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  Harry poured a little oil in his hand and then rubbed his hands together to warm it and coat both palms and fingers. Then he set the bottle aside and started at Tristan’s shoulders. “I want you to relax for me.”

  Tristan’s entire body remained tense, as though he were bracing for something.

  “You need to talk to me.”

  “Eddie used to like me like this. He liked to use toys and….”

  “Sweetheart, all I’m going to use is my hands on your skin. Nothing is going to happen except I’m going to make you feel good and let you know that I care about you.”

  “You do? But you don’t want to….”

  Harry straddled Tristan’s legs and began stroking his shoulders. “You know there are many ways of showing someone you care, and most of them do not involve sex of any kind.” He continued working his thumbs and fingers into Tristan’s muscles. “You care about someone when you help them and want to make them feel good. But sometimes the best way to care for someone is by what you don’t do.” Harry was as hard as a rock and so excited he could barely stand it, but he pushed thoughts of his dick to the back of his mind and focused on the golden-skinned beauty lying in front of him.

  “I don’t understand,” Tristan said a little more slowly and with less hurt in his voice.

  “I think you will,” Harry told him. He continued working his hands over Tristan’s shoulders, letting the words between them falter and stop. All that mattered was the conversation between Harry’s hands and Tristan’s shoulders. He could say so much more clearly what he truly meant that way than with all the words in the world.

  Tristan unwound slowly, and as he did, Harry moved to his back. He got a little more oil and made long movements up and down Tristan’s golden back. He was beautiful, shimmering with the oil in the sunlight that came through the windows. Thankfully it was still early, and there was no need to rush. That was the last thing he wanted. What Tristan needed was time and someone to take that time to concentrate on him and make him feel special.

  “Breathe slowly and easily,” Harry whispered. “Let the fear and worry just slip away. You’re safe here, and no one is going to hurt you or take advantage of you.” He stroked up and down Tristan’s back and side, moving his entire body as he did. Harry closed his eyes and joined with Tristan, letting his hands do the speaking and using them now as the point of deep connection.

  “Harry,” Tristan whispered almost sleepily.

  “That’s it. Can you feel what I’m trying to say?” Harry shifted down and lengthened his strokes to include Tristan’s butt and upper legs.

  “I think so,” Tristan whispered.

  “Good,” Harry said quietly and smiled briefly before continuing his massage. He slowly moved on the bed and shifted his hands, massaging up the entire length of Tristan’s legs with their light furring of gold. He loved the feel of Tristan’s skin and the shimmer of the oil. He would have to change the sheets when they were done, but he didn’t really care.

  He massaged Tristan’s feet, one at a time, and then let him settle on the bed, slowing his movements and then finally lifting his hands away from Tristan. Harry was almost afraid to move. He didn’t want to break the spell he’d woven between them. Carefully, he settled next to Tristan and pulled a sheet over them. Lying on his side, he held Tristan and let him fall back to sleep. He mumbled something Harry couldn’t quite understand. Harry knew it couldn’t have been what his mind filled in between the snippets of recognizable words. Harry leaned forward and lightly kissed Tristan on the cheek. Then he got comfortable and closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to go back to sleep, he knew that, so he set his mind to thinking about what they were going to do to get rid of Eddie once and for all. He wanted him far enough away that he couldn’t bother Tristan any longer. The best way to do that was to take him down and get the slimeball behind bars.

  But guys like Eddie didn’t go down easily. They went down with a fight.

  “What are you doing?” Tristan whispered groggily.

  “Just thinking. Go back to sleep.” Harry rubbed Tristan’s back and closed his eyes once again, trying to quiet his mind. He didn’t know how to bring down a guy like Eddie, but Bull and Spook might have some ideas. He needed the bastard gone, and so did Tristan.

