Closing his eyes, Evan muttered his favorite cuss word before turning to face Clint. That hurt and betrayal in his expression told Evan he’d heard every word. His eyes were lethal as that burning glare riveted to him.
“Clint, let me explain.”
“I think this woman here did an adequate job of explaining.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Did she misstate any facts?”
Evan opened his mouth to speak but had nothing to say.
“What, exactly, is TREX, Evan? Do not lie to me and tell me it’s a game.”
Evan swallowed thickly and tried to find some way to answer without it sounding, well, exactly like what TREX had assigned him to do. Not finding any other way to say it, Evan told the truth. “TREX is a tactical retrieval agency. They specialize in finding things.”
“Were you spying on me?”
Shit. Shit! How could he answer that without making it sound exactly like it was? It was over. He gave up trying to cover for what he’d done. Reluctantly, he nodded. “They asked me to report back any anomalies.”
“And am I one of those anomalies, Evan? Did you report me to your agency? Is that why you were so eager to be my assistant? Why you insisted we visit my uncle? What, couldn’t find enough dirt on the Dukes at the penthouse?” Clint clenched his jaw and released it over and over. He looked away and shook his head. “I can’t believe how stupid I am.”
“Clint, please.”
“Evan, just stop. You’ve said enough.” Clint marched to the door and paused as he addressed Angela. “You should tell your boss to pay you a bonus. You did an outstanding job playing me. I never saw it coming. By the way, you’re fired.”
He then walked out.
27
“I’m sorry, McKoy.” Walsh grabbed a beer from the fridge and handed it to him. “I told you to keep your business out of your pleasure and vice versa.”
“Yeah.” Evan laughed bitterly. “That you did.”
“I’ll end him for you,” Burns offered and narrowed his eyes. “Say the word.”
“You just cool it,” Walsh ordered. “Go see if Kyle has come up with any new theories that don’t involve a movie.”
He started for the door that led out to the field before regarding Evan. “The offer stands. We may not like each other much, but we’re brothers now. You don’t mess with brothers.”
“Thanks, Burns.” Despite the offer being a little on the scary side. He meant well. Evan hoped.
Walsh set his jaw and studied Evan. “Do you love him?”
Evan choked on his beer. “Excuse me?”
“Duke. Do you love him?”
“Walsh, I—”
“Don’t go spouting any bullshit about any bullshit. You know better than to lie to me, boy.” He focused those dark eyes on him.
Evan gave him a single nod. “I do. I love him a thousand times over.”
“I believe you. Question is, what will it take for you to convince him of that?”
“I have no idea. I doubt he’d even talk to me after what happened.”
“Did he fire you?”
“Yes.”
“In every position?”
Evan looked at him and took a breath to answer when the backdoor opened. He nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw who it was.
“I told you to be nice.” Maria walked in dressed in a black leotard. “He’s probably bruised ass-to-elbow because of you.”
“He shouldn’t have tried to escape. We’ll just tell TREX he fell if anyone asks.” Martin followed her in, dressed the same. They definitely looked the part of covert agents, black paint smeared on their faces, as well. He had no idea they were true agents.
“You could have asked him to come quietly.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” As soon as he spotted Evan, he grinned. “We brought you a present.”
Evan jumped to his feet and nearly dropped his beer at what they dragged in behind them—or rather who.
“Clint,” he whispered.
He did not look happy. As soon as he spotted Evan, he rested that lethal dark glare on him. “Did you really have to send a couple of your agency friends to kidnap me instead of being man enough to come see me yourself?”
“I had no idea.”
“Another lie, Evan?”
“Hold your tongue, young man.” Walsh stepped between them, his attention on Clint. “McKoy had no idea about this.” He turned his glare to the two in black. “In fact, it’s a bit of a shock to us all.”
Maria stepped forward. “This was my idea.”
“Kidnapping the CEO of Duke Enterprises?” Evan blinked at her several times, at a complete loss for any other words.
“Retrieving your man,” she corrected, like changing the words didn’t make it illegal. “You’re welcome.”
“I didn’t ask you to do this.” When she didn’t say anything else, he demanded, “Why? Why would you do this?”
“No one hurts my Evan,” she answered. “You’ve been my friend for years. You always have a smile for me. I miss that smile. What kind of power does this guy have over you?”
Evan didn’t answer and didn’t have to. He and Clint held each other’s focus. Clint knew the kind of power he had over Evan. Evan had that same power over Clint.
“He’s brainwashed,” Martin stated as he studied Evan. “Or is that braindead? Right now I can’t really tell.”
Evan kept his attention on Clint. “Can we talk?”
Clint glanced around the room. “Something tells me I’m not allowed to say no.”
“Would you guys mind?” He thrust his thumb toward the door.
“Are you sure?” Maria straightened her shoulders. “What if he gets rough? We could protect you. Isn’t that right, Martin?”
He leaned up against the counter and crossed one foot over the other. “Yeah, sure.”
