by Kamisa Cole
COMPLETELY CHANGED
(DiverCity #1)
By Kamisa Cole
Copyright © 2019 Kamisa Cole
Cover Copyright © Cassie Chapman of Opulent Swag And Designs
Edited by Tiny Tiger Edits
Formatting by Saffron Blu
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or reproduced without written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places or people, living or dead, is coincidental.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
To all those who encouraged me: Thank you.
To all those who love without a doubt: Thank you.
To all those who doubt: Keep going. You will get there. I promise. I did.
KASH
Hundreds of flowers and candles decorated the space where my predecessor lost his life. I forced my hands deep into my pockets after turning up my collar to shield myself against the biting wind and the stinging rain.
I had watched a lot of people walk up to the bar. The head of DiverCity’s security team had been well-liked by both the straight and the LGBTQ community around here. I’d heard about the bar—what gay person hadn’t?—and yet I’d never been here before. It wasn’t that I hadn’t come out or that I worried what my colleagues would say, but since the guy I’d been sleeping with regularly for nearly two years had decided to change the rules on us, I’d decided to stay away from men…or only have them in my bed for an hour or two.
After Daryl Jones had been killed because he’d refused to let someone hit a woman, the bar had been closed for five days. The security firm I worked for had decided to not only replace the head of security but the whole team as well.
I couldn’t decide if that was a good move or not, but I couldn’t deny that working with my guys would make me feel better. I knew how they acted, reacted, and what they feared. I could watch out for them and make sure we dealt appropriately with whatever came up.
“Boss. Checking out the new workplace, too?” Savage, my right-hand man and closest friend, joined me across the street, watching as more grieving people put down flowers.
I slowly nodded, my heart thudding as if it feared everything that was coming. The bar-slash-club would be closed a few more days, but we’d be going in tomorrow to check it out and see what we could do to change the way security detail had been worked previously.
Clearing my throat, I faced him. “Do you think anyone on the team will mind the fact that this bar supports the Love-is-Love movement? I’m not going to have a homophobe on this team and, while I don’t think that’s the case, I’d like your input.”
Savage grinned, arching a brow. “You serious, boss?”
The question startled me. “Serious as a heart attack.”
Savage had been with Craig It Down Security longer than I’d been, but for some reason I’d been named team captain instead of him. He’d never said anything about it and neither had I.
“Craig is an asshole, and terrified of the fact that he sometimes checks out the guys in a way a straight man wouldn’t. He places everyone who gives him a boner in your team. I think subconsciously he knows we all kinda swing that way.”
I choked on air. “Come again?”
“You didn’t say it, but I see the way your eyes soften whenever two guys pass us, holding hands. I’ve seen Leon check out guys and girls alike, and Shay never was turned off when a guy flirted with him. Nyra gets hands on with girls that get handsy with her. Dan? No clue what is going on with him, but… You know?” He shrugged, and I lowered my eyes. I’d been sure no one had noticed exactly what I was thinking, but yes, each time a couple had passed us on any job, my heart had softened for them and the hope of love you’d often find in their eyes.
“Are you saying we have a gay team?”
Savage shrugged, turning away from me. He was a big guy with a full beard and soulful eyes. “I’m saying he created our family, and we’d been put here because of how we are.”
Four guys appeared, all holding hands, and stopped in front of the flowers and candles, trying to relight each one of them even though it was in vain with the rain coming down.
“Gage and his team,” Savage whispered next to me and I took a deep breath.
I knew they’d worked for three years with Daryl and I couldn’t imagine what they were going through.
“You wanna say hi, boss?”
I shook my head. I wanted to give them the time they needed for mourning. I didn’t think there was any other reason for all of them to be here. It struck me then that Sav clearly knew the bar. “Been here often?”
I suddenly wished I’d have been as brave, or as careless, as he was about someone finding out which way he swung. Then again, I guessed if he knew that we wouldn’t mind it made things less scary.
“I sometimes find hookups here. I don’t do love or relationships. They suck, no matter how many people and genders are involved. I’ve talked to the owner a few times, and one of the barkeepers. He’s nice to look at. His name is Nash. Honestly, when I met him the first time he reminded me of you. I mean… Not looks wise really, although you both have those ocean eyes, but because of the way he sometimes smirks. It’s…stupid.”