  LATER THAT morning Harry dropped Tristan at work and went back to the house to get some things done. Butterscotch had been pissed that she’d been locked out of the bedroom the night before and made her mood known by ignoring him completely. He fed her and then did some cleaning before leaving for the club. Of course, as he was getting ready, the cat decided to forgive him, or maybe it was more of her punishment. She wound around his legs and demanded to be picked up. He did and petted her for a few minutes. Then she hissed at him and jumped down, leaving him covered in cat hair. “You’re an evil bitch, you know that,” Harry called after her as she turned and walked away.

  Harry found a lint brush in the front closet and did his best to remove the hair. Then he made sure Her Highness had food and water before leaving for the club.

  When he arrived at Bronco’s, he unlocked the back door and turned off the alarm before heading straight to his office and getting to work. He had extra things to do after all the interruptions the day before, so he concentrated and got right to it.

  He groaned when the phone rang an hour later. “Bronco’s.”

  “Good afternoon.” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat familiar. “This is Officer Douglas. I was in yesterday to pick up a replacement copy of the surveillance video.”

  “Of course. Did it help?”

  “It did, yes. I’m told the arraignment went well, and the suspect is being held. The judge also declared him a flight risk because of his immigration status, so bail was denied.”

  “That’s even better.”

  “Yes. We finally put a chink in Eddie Menendez’s armor. But it was hard fought.”

  “Well,” Harry began and swallowed. “I think that armor is a lot thicker than any of us realized and that he has… resources in places that he definitely shouldn’t.” Then he wondered if he should have said anything.

  “I don’t think I understand,” Officer Douglas said. “But you seem to have something you’re trying to tell me.”

  “Maybe. There are things we’ve been told and things that get said and spread around the club. If you’d like to stop by, Bull and I will speak to you about what we suspect.” Speak of the devil. The office door opened, and Bull stepped inside, with Spook following behind.

  “All right. My partner and I will—”

  “No. I think you should stop in informally. Maybe for a drink after your shift.” Harry put his hand over the phone and quickly brought Bull up to date. Bull nodded his agreement while Spook quietly left the office. Harry knew he wanted nothing at all to do with the police. The man spent most of his time being as invisible as possible, and he seemed happiest that way.

  “All right.” He sounded skeptical.

  “What we have to say isn’t official, and we won’t talk about it in an official capacity,” Harry said firmly. Officer Douglas agreed, and Harry told him to ask for him when he arrived. He disconnected the call and looked up at Bull.

  “What did you just agree to?” Bull asked. “How do you know he isn’t the one in Eddie’s pocket?”

  “He wouldn’t have asked us for the second copy of the video if he was dirty. He would have let the case fall apart. Instead he hurried over here to get the duplicate,” Harry explained, and Bull grinned back at him. “You shit. You knew that.”

  “Yeah, I did, but I’m glad you agree with my logic. You have good instincts, Harry. You always have.”

  That meant a lot. Bull had always been the muscle and had the strength, and with his mercenary experience, he could read people almost instantly. Harry’s background was very different.

  “Just trust them. I do.” Bull smiled. “When he gets here, let’s feel him out a little before we tell him what we suspect an
d why.”

  “You don’t think he could be in Eddie’s corner, do you?” Harry asked.

  “No, I don’t. But what do you think this officer is going to do if it turns out it’s his partner or someone he’s known for years? In my experience, officers stick together, and they don’t want to believe that one of their brothers could turn bad.” Bull paused. “I’m not saying you were wrong to ask him here—I think it’s a good idea. We should just be cautious.”

  “I agree,” Harry said and shifted his attention back down to his desk.

  Bull pulled open the door. “Before I forget—Zach called. He’s going to pick Tristan up from work, and then they’re going to go to dinner with my mother. Apparently she asked Zach to bring her to the club tonight.” Bull mimed picking his jaw up off the floor.

  “Your mother?” Harry was shocked.

