by Ruby Moone
Christian’s mouth twitched. “You said that.”
“Yeah. For you.”
Christian laughed softly. “I’d love to have been a fly on the wall.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “I don’t think it did my gangster cred any good.”
Christian shook his head, still smiling. “So why run to Greece if he’s been sorted?”
“Because until I know for a fact he’s no longer at threat I want you somewhere safe. I’m not surprised staying here is doing your head in. It does mine in.”
“Daniel…” Christian shook his head and combed his fingers through his hair leaving it standing on end. “I can’t hide forever. You can’t keep me locked away.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Christian’s eyes opened wide. “You think this is me being pissy because you left me on my own?”
“Isn’t it?”
Christian looked aghast. “No. It’s not. I have a business to run. Friends. I want to get back to my life.”
Daniel grit his teeth so hard his head hurt. He stood up and paced, feeling panicked at the thought that he would go home.
Panic at the thought, and even more panic at the realisation of just how much he wanted him to stay, made him short. Much shorter than he should have been.
“Well, you should have thought of that when you kept crawling back into my murky world and asking for help. I helped, but now there’s a price. You can go home, you can go back to your life, but until we have Bryce under control, there’s a strong possibility that you’ll end up dead. I thought you realised that.” If he could just get him out of the way, safe in Greece, and leave Daly to deal with Bryce everything would be fine. He tried to get his breathing under control.
Christian plunged his hands through his hair and made a frustrated sound. “Will you stop throwing that at me? Look, I wasn’t badly hurt…”
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut to banish the image of Christian lying in a hospital bed while they worked to keep him alive and the panic overwhelmed him and he went under. All restraint gone.
“Not badly hurt?” He rubbed a hand over his mouth. “Okay, let’s rewind.”
Christian sighed and rolled his eyes which made Daniel want to scream. He could feel a muscle ticking in his cheek as he clenched his jaw.
“Let’s rewind,” he repeated softly, eyeballing Christian and moving closer. “You leave the office to walk into the city. But this time, this time, say, Finlay stays in the office a mere ten minutes longer. Say he takes another call and doesn’t follow straight away. You’re walking along, and this guy shoulders you, and another bumps into you. He slashes you in the gut and severs the artery in your arm. Do you remember how quickly things went to shit? Do you remember how you lost consciousness in moments? Do you remember? Because if you do, you will know that had Finlay Masters not opted to go into the city too, hadn’t set off moments after you, you’d have died on the floor. You wouldn’t have made it to hospital, you wouldn’t have made it to the fucking ambulance. You’d have bled out on the fucking street!
“You’d. Have. Died. So don’t sit there, all pissy, and tell me that you weren’t badly hurt. It’s sheer fluke that you didn’t die.” He was breathing heavily. He realised his fingers were trembling.
Christian was pale and unmoving. His gaze locked on Daniel.
“You would have died.” Daniel knew his voice was trembling too, as was his chin. He had to look away for a moment. When he looked back, Christian’s eyes were bleak.
“You don’t think I think about that all the time?” He moved closer. “So, I spend the rest of my life wrapped up in cotton wool in your mansion? Is that it?”
Daniel fought to keep his emotions under control. Fought to stop launching himself at Christian and holding him tight. So tight he’d understand.
“It’s not forever, you know that.” He said the words through gritted teeth.
Christian turned away, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t know what you want from me.” Christian’s words were soft. Almost sad.
Daniel moved slowly, not wanting to spook him. “Let’s go to Greece? It will be hot, we can swim, sunbathe, read…” He shrugged, trying to think of anything that might tempt him to stay with him until he knew he would be safe. “I can arrange to have us flown out. It’s a small place, on the coast…” He tried to smile. Judging by the look on Christian’s face, it didn’t really work.
Christian turned to him. Put his hands on his hips, and his chin jutted. He had an impressive chin. Square and stubborn.
“I’ll come to Greece with you for one reason, and one reason alone.”
The words punched him. Right in the gut. Robbed him of breath.
He was echoing the words he said to him at the funeral. When he’d allowed him to fuck him one last time? What in God’s name was he suggesting? Daniel’s mouth was dry.
“Christian…”
“No arguments. No discussions. I’ve had enough of this. I have no idea why you walked out on me all those years ago, but there is still something strong between us and I want to know what it is. You let me get just so close—” he held up his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart, “—then you push me away. You behave like I mean the world to you, then you push me away. I say I’m leaving, and you go to all manner of lengths to get me to stay. Where are we going? Why are you doing this?”
Daniel’s guts churned. “We are not going anywhere. That was all a long time ago. This is about keeping you safe.”
“Was it? Is it? What about after the funeral. What was that about?”
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose as his head started to thump. “I was…” He shrugged.
Christian stood close again and he was almost overwhelmed by the urge to gather him into his arms.
“I’ll come to Greece but only if you go too. And I want to explore this thing between us.”
“What?”
Christian pointed at his chest, then waggled his finger back and forth between them. “Us. Me and You. I want to know why you walked out on me, why you still want me, why you don’t seem to want to give in to the attraction that is still there, and why you won’t let me go.”