I rubbed my chest, not even knowing why, and smiled. “Well, I do take it as a compliment because you seem to be impressed with him.”
We watched as the four kept kneeling on the wet sidewalk, their hands linked, heads bowed and, for some reason, I felt the need to walk over and place my hands on their shoulders. I didn’t know any of them, and it didn’t really matter, either.
I felt a kinship with them I couldn’t explain.
“Taking this job feels as if we’re changing our lives. There’s something… I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it really. Tell me you feel it, too, boss.”
I glanced at Savage again and wondered what I could say. Ever since I’d been given the official assignment from Craig a few days ago I’d been feeling as if every step was laden with foreboding.
I couldn’t say what it was but, if Sav felt the same, maybe I hadn’t imagined it.
Hell, maybe he was right, and once we were on the job, something would shift.
Maybe, in the end, we’d all be completely changed.
KASH
DiverCity was quiet as I entered, my heart jumping in my chest. I hadn’t brought my team because I wanted to get a feel for the people we’d be working with as well as the layout of the club. It did help that Savage knew what was going on inside, so I’d probably have him working the bar area and the inside.
The floor was clean and there were only a few tables in the front while a wide, dark-wood bar stretched to my left. There were mirrors behind the bar, making it look even wider. I could picture it filled to the brim on Friday and Saturday nights, the mood shifting from bar to club since the back had cozy booths and enough room to fit at least fifty dancing people.
“We’re closed.”
The harsh voice from somewhere to my left didn’t deter me, and I
stepped toward the bar when a bearded guy about my height appeared. He was handsome, I could acknowledge that much, with dark curls, equally dark eyes, and a tight-fitting black tee. His eyes widened a fraction in surprise and appreciation, then narrowed in suspicion. That had to be my man.
“Gage Donovan?” I asked, and he cocked his head.
“Fucking head of the security, I see.”
I didn’t as much as raise an eyebrow at his comment, mainly because I hadn’t exactly expected to be welcomed with open arms. Losing someone you worked with for as long as Gage and Daryl had worked together left marks. Instead, I held out my hand, wanting to shake his. “Kash Matchington,” I introduced myself. “My team and I were assigned to your bar and—”
His eyes narrowed even more. “Your team and you? We have a perfectly fine team working here. In fact, I don’t even think we need a replacement for the head of security. Someone else can simply take over,” he growled, ignoring my hand and turning his back to me.
I could see his angry frown in the mirrors and couldn’t blame him. Still… “Yes, someone is taking over, and that’s me and my team. We’ve been assigned to this club because teams work best together. I know every man and woman in my group inside out, and I’d trust them with my life.”
Gage shrugged his wide shoulders. “I don’t care. I don’t trust them, and in case you didn’t know, this is a bar where every sexual preference is welcomed and kept safe. We have gay events here that tend to get handsy and quite…sexy. Not many people can handle that, and I definitely don’t want your guys looking the other way because they find two guys kissing disgusting.”
In a few steps, I was around the bar, pushing Gage’s shoulder. “Listen up, buddy. You don’t want to be judged based on your sexual preference and neither do we. You know nothing about us, so how about you trust me when I tell you we’ll keep this bar clean and safe?”
Gage gritted his teeth and I saw his jaw working. “Can you guarantee me that none of your people will ignore anyone being mistreated? No matter if it’s a twink with too much glitter or a transgender girl being all insecure? Will you protect those guys that stand in here with their harnesses, making others think they asked for it because they wore leather? Will you?”
He was in my face now and I couldn’t even blame him. I did appreciate the way he felt responsible for all his patrons.
“The moment someone makes it obvious they are not comfortable with what happens Savage and I will step in. Everything else? I might look away. Although I will not have anyone sucking dick on the dance floor. Too many chances for injuries or official complains. I don’t think you want the police in here, do you?”
Before he could answer the door opened again and then fell closed behind a slender guy with disheveled dark hair and pale skin, his face temporarily bathed in shadows.
“We’re closed,” Gage bit out with even more venom than before.
“I need a job.” The guy sounded young, his voice trembling.
