by G. R. Lyons
Parker carefully took the bag, then looked from it to the report and back before looking at Ryley. “So he was murdered.”
Ryley nodded.
The boss grimaced and handed everything back. “What a shame. That poor man. Any idea who did it?”
Ryley nodded again. “His son's fingerprints were all over it,” Ryley said, gesturing at the evidence bag. “His youngest son, I might add.”
Parker's eyebrows went up. “The youngest?”
“Mmhmm. I need to do a little more digging to prove it, but I suspect he was eager to get his hands on his share of Daddy's money.”
The boss slowly shook his head. “I did not see that coming.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“Well.” Parker gave him a nod. “Good work, Skye.”
“Thank you, sir.”
With that, the boss walked off, and Ryley threw himself lazily into his chair with a smile on his face.
“Huh,” Vic grunted, sitting at his own desk, watching the exchange. “So you did go to the morgue last night.”
Ryley shrugged carelessly and organized his files, getting ready to write a report on what he'd found. “I told you I did,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“I just thought maybe you–” Vic broke off and shook his head as his phone rang. “Never mind.”
Vic answered his phone, and Ryley turned to his own work, tuning out Vic's conversation. Shit. Maybe Vic really did know. Not like Ryley was exactly being careful.
He started to write up his report while also digging through the client's records, looking for proof of motive on the youngest son's part so he could wrap up the case, then saw Vic slowly and carefully hang up his phone.
Ryley looked over and found Vic staring at the device like he didn't recognize it.
“Babe? Something wrong?”
Vic slowly shook his head, then looked at Ryley. “That was Gregor Arden.”
Ryley blinked. “The Gregor Arden? The super filthy rich owner of hotels and casinos all across the Isle?”
Vic nodded.
“Holy shit. Boss-man's been trying to land him as a client for years. What did he want?”
Vic glanced at the phone, then back at Ryley. “A missing-person case. He's coming by to give me the details. All he'd say was that the case was cold, but he'd heard I can find people when no one else could.” He paused, then added, “Price, no object.”
“Holy shit.”
Vic nodded.
Ryley thought for a moment, then frowned. “Are you gonna take it?”
Vic shot him a look. “Do you really think I could turn that down?”
“Babe, Arden's got pull. What if you don't find anything? If he's anything like Sebastian Frost, he could ruin you just out of spite.” Sebastian Frost was the father of Adrian, Zac's boyfriend. While Adrian was sweet, gentle, and painfully shy, from what Ryley could see, Sebastian Frost was all ruthless businessman. He'd cut Adrian off without so much as a cent to his name when he discovered Adrian was gay. Things had turned around for Adrian since then, and though Adrian's wealth now nearly matched his father's, they most definitely did not run in the same circles. Had Zac and Adrian not told him the story, Ryley would never have guessed, just by looking at Adrian and the way he lived, that the man was a multimillionaire.
Adrian's father, though, was a different story, and it was well-known that Frost and Arden orbited one another on a financial plane that Ryley couldn't even fathom touching.
Vic shook his head. “He made it sound like a kid,” Vic said. “I can't turn that down.”
Ryley's frown faded, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Gods' sakes, his man was just too good. He gave Vic a nod.
Too bad he couldn't bring himself to deserve the guy.
Chapter 3
RYLEY HEARD the hush fall over the room before he spotted Gregor Arden following Sheila, the receptionist, as the pair made their way through the bullpen. He'd never met the man, but Arden was easily recognizable. As one of Morbran's wealthiest citizens, not to mention a well-known philanthropist across the Isle, it was hard to go more than a week without seeing a picture or video of Arden attached to either some news story or a promotional campaign of one kind or another. Being the owner of several businesses and the employer of thousands of people, Arden's name was not one you could easily forget.
Vic rose gracefully from his seat when Sheila stopped at the desk, the receptionist giving Mr. Arden a polite nod before backing away.