“I told you. It’s not safe for you.”
Christian moved closer. Close enough that they were almost nose to nose. “Bollocks.” He said it softly. “Absolute bollocks. This is not over between us. It never was. Don’t you want to know what it would be like to be together again, sleep together, wake up together, spend time together?”
Daniel was trembling inside. He needed to be strong.
“I don’t…” He cleared his throat. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“You don’t want me?”
“How can you even consider it after what I did to you.” The words spewed forth unbidden. It was the question that was always on his mind. How could Christian even bear to be in the same room as him?
The answer beat at his temples in time with his heart. Because he doesn’t know the truth.
“Sometimes I have to ask myself that. I worry that I’ll let you close again, and you’ll leave me again. Break my heart again.”
Daniel couldn’t even speak.
“But the thought that there might be something left between us is enough to make me want to give us a chance. So, yes, I’ll come to Greece with you, but I want to do it as a couple.”
“A couple?” Daniel’s voice sounded faint even to his own ears.
“Yeah. A couple.” Christian closed the distance between them and kissed him oh so softly on the lips.
27
The next few days were a flurry of activity. Daniel had a million things to sort out, and so did Christian. He spoke to Michael and agreed on an extended period of leave. Michael suggested asking Finlay to step up in his absence, and he totally agreed with that. Once the business was sorted, his main problem was clothes. It was June, so it would be hot in Greece. He hadn’t had a foreign holiday in some time, so his wardrobe was more su
ited to the miserable British summers and business than boiling hot, blue sky. He hunted about until he found Asher.
“I’m going to have some clothes delivered. Is that a problem?”
“What do you need?”
“T-Shirts, shorts, lightweight stuff.”
“For Greece?”
“Yeah.”
Asher grinned. “Budgie smugglers?”
Christian laughed. “Yeah. Bright yellow.”
“I’m ordering stuff for Daniel and me.” He looked at him. “I’m joining you.”
Christian grinned. “Safety in numbers, huh?”
Asher shrugged and tried not to smile. “Send me links to what you want, and I’ll add it to the order and get it delivered.”
“Okay.”
Asher hesitated. “Daniel still has work to do so if I come too, I can help with that, and if Bryce should be stupid enough to show up, I can deal with that too.” Apparently, he felt the need to explain.
“Work….” Christian could feel his teeth clenching.
“Uh oh. Shouldn’t have mentioned that.” Asher grimaced. “Sorry.”
“Does he never stop?” It was ridiculous the hours the man put in.
“Nope.” Asher regarded him for a moment. “He’d have time to think if he stopped.”
“What?”
Asher shook his head. “Never mind. Just get me the links, okay?” He dropped him a wink and wandered off, leaving Christian frowning. He could see that. He did it himself. Throw yourself into work and then you're either too busy or too knackered to think about the things in your head. He rubbed a hand over his mouth and sighed.
He went and browsed through some of his favourite clothing sites, picked out some stuff and emailed it all to Asher with a promise to pay for it. He’d included some skimpy swimwear with a grin. Maybe he could seduce him. This was most likely the only chance he’d ever get to pin Daniel down and find out what happened. He’d have said that everything between them was stone dead, until that afternoon after the funeral. There had been such desperation, such need in Daniel’s every touch. He knew losing his father would have hit him hard, but it seemed more than that. Much more.
Well, he was bound for Greece for some unspecified stretch of time to hopefully shag Daniel senseless and get some answers, or at least fuck him out of his system. He looked up as the object of his thoughts came into the room. Tall, imposing, frowning, muscled, tattooed… Christian reckoned the chances of getting him out of his system were pretty much nil if the pounding of his heart was anything to go by. It was more likely that he’d fall arse over elbow in love again.
He sighed and looked up. Daniel was watching him warily. “You okay?” Daniel said.
Christian nodded. “I’ve arranged for Mikey and Finn to hold the fort. I’m just researching if it’s safe to swim after all the stitches.”
Daniel’s eyebrows rammed down. “Don’t look on the bloody internet, ask the nurse when she comes.”
“Fine. God, lighten up.”
Daniel closed his eyes for a moment and Christian wanted to shake him.
“I’d like to see the guys before we go.”
“Too risky.”
Christian groaned. “I want to speak to Mikey. There’s things we need to discuss.”
Daniel made an exasperated sound. “Will you stop behaving like a fucking child? Ring him. Skype him. Whatever.”
Christian almost gave him the finger. Almost. He grit his teeth. “My mother was right.”
“About what?”
“You’re like a fucking raincloud.”
Daniel looked like he wanted to retaliate, but he clamped his mouth shut with an oddly wounded look in his eye and walked away leaving Christian feeling unreasonably guilty.
Later that night, Christian sat in bed, propped up with his laptop, chatting to Michael.
“Greece sounds fun. Pity you’re on the lam.”
“On the what?”
Michael grinned. “Isn’t that what they say when you’re on the run?”
“I think that’s fugitives in America. Probably in the thirties. Fucking lam. You donut.”