“I don’t need it,” Evan answered, his gaze on Clint. “He’d never hurt me.” Without permission.
“Come on, sis.” Martin pushed away from the counter. “I’m starving. Let’s go to that one place.”
“I’m jonesing for a deluxe. All this covert crap makes me hungry.” As she pushed him out the door, she glanced over her shoulder, snagging Evan’s attention. “See you later, handsome.”
He blinked at the door to avoid facing the reality that Maria, as well-intended as she was, had kidnapped his boyfriend and dragged him to the Farm.
“I’m going to end them both.” Walsh followed them out, leaving Evan alone with the man he hadn’t stopped grieving over since the last time he’d seen him.
“You got me here,” Clint barked. “Talk.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Let’s start with the truth. Jesus Christ, Evan. I don’t even know you. You made me fall in love with an absolute stranger.”
Evan narrowed his gaze as the truth burned into his senses. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m me. The man you fell in love with…it’s still me. I don’t know how to be anyone else.”
“I don’t believe you. I’m sure TREX trains its agents on how to be someone else.”
Actually, that was part of their training. Meg had told him all about it. But still, it hurt having Clint look at him as if he were some stranger and not the man who knew every intimate inch of him.
Evan decided to go for broke and took a step toward him. “My name is Evan McKoy. I used to work for Kelley’s Department Store as a personal shopper. Since you fired me, I’m officially unemployed and completely terrified. I plan to live in my car, which you know is not very big, so it’ll be a downsize for me.”
Clint took a step toward Evan. It was a little step, but it was at least in the right direction.
“You already know about Joey Blanchard in the treehouse. You already know my dad was career military and kicked me out of the house when I was fifteen. I lived on the streets until I needed a permanent address for my application at Kelley’s, so I came to the Farm. I wasn’t
sure if that part was entirely clear. You also know I have a little sister, so we’ve got that in common. After having to deal with your sister, I’m pretty damn glad to be stuck with the one I have.”
Clint rolled his eyes and laughed.
They took another step toward each other.
“My best friend is a woman from Long Island who talks tough and has scary stories that lead me to believe she’s not all talk. I think she may have even been in the mob.”
“I’d believe it,” Clint admitted and took another step. They were only a few feet from each other now. “Why was TREX watching me? How’d I get on their radar?”
“It was me,” he blurted out, unable to keep another secret from this man. “I panicked. I wanted to stop you from buying the department store that’s been a part of the Kelley’s for generations.”
Hurt flashed across Clint’s face. “Why, Evan? Did you seek me out as part of your recon or something? Did TREX put you on me?”
“No,” Evan answered firmly and stepped toward him so they were within a foot of each other. “I’ve been in love with you since I first saw your picture gracing the front of the first tabloid magazine I ever read. You kept me company when I had no one else.”
Clint frowned. “I did?”
Evan closed his eyes, too ashamed to look him in the eye as he admitted his secret. “When I was living on the streets, I used to steal the paper for something to read. It doubled as protection from the cold. I saw your picture and I was hooked.”
“You used newspaper for a blanket?”
“It was either that or a trash bag.” He shrugged away the shame. It was a long, long time ago. “I kept every last paper with your picture in it. I used to pretend I was reading to you. You’d smile at me and just listen. At times you were my only friend. So, that’s me. Evan McKoy, kid from the streets, in love with his hero.”
“Please tell me you don’t have some weird Clint shrine.”
“Do scrapbooks count?”
He laughed. “I love you, Evan McKoy, kid from the streets.”
“Don’t forget in love with his hero.”
“Shut up and kiss me.” Clint slanted his lips over Evan’s, stripping his mind of their past and promising them their future.
Epilogue
Six months later…
Were grooms allowed to cry?
Evan asked himself that question over and over as he checked his appearance in the floor-length mirror for the umpteenth time. He never thought he’d get married. Hell, when he first came out, he wasn’t even allowed to get married.
Now here he was, about to walk down the aisle with the man of his dreams.
He found a love so deep, so perfect it terrified him he’d wake up one day and discover it had all been in his head since he’d imagined this moment for so long. Clint Duke was more than his future husband. He was his life. Evan couldn’t imagine a life without him. He couldn’t imagine a life without his Dom, their playroom, and their own sense of normal.
“Knock, knock.” Patsy walked into the room, beaming from ear to ear. She took one look at him and sighed. “You make a beautiful bride. I’m completely jealous that you snagged him instead of me.”
He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for being here with me for this.”
“Are you kidding? I’m your best man. Of course I’m going to be here for this. Besides, when you told me you were flying off to New York to get married in private, I couldn’t wait to get in on the juicy secret. Oh, I have something for you.” She pulled a tiara out of her bag and thrust it into his hands. “Something borrowed. Don’t break it. Ever since Candy moved to bridal, she’s been like this tiara Nazi.”
“You stole a tiara from Kelley’s?”