“Mr. Arden,” Vic said, offering his hand, his tone polite but no more deferential than the one he used with any other client or colleague. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Mr. Lucius.” Arden returned the handshake and gave Vic a nod, his green-eyed gaze sharp and direct. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
Vic gestured at the chairs before his desk, and both men sat. Ryley watched them out of the corner of his eye while he twiddled a pen between his fingers, his own work forgotten.
“How can I help you?” Vic asked.
Mr. Arden handed Vic a thick file. “My nephew is missing, and my brother,” he said, sneering the word, “the boy's own father, has long-since given up the search.”
Ryley darted a look at Vic's face, seeing the man's eyebrows go up in surprise before his jaw set in anger. Poor Vic. That was a situation Vic knew all too well. Ryley struggled to keep his seat, wanting to go hold the man and tell him it would be alright.
Inhale, one.
Vic gave a firm nod, and Ryley almost smiled. Vic would be fine, wrestling his own demons under his usual businesslike façade. “And this is everything you have so far?” Vic asked, gesturing with the file.
Mr. Arden nodded, then let out a weary sigh. “I'm afraid it's not much. Everyone I've hired over the years has wound up running in circles and finding nothing but dead ends.”
Vic paused in the midst of flipping through the file. He looked up. “Years?”
Mr. Arden nodded grimly. “My nephew—Asher; his name is Asher—has been missing for almost thirteen years.”
Ryley gasped, and Vic merely blinked in surprise.
“Mr. Arden–” Vic began slowly.
Mr. Arden held up a hand. “I know, I know. The chances of finding anything now are slim at best. I know that.” He brought a fist down on his thigh. “But I can't give up on him. My gut tells me that the boy is alive. Somewhere. But even if he's not…I just can't give up until I know the truth.”
Ryley glanced at Vic, seeing the concern in his eyes. Vic seemed to struggle for a moment, as though trying to find the right thing to say, then he gave a sharp nod.
“The chances are very slim,” Vic agreed, “but I'll certainly do whatever I can.”
Mr. Arden sighed heavily, as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Thank you. I'd really appreciate it. I just want answers.”
Vic nodded again. “Tell me what happened.” Ryley saw him start a new case file on his computer and rest his hands on his keyboard, poised to start typing.
“In early Faldris of '82,” Mr. Arden said, “my brother and his family went on vacation to Erostil.” He paused. “Asher was not with them when they returned.”
“Who was in the party?” Vic asked.
“My brother, Silas; his wife, Rina; their son, Asher; and their daughter, Chelsey.” He paused again. “Asher was twelve at the time, and Chelsey must have been thirteen or fourteen.”
“What's the last date you personally saw your nephew?”
Arden rattled it off, then pointed at the file. Vic glanced down at it, and Ryley tried to peek from his seat, though he couldn't make much out of the case notes at that distance. Vic nodded and kept typing, asking questions and referring to the notes as he went, gathering details on which ship the family took to Erostil, what dates they traveled, what hotel they stayed at while on the tropical Isle, and so on. Through all the research that had been done over the years, the only thing that was known for certain was that yo
ung Asher Arden had in fact made it onto the ship going from Agoran to Erostil at the start of their vacation, but from there, his whereabouts were entirely unknown. No one had been able to determine if he was lost at sea, either on the trip out or on the trip back, or if he'd gone missing on Erostil itself.
And, according to Arden, his brother had been remarkably tight-lipped about the whole affair.
“I don't know if he really doesn't know what happened,” the man said, “or if he's just refusing to tell me.” Arden shook his head. “I just want to get the boy back home if he's still alive.”
Vic typed a few more notes, then turned to face his new client. “Mr. Arden, if I may…” Vic gestured at Ryley, who immediately jumped up and crossed the space between their desks. “This is Ryley Skye,” Vic introduced. Ryley leaned forward and shook Mr. Arden's hand. “I'm going to bring him in as a consulting agent on this case.” He paused, making his tone gentle. “It's not uncommon for a missing-person case to end with fatal news, or at least a need for forensic investigation, and that's more Ryley's area of expertise.”