He could hear Jack laughing in the background, and suddenly, Michael was pushed aside, and Jack’s face appeared. “I rather like the idea of you and Daniel on the run like Bonnie and Clyde.”
“You’re as daft as he is.”
Michael pushed Jack away. “Seriously, though. You need to be careful. There’s a whole load of crap going on in the city with Kenneth’s departure. I’m not that connected to it, and it’s even drifted my way.”
“I think it’s a whole load of over-reaction. But…”
“What?” Michael was frowning.
“I want to see if there’s anything still there between us and this is probably the only chance I’ll ever get to find out.”
Michael looked startled. “You could just ask him.”
The laptop jiggled and Michael frowned and rubbed his arm. Jack’s head appeared again. “Take no notice of him. Couple of weeks in the sun, just the two of you, it’s a fantastic opportunity to get to know each other again.”
“Like I say. Usually, he won’t let me near.”
“You make a great couple.”
Christian rolled his eyes.
“Yeah? Well, don’t hold your breath.”
Jack disappeared and Michael came back into view. His dark brown eyes were worried. “Be careful. I don’t think you ever got over last time he walked out on you.”
“Thanks.”
Michael yelped and glared at Jack. “Why do you keep hitting me?”
“Because you don’t say things like that. You need to be more encouraging. More supportive.”
By the time Michael looked back at him, rubbing his arm, Christian was laughing. Jack was so good for him. “I’m going now. You two, behave.”
Michael appeared to tackle Jack, and the screen went blank. Christian was still smiling as he put it away. He envied the two of them. Massively.
28
“Well, that was a first.”
Daniel turned and looked at Christian, but his eyes were shaded by gold rimmed aviator sunglasses. “What was?”
“Never travelled in a private jet before. You may have ruined me for all other forms of travel.” The medium sized jet had been gorgeously appointed. Asher had travelled with them, at Daniel’s insistence, and it had been an extremely pleasant experience. Apart from the fact that Daniel had sat in silence tapping away on his laptop for most of the journey. At least Asher was good company.
His lips twitched. “When you're the size I am, holiday jets are a damned nightmare.”
Christian chuckled as they entered the coolness and quiet of the almost deserted, small airport. “I struggle, and you’re bigger than me, though I suspect we need to walk everywhere for the rest of our lives to offset the carbon footprint.” He pulled his passport from his top pocket and headed for the booth with a bored-looking man in it.
Daniel opened his mouth and then closed it on a wry smile as he followed.
He showed it and they went through into baggage. They were the only ones there, and the bags appeared immediately. Preveza was a tiny airport in the Epirus region of Greece overlooking the Ionian Sea. Not somewhere he’d been before, but apparently Daniel had liked it enough to want to buy property there. They all walked out, wonderfully British, sweating in jeans and trainers as the heat of Mediterranean sun soaked into them. Christian watched as Daniel pulled the neck of his shirt.
“Hot?”
“Poor choice of clothes. I forget how hot it can be.”
Asher came back from the car hire desk with papers and keys for the hired cars. They trooped out into the baking sun and headed over the car park to find them. They agreed that they would have two. Asher would drive one and Daniel the other. Asher handed one set of keys to Daniel, so Christian slid into the front passenger seat. It was a gorgeous air-conditioned Audi, so they cranked up the air con and set off. Daniel concentrated on gett
ing them out of the airport and onto the coast road. As they travelled, it became apparent that the area was much more mountainous than Christian had imagined it would be. He’d not spent any time on the Greek mainland. Done a few boozy trips to the islands, but nothing like this. It was really quite beautiful, he realised as he craned his neck to look up at the tree-covered hills that plunged down to the shimmering silver-blue of the sea.
“Where’d you say we were going?”
“Close to a little place called Parga. On the coast, very pretty, very easy to be anonymous. The villa is just up in the hills. Well, there’s a couple of villas close together and some apartments. We use them as part of my mother’s foundation, it’s a great way to offer employment and training to some of the kids she works with. I’ve organised someone to cook for us, sort out the pool, that sort of thing.
“Will your mother be there?”
Daniel’s smile was soft. He glanced over at Christian. “She will.”
“I never met her.”
“I know.”
They shared a glance and smiled.
Christian settled more comfortably, wondering if that smile meant that Daniel might open up a little. It was the kind of smile he remembered. The one that turned his insides to mush. When he thought back to the days they’d spent together twelve years ago, he was sure there had been plenty of openness. However, when he remembered the way Daniel had walked out on him without explanation, he was probably wrong. Maybe Daniel had always bottled things up. Maybe at eighteen he’d been too wrapped up in himself, too busy being in love for the first time to notice what was going on with Daniel. It was a sobering thought.
Daniel cleared his throat. “I’ve not seen her in person since she ‘disappeared’.”
“Really?” Christian turned to look at him.
Daniel nodded, though he didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Too risky. If Kenneth were monitoring me, or having me followed, I could have blown the whole thing.” He turned briefly, but then looked back at the road. “I have business interests in Greece to cover any suspicions,” he added.