  “Yeah. My mother. The woman who refused for years to accept that I was gay has now agreed to come to the club with Zach. I swear the love of my life could charm the leaves off the trees in June. She certainly has changed, and I think a lot of that is because of Zach. But it’s still a surprise she wants to come to the club.” Bull seemed to try to suppress a smile and failed. “You could have knocked me on my ass when they told me this morning.” He chuckled deeply. “Anyway, I wanted to make sure you knew that you didn’t have to pick up Tristan.”

  “Thanks,” Harry said and watched as Bull left the office, closing the door after him. Now if he could only get his parents to come around. They lived just a few miles away. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the fact that he was gay that had freaked them out… that hadn’t been the straw that had broken the camel’s back, anyway. Harry pushed all that from his mind and decided to just be happy for Bull.

  He worked for a while longer and then left to get something to eat at a nearby deli. He texted Tristan to make sure he was all right and got a response that the café was busy, but he was doing well. Harry smiled at the response and shoved his phone in his pocket before entering the deli. He got a sandwich and carried it back to the club. He ate and got caught up before joining Bull and the others on the club floor. It was Friday, which meant they would be packed to capacity and most likely have people waiting outside to get in.

  “Chuck just called,” Bull said as he approached. “He said he’s stuck in traffic and will be here as soon as he can.” Chuck was the second bartender on shift.

  “Thanks,” Harry said and turned toward the main bar with a groan. Rodney stood behind the bar, watching him with almost feral intensity. Damn, he was going to have to have a talk with him. He’d hoped like hell that if he stayed away, things would cool off, but Rodney wasn’t taking the hint. Harry looked around for others to help get the bar stocked and ready, but everyone was busy, so he stepped behind it and began checking the refrigerators. He should have known better than to bend down, because Rodney seemed to take it as some sort of invitation.

  “Rodney,” Harry said levelly, removing Rodney’s hand from his posterior. “We’re working, and I don’t think…. This is not a good idea, and it never was.” He turned around to face him.

  “Come on, Harry. We were good together. You can’t tell me any of these twinks can compare.” He flashed Harry a smoldering smile, but what had once worked to lure Harry into a brief fling no longer had any effect. He saw it as fake—a come-on and nothing more. Harry had no idea why Rodney was being so persistent, but he had to shut him down now.

  “You’re a good bartender, and the patrons love you. So I suggest you concentrate on that rather than me.” Harry went back to work, ignoring Rodney but keeping him in his sights and as far away from him as possible. If Rodney didn’t understand that, then there were bigger issues at work, and Harry would have to be prepared for that.

  Thankfully, Chuck showed up a few minutes later and hurried behind the bar. “The bar fridges are stocked and ready to go,” Harry told him. “Rodney has the garnishes cut and prepped. The liquor seems full, but you might want to check and make sure you have what you need in reserve.”

  “Thanks, Harry,” Chuck said with a bright smile. Both bartenders were amazing—just ask the patrons. They worked well together and looked great.

  “No problem. We open in an hour, so make sure you’re set. It’s hot outside, so they are going to drink like crazy tonight.” Harry turned to leave. “Before I forget, be sure to check the taps. If the beer is less than a quarter full, change them out. We’ll need full kegs tonight, and you aren’t going to have time to switch anything out while the crowds are here.”

  “We will,” Chuck said, and Harry went to join Bull near the front door.

  “Are they ready to open?” Bull asked. He tilted his head toward the bar.

  “They will be,” Harry told him.

  Bull continued staring at him and then shifted his gaze to Rodney and then back to him.

  “I know—you warned me, and I didn’t listen and should have.”

  “Do you need me to take care of it?” Bull asked seriously. “I could have a talk with him and put an end to it. He shouldn’t act that way around you or anyone. The kid needs to learn to take a hint.”

  Harry sighed. “I know. But it’s my fault. In a moment of weakness I broke one of our own rules, and I need to handle it. I think I’ve made my feelings clear, and he’s staying away. I don’t want to affect his job performance. He’s a good worker and the crowd loves him.”