“Whatever it takes,” Mr. Arden said, waving his hands. “I don't care. Whatever it costs. I'll write you a retainer check right now. I just need some answers.”
Vic nodded. “I understand, sir. And it just so happens that Ryley and I will be on Erostil in a few weeks, anyway–”
“You will?” Arden asked, his eyes wide. “Oh, thank gods. Do you know how many times I've asked agents to go there directly to investigate? No one ever agreed because they didn't want to deal with the bureaucracy there.”
Vic frowned. “That will be a hindrance, I'm sure, but…”
“I've gone, myself, more than once,” Arden went on, “but never could find any answers. Then again, I probably don't know what to look for like you do.”
Vic nodded. “Even if we weren't already going, that would have been my first suggestion, if you were serious about cost–”
“Absolutely.”
Vic nodded again. “I'll notify my boss. We're going to be there anyway, so there's no reason why we can't request extra days to do some investigating once the gig is over.”
“Gig?” Arden asked, looking from Vic to Ryley and back. Then his eyes went wide. “I thought I recognized you two. You're that music group. Um…” He snapped his fingers. “Treble, right? I saw you play at the Founder's Day celebration last year. You guys are really good.”
Ryley grinned. “Thank you.”
“Where do you normally play?”
Ryley's grin faded, and Vic answered, “Underground.”
Arden scowled. “Frost's lounge? Hmph.” He pulled out a business card and set it on Vic's desk, right on top of the case file. “Call my office next week. I'll have a proposal written up for you by then to have you exclusively on one of my stages.”
Vic took the card and tapped it on his desk. “That's very generous, sir.”
Arden frowned. “I'm sensing a but there.”
“Thing is,” Ryley cut in, “we've just done a demo with Vortex Records, and this trip to Erostil is a test tour…”
Arden chuckled, grinning at them. “Vortex is one of my companies.”
Ryley gulped.
“Not that I'm much involved in who gets signed,” Arden went on. “I leave that to the marketing experts. Hang on to that, though,” he said, gesturing at the card in Vic's hand. “If the recording deal doesn't work out, I'd still like to negotiate with you to come play at one of my facilities. I hate to see nice boys like you working for that man.”
“Well, we don't work for him,” Ryley said. “We just happen to play at his lounge.”
“Still,” Arden grumbled. “Frost is no good. Especially after what he did to his son.”
Vic nodded solemnly. “Adrian? Yeah, that was rough.”
Arden's eyebrows went up. “You know him?”
“Yeah,” Ryley said. “He's–” Ryley paused, looking to Vic before turning back to Arden. “Well, Zac, our other violinist? He and Adrian are dating.”
Arden chuckled. “Small world.”
“That's not a problem for you, is it?” Ryley blurted out. Vic shot him a look, but Arden just tilted his head in question. “Hiring gays, I mean. You know, because Zac–”
Vic kicked Ryley's ankle, and Ryley snapped his mouth shut.
Then Arden gave Vic and Ryley a knowing smirk.
Oh. “So you can tell we're gay, too?” Ryley asked.
Arden nodded, then gave a shrug. “So is my nephew.”
* * *
“YOU THINK that's why the Arden kid went missing?” Ryley asked, tucking his violin case under his arm.
“Do I think what's why?” Vic asked as he reached into the back seat of his car and lugged out his cello, balancing the case carefully on the ground while he shut and locked the car.
It had been two days since Gregor Arden had come to hire them to find out what happened to his nephew, and the case had been all Ryley could think about. More than any case he'd ever handled, Ryley really wanted this one to have a happy ending. One that didn't involve his own particular area of expertise.
But the chances of that were so slim as to be almost not worth hoping for.
Ryley glanced at Vic and saw that look on his face, the one that said Ryley had blurted something out completely without context—they'd spent the drive over to Zac's place discussing music, after all, not anything work-related—leaving Vic trying to make sense of the sudden change in subject.
“Because he's gay,” Ryley clarified.
