by JC Holly
He headed to the office and picked up the phone. The line still worked, so he dialed the number and waited. The voice mail kicked in after a couple of rings, and Luke had to force himself to steady his breathing as Johnny’s voice came on.
“Hey, it’s Johnny. I’m not here right now, so leave a message.”
“Johnny, it’s Luke.” He swallowed a dozen curse words and threats. “I think we need to talk about the garage, don’t you? Call me and we can sort this out without having to involve the police.”
He hung up the phone and glanced through his door and into the trashed garage. He hadn’t even thought of the police until then. They’d want to know what the hell happened, and maybe even sweep for prints. They wouldn’t be put off by Luke promising he’d deal with it, either. In fact that would probably make things worse. Given the way Luke was built, and the kind of business he owned, he could just see their expressions at hearing that. They’d think he was going to attack somebody with a wheel brace.
“Carl,” he called. “Have the police been by?”
“Oh, yeah.” Carl came over, wiping his hands on his overalls. “They said they’d be back later to speak with you. What are you going to tell them?”
Luke sighed as he stood. “I’ll tell them I don’t know who did it. We don’t have security cameras, and I doubt Johnny was dumb enough to leave fingerprints, so it’ll give me time to track him down.”
“And do what?”
Luke noted the concern in the man’s eyes, and smiled. “Talk. As pissed as I am right now, anger won’t solve a damn thing. Either I’ll talk him into standing down, or I’ll deliver him to the police myself.”
Carl nodded. “That’s why you’re the boss, boss.”
“At times like this I’d rather be the employee.”
“Nah, cause then you’d have to explain to the owner why your ex trashed their business.”
Delilah arrived soon after with a vast assortment of incredibly unhealthy foods and drinks. No sooner had she put the heavy bags down, than the guys descended on them like, aptly, a pack of wolves. Luke let them finish before he stepped in and grabbed a Danish pastry and a soda, then made for his office to eat in a mixture of peace and anger.
“Delilah?”
He turned at the new voice and found a guy by one of the open roller shutters. Delilah spotted him too, and waved him over.
“Hey, Brandon. What brings you down this way?”
The guy greeted her with a hug. “Oh, just out for a walk. I was going to jog, but that would involve changing.”
Delilah broke the hug and turned to face Luke. “This is my friend, Luke. Luke, this is Brandon.”
Brandon paused for a moment, his eyebrows raised slightly, but recovered quickly enough that after a moment Luke thought he’d imagined it. They exchanged hellos, and Luke tried to pretend that Delilah hadn’t clearly set the whole thing up. On the bright side, she’d picked well.
Brandon looked to be in his late twenties, and was quite the opposite of Luke in his build. Where Luke was pretty bulky from years of lifting cars, Brandon was slim, almost feminine. His blond hair was a little longer than short, leaving just enough that he probably had to brush it from his blue eyes on occasion.
All in all, Luke could definitely see the appeal of the man.
“Nice to meet you,” Luke said, realizing that nobody had spoken in a few seconds. “You live around here?”
“Not too far.” Brandon gestured to the east. “This area has better shops, though.”
Something about his accent rang a bell, but Luke couldn’t place it. Maybe he’d met him at a party or something.
“I assure you that this one is usually neater.”
Brandon glanced around the still messy garage floor. “Looks like someone did a number on the place. Did they take much?”
Luke shrugged. “Doesn’t look like it. Too early to say, though.”
Delilah stepped back into the conversation as it began to die. “Brandon, here, is a freelance writer.”
“Oh, that sounds fun,” Luke said, genuinely interested. “Fiction or articles?”
“Mostly articles,” Brandon said. “I have some fiction, too, but it doesn’t pay the bills.”
Luke smiled. “I hear it’s hard.”
“Very.”
He tried not to notice the smile on Delilah’s face. He’d told her he wasn’t interested in dating, and she’d done the exact opposite. He decided to see if he could make her increasingly smug smile disappear again.
“Let’s cut the crap, here, Brandon,” he said, his arms folded.
Delilah’s face fell, but unfortunately so did Brandon’s. Damn. Maybe that was too blunt.
“Delilah set this up, right?” he asked, quickly.
“Oh.” Brandon’s smile returned as he brushed a hand through his hair. “Yeah, she did.”
“Brandon,” she hissed, punching him in the arm.
“Why am I not surprised?” Luke smirked. “Despite my insistence to the contrary, she’s always doing this.”
“All right, all right.” She threw her hands in the air. “You got me. I’m determined to make people happy. Sue me.”
Luke turned back to Brandon, then gestured to the garage again. “This was done by my ex, after I dumped him for cheating on me a couple of days ago.”
Brandon nodded. “I know. Delilah told me.”
“And you’re still interested?”
“I wasn’t earlier, honestly. I nearly walked straight past the place.”
“What changed?”
His gaze flicked to the floor, and his cheeks started to redden. “Uh, I saw you.”
“Oh. Right.” Luke suddenly realized that he should probably be having the conversation somewhere more private, instead of embarrassing the man further. “You eat?”