  “They do,” Bull said with additional gravity. “But I’m starting to wonder why they love him, if you get my meaning. Keep an eye on him, and I’ll tell Spook to do the same. I also want to talk to Chuck to see if he sees anything. He’s been inquiring about the job of bar manager since Peter left last month, and I think we need to see if he’s up to the job, and that means providing a frank and confidential evaluation of his team.”

  Harry nodded. He’d been thinking along the same lines. He wanted to believe they could implicitly trust all the people who worked for them, but years in this business and hard lessons learned had taught him otherwise. “Trust but verify,” had become a motto both he and Bull had been forced to live by.

  Half an hour later, Bull confirmed that everyone was ready and opened the doors. The first people through were Zach, Jeremy, Tristan, and Kevin, along with Bull’s mother, Helen. Harry had met her a few times, but he wouldn’t have recognized her if he hadn’t been expecting to see her. Her skin was radiant, hair shining, and an excited smile graced her lips. Gone was the almost perpetual frown she always seemed to have worn in the past, and her clothes looked nothing like the severe pantsuits and business clothes she’d always seemed to hide behind.

  “You look gorgeous,” Harry said as he greeted her, and she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Another first.

  “I got something of a makeover from Zach and his friends.”

  Zach swished with his hand. “We just spruced you up a bit. The fabulousness was always there. We just helped you let it out.”

  Harry grinned and looked around for Bull, who turned from the door and seemed to see his mother for the first time. He looked stunned as well, and Helen stood taller under the attention. Harry excused himself to let them talk a minute and circulated through the club. He was restless for some reason and found himself watching Tristan as the pack scoped out a larger and quieter than usual table and went to the bar for drinks.

  The crowd seemed to be arriving early, with a steady stream entering almost from opening. Bull sat with his mother for a few minutes and then went to take his usual station near the door. Spook sat at the bar nursing a glass of water, made to look like vodka. It was his usual routine. Harry didn’t often see him, but when he did, he looked like a clubgoer and never had the exact same appearance.

  “Harry.” He turned and saw Officer Douglas, out of uniform.

  “Glad you could come,” Harry said. “Are you off duty? Would you like a drink?”

  “A beer would be nice, thanks, and please call me Ken.”

  Harry got a good beer and motion
ed Ken toward one of the tables. He saw Tristan looking at him, and then he came over. “Ken, this is Tristan,” Harry said by way of introduction as Tristan slid into the booth next to him. He slipped his arm around Tristan and tugged him a little closer.

  “Our conversation earlier has me intrigued,” Ken said, and then he sipped from his glass.

  Harry caught Bull’s attention, and he made his way over. They weren’t going to have a lot of time to talk, so they needed to get to it. Bull sat next to Ken, where he could keep one eye on the door.

  “Harry told me of the brief conversation he had with you, and at first I wasn’t too keen that he’d said anything, but now I’m hoping it was for the best,” Bull said.

  Harry did his best not to react. He’d known Bull long enough to know that he could stretch the truth in order to get the information he needed.

  “I’m not sure what he was hinting at,” Ken said and set down his glass.

  “Yeah. Well, we have come into possession of some information, and while we don’t think you’re involved….” Bull paused. “I was in the Marines, and the code of conduct comes above all else. But there are times when you must make hard decisions that may hurt the ones you love for the greater good. Do you understand?”

  “I think so.” Ken took another sip of the beer. “Is this your way of asking about my integrity?”

  “Possibly.” Bull motioned to one of the servers, and he hurried toward the bar. They all knew what Bull drank—iced tea—and the server returned right away with the glass. “Thanks, Freddy.” Harry knew that had been for effect, to give Bull a chance to study the other man.

  “I’m a police officer, and so was my father. That’s what I’ve wanted to be since I was a child,” Ken said. “My father was in the Corps before he joined the force, so I had those values drilled into my head from the time I could walk.”