid himself, Quinn noticed. Behind those intense eyes and the pretty face, Tek hid who he was, and Quinn wasn’t having any of it.
He would bare himself and he expected Tek to do the same.
That was the only way this thing was going to work. No half-assing. They’d been through too much for that. And it was because of what they’d been through that Quinn wanted this thing to work.
He couldn’t go back. Didn’t want to, not anymore. He’d never be the man he once was, that guy was long gone. But the person he was right this minute wanted Tek, wanted to be with him, wanted to see him come out from behind the curtain where he hid. Quinn wanted all of him.
And he’d have it too.
He texted Tek once he got home. Dinner at my place? 8:30.
One day soon they’d go on a date that didn’t take place inside his house, but for now, he liked it like this. Just the two of them. He wanted Tek’s eyes on him, wanted his full attention for as long as he could get away with it.
Yes.
Tek’s response was straight to the point, making Quinn grin. He rubbed his hands together, anticipating the night to come.
Oh, he had plans.
They sat on the floor in the middle of Quinn’s living room after pulling the furniture off to the sides. The food was beyond good, authentic soul food, from one of Quinn’s favorite spots in the city. And Tek, knowing him as he so already fucking did, showed up with a bottle of Crown Royal Apple Whiskey.
Conversation was never in short supply as they learned each other, from the simple shit like colors and first kisses to the more detailed things like Quinn’s relationship with Xavier. Talking about that life was never easy, never without the assault marring everything, but Quinn was getting better at pushing past it.
Acknowledging it, but refusing to let it stop him in his tracks.
“So you had an open relationship?” Tek stared at him with curious eyes.
“No.” Explaining what he’d shared with Xavier was… complicated. “He’s a sadist. Likes to make his lover hurt.”
Tek gaped. “You—”
“I’m definitely not that, but I was a switch. I could submit to him in more sedate plays and when he needed something more, I’d be right there helping him find someone for a one night tryst.” He held Tek’s gaze. “I bottomed only for Xavier.”
Tek licked his lips and Quinn’s body reacted to that, tightening, dick jerking in the confines of his jeans. Experiencing and welcoming his body’s reactions still made his heart beat fast.
So fast.
Across from him on the floor, Tek shifted subtly against the floor, all kinds of things flickering in his gaze. Quinn could stare at him. He could watch him all day. Just sit and eye-fuck that guy until both of them came.
“Good,” Tek said softly, and Quinn lifted a brow.
“What’s good?”
“That you don’t bottom.” His gaze dropped from Quinn’s eyes to his mouth.
“Yeah?” He cocked his head. “Why is that?”
Tek’s gaze came back to his eyes. “’Cause I don’t top.” He took something from the front pocket of his jeans and held it out to Quinn. “My test results.”
Quinn read it. Negatives across the board.
He brought his attention back to Tek. The smile on the other man’s face brightened him, lig
htened his eyes, and made him even more gorgeous than he was. His features were just this side of feminine, his lips curving in that way that made Quinn want to suck on them, bite them and never stop.
“I’m all yours.”
Like that shit was ever in doubt? Quinn grinned. “If you want to be topped, you’ve come to the right place, my friend.” He jerked his chin toward the stairs. “You brought a change of clothes?” When Tek nodded, Quinn got up and began cleaning up their mess. “I’m gonna deal with this. You should go upstairs. I left something for you in the bedroom.”
Tek frowned as he too stood up. “You got me something?”
“I did.” Quinn shooed him away. “Go.” He chuckled to himself when Tek did just that. Oh, the plans. So much of them, and he took his time putting the leftovers away and loading the dishwasher, upping the suspense.
“Quinn, you fucker,” Tek yelled from the top of the stairs.
Quinn doubled over, laughing. He could imagine the expression on the other man’s face. Once he was done in the kitchen, he went upstairs. Tek stood next to the bed, staring down at what Quinn had placed there.
Silver strappy sandals, a nine inch, flesh-colored dildo with a suction cup at the base. And lube.
Tek glanced up as he walked in, gaze narrowed. “What—”
“I’ve got plans for you,” Quinn told him softly. He walked around Tek and kissed his nape, grinning when he shivered. “Got plans to watch you fuck yourself on this. No contact between us, just me talking to you, telling you what to do, and you…” He licked Tek’s ear.
His lover whimpered.
“And you coming because I tell you to.”
“Quinn.” Tek pressed his ass to Quinn’s front. “That’s not fair.”
“Maybe not.” Quinn squeezed him then stepped back. “But it will be hot.” He pointed to the chair he’d placed across the room, against the wall but not quite touching it. It was a wood chair, the seat nice and smooth, perfect for what he had in mind. “Get undressed.”
Tek bit his lips, face pink, but he stepped out of his clothes mad quick, body smooth and tanned and hardening Quinn so that he had to squeeze himself.
“The heels.” He sat on the bed, drooling.