Brandon’s blue eyes once again met Luke’s. “Sure. Daily, in fact.”
Luke smirked and shook his head. “Sorry. Been a while since I asked someone out.”
“Well, if it helps, I’ll be saying yes.”
He grinned. “That helps a ton.”
Chapter Five
It was him, he told himself for the third time as he walked back home. The guy from the frickin’ bar! And he looked even better in the light of day. Brandon didn’t want to know what the chances of the meeting were, but he was glad luck had been on his side for once. That said, he didn’t know what to do.
When Luke had asked him out, he’d said yes immediately, but it had been an instinctual thing. His brain had had little to do with it. Should he tell Luke? If he was going to, he’d have to do it early, as the longer he left it, the harder it would be to reveal the truth later. On the other hand, it wasn’t like Luke would discover it by himself. He clearly hadn’t recognized Brandon’s voice, and other than that, all the guy had to go on was a couple of words.
The only other way was the phone number on the card, and it wasn’t too big a deal to change the voice mail message so it didn’t have his voice on it, then get a new phone number.
“Now I sound like a spy or something,” he said to himself, slightly too loudly given that he was in public.
No, the best thing to do was to be completely open and honest, then take it as it came. And hope his ex doesn’t slash my tires.
That was the other issue, of course. Luke had only just broken up with someone and was looking to date again. And that someone he’d dumped happened to be someone capable of trashing a garage. That was a perturbing thought, certainly. Though one look at Luke told Brandon that they’d never have to deal with a head on encounter.
Again, he found himself a little surprised that he was interested in Luke, given his look. He was almost the opposite of what Brandon usually went for. Maybe that was a good thing, though, given how most of his relationships ended.
Spike was once again sitting on the staircase as Brandon let himself in through the front door, though left a moment later. Apparently seeing his arrival was good enough. There was a mess
age on the answer machine. He hit rewind to find it was Delilah. “You’re welcome,” she said, then hung up. Brandon snorted a laugh then headed for his couch and laptop. He really would have to thank the woman, assuming the date went well, anyway. He tried not to think about it going badly.
His editor had emailed him a few hours ago, it appeared, sending him a copy of the article he’d submitted. Apparently she was happy with it, and no further edits were needed. He allowed himself a smug grin, before replying and thanking her for her efforts.
The phone sat on the table, next to his laptop, and drew his attention. He could call right that second if he liked. Some guys found that cute.
“And others find it creepy,” he reminded himself, saying it aloud in the theory it would sink in better.
He couldn’t help his excitement, as much as he wanted to. The guy was gorgeous and was interested in him! The last time that happened was too long ago to think about without killing his good mood, so he tried to decide upon what to wear and where to go when they arranged the date.
If Luke doesn’t decide where we’re eating, anyway. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, either. Brandon was no submissive, but he liked a man to take charge at least some of the time. And especially in the bedroom. His cock twinged at the thought of Luke’s strong hands gripping his hips as he slapped his thick cock deep inside him, building him up, then pulling out and spinning Brandon around to come in his face and ordering him to swallow. He’d licked his lips before he realized he’d done it.
“Huh.” He stood and headed to the kitchen for some cold water. “Maybe I’m more submissive than I thought.”
* * * *
The sun had started to set by the time the last of the paint came off the roller shutters. The remover Luke had used had also taken off the coat underneath, meaning they’d have to be repainted, but it was the only way to do it that wouldn’t take three times as long.
“About fucking time,” he growled, glaring at his watch as he tossed a rag to the ground.
Mark had boarded the window and replaced the doors Johnny had kicked in, then left a few hours back to pick up his kid, but Chris, Carl, and Delilah had stayed late. The two Cs had worked on the interior, while Delilah had manned the phones, booking appointments and telling existing customers that their repairs may be late. Most were understanding once they found out why, but he’d heard her trading insults with a couple. It didn’t really matter—the customer was rarely always right—and he would have done the same.
The police had turned up a little while ago, but Luke had stayed quiet on Johnny’s identity for the time being. If Luke couldn’t find him, or the guy added more vandalism to his repertoire, though, he’d have to reconsider.
Delilah appeared from the doorway to the garage. “So, now what?”
He shrugged. “No calls from Johnny, so I guess I’m going hunting. I know a few people he might go to. Got a number on my phone that he called from, too. Might be the number of the guy he cheated on me with, I guess.”
“You tried calling it?”
Luke shook his head. “Too angry.”
Delilah folded her arms against the chilly night and stepped toward Luke. “He might not even know Johnny had a boyfriend.”
“Or he might have known and not cared. And then I’d have to hit him.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure that’ll help.”
“It’d help me.”
“Seriously, Luke.”
He sighed. “No, I wouldn’t hit him. Can’t promise I wouldn’t threaten to, but violence begets more violence.”
She smirked. “You almost sounded wise, then.”
“I’m older than I look.”
“Not that much older.”
That was true. The shifter curse slowed aging dramatically, meaning a centuries old shifter could look like they were in their fifties. For Luke, only ten years had passed since he’d been bitten, so he still looked the age he’d been before, which was thirty. Some days he felt much older.