Vic's affectionately stern look morphed into one of concern. “Gods, I hope not. Then again, if Silas Arden is anything like Sebastian Frost…”
Ryley nodded when Vic trailed off. He didn't have to say anything more. Sebastian Frost had disowned his son the moment he found out Adrian was gay, so if Silas was cut from the same cloth, Ryley wouldn't put it past him to do something just as cruel or extreme if he'd found out Asher was gay.
Vic nodded toward the door as they stepped up onto the porch. “Not anything we need to be discussing here,” he suggested.
Ryley gave a nod of agreement. Adrian was making a life for himself now, but his father's rejection still stung. Ryley imagined that would probably be the case for a while yet.
Thank gods, his own parents hadn't cared one bit that Ryley was gay. They weren't quite as openly supportive as Zac's family were, but at least they hadn't rejected him the way Adrian had been by his father.
Vic knocked on the door, and a moment later, it flew open, Zac grinning at them as he stepped aside.
“Hey, guys.” Zac held the door open and let them in. “You made it. Sorry about the mess.” He shut the door and shoved some moving boxes aside, clearing a better path into the house. “Moving sucks.”
“But I'm sure it's worth it,” Ryley said, giving Zac a hug.
“Oh hells yes.” Zac grinned, then hugged Vic before he stepped back and held out a hand. “Come on. I'll give you the tour.”
Ryley and Vic followed Zac into the living room, where they left their instruments, then wandered about the house, listening to Zac chatter on about everything they planned to do with the place. He and Adrian had picked the house together, nothing nearly as ostentatious as what Adrian had grown up with, but leaps and bounds above what Zac had always been accustomed to.
After Adrian had inherited his trust fund back in the spring, he'd gotten his own apartment for a while, only for him and Zac to quickly decide they couldn't stand to be apart after having lived together those few short months after Adrian's father had disowned him, so they'd gone house-hunting, and finally closed on this place just last week. Zac and Adrian had packed up their individual apartments and now looked to be right in the midst of getting settled in, moving boxes and new furniture—still wrapped as though just delivered—strewn about every room.
“We've got the important stuff,” Zac said. “You know, couch. Bed.” He grinned. “Don't have a dining table yet, but we'll get there.”
/>
Vic threw an arm around Zac's shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “Happy for you, kid.”
Zac snorted. “Kid. Please. You're not that much older than me.”
Vic chuckled and rolled his eyes.
Then Zac squeaked and darted away. Ryley looked up and saw Adrian step out of the master washroom with an empty box in his arms, which he had to drop when Zac collided with him, throwing his arms around Adrian's neck and kissing him hard.
Zac glanced over his shoulder, grinning around an apologetic look. “Sorry. Can't help myself. I just love this man so much.”
Adrian blushed and shot Zac a look, growling low in his throat.
Zac shuddered. “Please tell me you're gonna spank me for that later,” Zac whispered, though not quietly enough that Ryley and Vic couldn't hear.
Adrian's blush spread, but he hooked a finger around the blue collar Zac had on and tugged him closer, kissing him soundly before pushing him away.
“Go practice so I can finish unpacking,” Adrian said.
“Yes, sir,” Zac said, smirking and giving Adrian a cheeky wink before he darted away and led Vic and Ryley out of the master bedroom. They returned to the living room, and Zac moved a few more boxes aside, clearing a space where Vic and Ryley could sit and set up their instruments. “Gods, sorry.” Zac chuckled. “We would have had more of this done already, but…well…we've both been so busy all week that we were too tired for sex until this morning, and…Gods. Three times. I'm not gonna be sitting down for days.” He paused. “So fucking worth it.”
Ryley managed a smile, though he wasn't sure how genuine it looked. Gods, he envied Zac. Sure, Ryley still had the slightest lingering ache from the guy who'd fucked him at the club a few nights back, but he wanted to experience that ache because of Vic, for a change. Why couldn't Vic give him that?
If the look on Zac's face was anything to go by, having such an intimate encounter with someone you actually loved must be one hell of an experience. Ryley couldn't remember the last time he'd been fucked by a man for whom he actually had feelings. Plenty of random hookups with strangers, of course, but no feelings there.