“Borrowed,” she corrected and jutted out her hip. “You know, something old, new, borrowed, blue. Since you’re in a new blue suit, that checks two off the list. You’ve got on your old lucky socks. Don’t look at me like that. I know you have them on. The only thing left is borrowed.” She waved at the tiara. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m not wearing this.” He set the tiara on a chair.
“Fine.” She removed a ring and dropped it in his hand. “Also borrowed.”
He studied it and laughed when he recognized it from a display in one of the giant windows gracing the front of Kelley’s new location at the Pacific Marketplace. “Also from Kelley’s.”
“What can I say? We’ve got good shit.” She lost her smile as her eyes misted. “I love you, Evan.”
“I love you, Patsy.” He kissed her on the lips.
“What’s this?” Clint walked in on the kiss, his attention bouncing between the two as he grinned. “Am I interrupting something?”
Patsy walked right up to him, paused when Clint lost his smile, and then threw her arms around him. He pulled her close. She disappeared in his embrace. “Promise me you’ll make him happy.”
“I promise.” He released her and held her by her shoulders. “I know you’ll come after me if I don’t.”
“You bet your gay ass, I will.” She gently punched his arm before approaching the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she snagged Evan’s gaze. They smiled at each other. With a long sigh, she walked out.
“She is definitely in love with you,” Clint commented after closing the door.
“I know.” He loved her right back. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it bad luck or something?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s only if you see the bride before the wedding. Since neither of us are a bride, I think we’re in the clear.”
“Dodged that bullet.” They both laughed. Evan took his hands and searched his eyes. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve thrown up twice. I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten every word of my vows. Thank God Angela put them into my phone.”
“How are you otherwise?” He squeezed Clint’s hands, worried about the timing. Hailey had the store covered in her new role as the CEO of Kelley’s Department Store. Clint didn’t know fashion like his sister and had been more than happy to hand over the reins to his sister when Evan made the suggestion.
He wasn’t worried about the store.
He was worried about his future husband. The man had just gone through six months of a grueling legal battle that ended with Grant Duke being found guilty of embezzling millions from Duke Enterprises over the course of several years. He’d been syphoning money from the payroll even before Franklin Duke’s death. That explained why he’d been so adamant about taking over the company—he needed to cover his tracks.
Who could have predicted Evan’s panicked call to stop Duke Enterprises from taking over Kelley’s would lead to uncovering a crime that put a man behind bars for the rest of his life?
Clint hadn’t wanted to see his uncle sent to prison. It’d torn him apart and added even more strife to his already strained relationship with his sister. At least they joined forces to make sure Grant received regular checkups and even visited him together.
“Hailey and I saw Grant yesterday. He looks good. I guess this is one way to get him to stop drinking and start eating better.” He smiled sadly.
Evan brushed their lips together, drawing a genuine smile from him. “You’re doing the right thing, babe. Now, no more worrying about the shit show back home. We’re in New York on Valentine’s Day. We’re about to get married. It’s time for happy humans.”
He returned the kiss. A little longer, a little deeper. When he pulled back, he rested their foreheads together. It was something Clint did often, his way of connecting them. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“You finally let the rest of the world see you for who you really are.”
Clint pulled Evan into his arms. “Oh, you mean rich. Handsome. Charming.”
“And oh so humble.” Evan elbowed him.
He laughed and stumbled back, falling into the chair. When something snapped under him, he froze. “What did I just break?”
Oh, shit. The tiara. Patsy was going
to kill them both. Clint stood and turned. Evan peeked around his arm and cringed. No way were they returning it now that it was in three pieces.
He had an idea and grabbed them. “Be right back.”
He raced out, found Patsy, and dragged her back with him, placing her on one side and Clint on the other. He stood in the middle and held up the pieces. Patsy gasped. He brought up a finger to stop her from dropping whatever colorful array of threats she had at the ready.
“This is for you.” He handed her one end. “And you.” He handed the other end to Clint, keeping the small middle piece for himself. “You two are the most important people in my life. I’m not whole without either one of you.” He eyed the fragment in his hand. “Apart, these are just pieces. You need all three together to make it complete.”
“Would you stop making me cry?” Patsy threw her arms around him. “I’ve had to redo my makeup like three times.” She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Enough with the emotional stuff. Now, get out there. Angela has already threatened to move the dinner reservations out an hour. I’m starving. You don’t want to see me turn into a diva, do you?”
“That would be tragic.” Evan kissed her cheek. “We’ll be right there.”
“Finally.” She turned, lifted to her tiptoes, and kissed Clint on the cheek. “Congrats on snagging this one. By the way, that tiara was only on loan. You get to tell Candy.” She swayed out.
Clint grinned and held out his arm. “Shall we?”
“We shall.”
They left the room and turned to walk down the aisle, pausing until they were both ready. With a nod in unison, they held each other’s gazes and took the next step together.
The End
Thank you for reading the first book in the new TREX ROGUES series! Please consider leaving a review. It’s one of the absolute BEST things you can do for an author.
Evan Page 26