“Tell the Cs to lock up, will you?” he asked, as he turned. “There are a local few places I can check before I head home.”
“You’re going before thanking me?”
He paused mid step and spun back. “Huh?”
“Brandon?”
“Oh, right.” He’d almost forgotten that brief bright part in his day. “Thank you for going against me and hooking me up with one of your friends.”
She grinned. “Welcome. Don’t be out all night, okay?”
As he started walking to the first of Johnny’s hangouts, he let his mind wander. It wandered to Brandon and pretty much stayed there. As much as he intended to rake Delilah over the coals for it at some point, he was glad she’d set him up. As long as he and Brandon started slow, there shouldn’t be an issue.
Slow. That’ll be a first.
He always started his dates with the best of intentions. He’d be polite, chat about the usual things, and try to learn about the other guy. Generally he made it to an hour, tops, before his brain decided to let his cock do the thinking. Given how good looking Brandon was, Luke wasn’t sure if he’d make the hour.
There was something about slim, slightly feminine men that drove him crazy with lust. Even during their brief meeting at the garage, Luke had had more than one image in his head that involved little to no clothing and a bottle of lube.
None of that this time, though. He smirked. Unless Brandon’s thinking the same thing.
For a moment he wondered about the guy in the bar, on the other side of the gloryhole. He’d slipped a card through with his number on it, and Luke had almost called him. What if he’d done so? Would he be meeting that guy tonight somewhere? Maybe a motel room somewhere, where they could make as much noise as they liked.
He shrugged the thought away. As good as that sounded to him at that moment, a chance at a decent date with a nice guy trumped it.
The first address on Luke’s walk was a trendy little coffee shop that Johnny loved. Luke preferred his coffee without a helping of whipped cream, but he’d begrudgingly gone along a few times. The store was closing up, but Luke managed to talk to one of the staff that he recognized. The woman told him that she hadn’t seen Johnny in a few days, so Luke thanked her and moved on.
The shop had been a long shot, really, but it had also been the closest shot to the garage. That probably explained why Johnny had visited it recently, too, Luke decided.
The next address was a bar named Vista. By the time Luke had walked to it, the sun was completely down, and a small queue had formed outside the place. He had no intention of going inside, though. Instead he walked up the bouncer, a guy named Vic, and took him to one side for a moment.
“You know Johnny Mosby, right?”
Vic frowned for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. Your boyfriend, right?”
“Used to be. I’m looking for him. Seen him around in the last day or two?”
“Actually, yeah. Last night, with a tall guy with black hair in a ponytail. Come to think, they seemed pretty friendly.” Vic raised an eyebrow. “That why he’s a ‘used to be’?”
“Yeah, probably.” Luke felt a small wave of anger in his stomach, but ignored it. “If you see him tonight, could you tell him Luke wants to talk to him?”
Vic said it was no problem, then commiserated, saying that he’d been recently dumped by his girlfriend. Luke tipped him a twenty and told him to get a drink on him, then made for the last address.
On a whim, he pulled out his phone as he walked and dialed the number Johnny had called him on after Luke had kicked him out. After a few rings, a faintly accented voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Oh, hey.” Luke clenched his free hand. “Lookin’ for Johnny. He there?”
The other man sighed. “You must be Luke.”
“As a matter of fact, yeah, I am.”
“Well, I’m happy to tell you that that cheating asshole is nowhere near me, nor will he be again.”
Luke slowe
d his steps. “You didn’t know either, I take it.”
“No clue. He turned up a few nights ago, upset about something, then asked to use my phone. Given his reaction afterwards, I could tell what was going on, and I kicked him out.”
“Right. Well, if you happen to see him, tell him I’m looking for him.”
“He do something?”
“Trashed my business.”
There was a sucking of breath. “Suddenly I’m even more glad to be rid of him.”
Luke sighed. “Tell me about it. Thanks anyway.”
He hung up the call and tucked his phone back into his pocket. The guy had seemed genuine, but for all Luke knew it could have all been lies. Unfortunately he had no way of finding the guy’s address, so he’d have to take his words at face value.
With sagged shoulders, he crossed the road and kept walking.
Chapter Six
Brandon woke with a grin, and even Spike using him as a pincushion while he lay in bed couldn’t remove it. He jumped to the floor of his bedroom, threw out a few push-ups and sit-ups, then picked up the phone and called Delilah.
“Thank you, honey,” he said, as soon as she answered.
“You’re welcome,” she said with a laugh. “Just got up? Early for you, really.”
He glanced at his alarm clock. “Wow, yeah. I thought it was later. Good moods break my sense of time, I guess.”
“Think of all the extra work you’d get done if you were always so perky,” she said. “Me, on the other hand, I like a lie-in. So go away.”
Brandon laughed and hung up, then paused with his thumb hovering over the keypad of the phone. The alarm clock in his peripheral vision reminded him of the time, and he reluctantly put the phone down. Calling Luke the next day had been the plan, but waking him up at six probably wouldn’t put the guy in the best mood. Instead Brandon jogged downstairs and threw some bread into the toaster.