I stepped out from behind the bar while he came closer and Gage turned to him. The moment he stood in a brighter spot my heart gave out. He had one eye nearly swollen shut, fresh blood dripping from the cut in his eyebrow while he cradled one arm as if it was injured.
Before I knew what I was doing I’d stepped closer, tilting his chin up. The top of his head came up to my nose, and he was by no means small but, compared to my six feet four with a burly stature, he seemed breakable. His eyes were a light blue, at least the one I could see was, and his lashes long. His lip was split, and I wondered what kind of injuries he was hiding under his wide hoodie.
“What happened?” My voice was rough, though gentle, and I did hear in the back of my mind Gage state that there were no jobs for minors.
Still holding his chin between my fingers, I brushed a strand of dark hair out of his face. He winced as it caught in the cut on his eyebrow and, god, I wanted to cradle him close and make sure no one could ever lay a hand on him again.
“What happened?” I asked again as he didn’t answer, and only then I realized that just because he’d stepped into this known gay bar didn’t mean he was gay.
Keeping my hands to myself seemed almost impossible as he turned away. “You must be Gage Donovan,” he stated toward the owner, who’d come around the front of the bar by now.
“Doesn’t matter who is who, boy. You’re not old enough to serve alcohol,” he said, his voice much softer now than it had been just a few minutes ago.
“Don’t call me boy. I’m a man and I need a job,” he insisted, and my heart thudded in my chest because hell, while his body was all high school nerd, the pain lacing his voice?
That pain was fucking ancient.
ALEC
Every single inch of my body hurt. Hell, I could feel the tips of my hair tingle with pain, and yet I wouldn’t cower, wouldn’t fold into myself in front of these two guys.
It was almost impossible to ignore the way my body had wanted to curl up against the guy wearing the black jacket with silver rings on his hand, the guy who’d tilted up my chin as if he’d been ready to kiss me.
For a fraction of a second, I’d forgotten the pain, had forgotten why I was there, being reminded that sometimes there was this thing called fate. Walking in here had felt like it was meant to be when he’d brushed his thumb across my chin without even realizing it.
But then his dark eyes had lingered on my injuries, and the strand he’d brushed from my forehead had caught on the cut that still hadn’t stopped bleeding, and I’d remembered with a burning intensity why I stood in DiverCity.
I’d never been inside, not old enough to drink alcohol legally, but I’d heard all about it. I knew it was the hotspot for everyone who wasn’t straight, and for everyone was, too… It was a bar for literally everyone and standing here I realized it had club-like features too.
God, in the end, it didn’t matter because I hadn’t come to enjoy myself. I’d come because I hoped I’d find refuge here.
“How old are you?”
I kept my eyes on who I assumed to be the owner of the bar. “Are you Gage, or…” I swallowed and turned to the guy in the black jacket, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, showing tattooed arms, “Are you Gage?”
His expression was soft and yet filled with worry. “I’m Kash,” he muttered, his voice rough. He’d crossed his arms in front of his body, his knuckles turning white where he held onto his elbows.
He was not integral for me or my survival, so the other one it was. “So, you are Gage. I need a job.”
The owner of the bar, and currently also the owner of my fate, licked his lips. “How. Old. Are. You?”
I had a feeling lying to him would be of no use, and so I swallowed. “Nineteen, but—”
“This is a bar, boy,” Gage started, and I fisted my hands, remembering too late that one of my arms wasn’t right. I winced and instantly Kash was by my side.
He glared at Gage. “How about you lock the door, we take off that hoodie and see what we’re dealing with before you tell him to fuck off because a minor cannot serve alcohol at a bar?” he suggested, his hand on the small of my back causing my feet to move without me wanting to.
After a long moment, Gage moved, and I heard the distinct click of a door being locked. Maybe it should’ve caused me to panic, but the truth was that suddenly I felt safer than I had for a very long time.
My shoulders sagged, and my body perked up as Kash knelt in front of me, his powerful thighs stretching his jeans until I feared they’d burst at the seams.
“You’re right. So, boy, take off that hoodie,” Gage ordered, stepping behind Kash while watching me expectantly.
I licked my lips, contemplating my next words. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to strip in front of these two—hell, any other day and I’d have been eager to—but I didn’t think I could. “I… You know, it doesn’t matter. I just need—”
Kash turned, looking up at the owner of the bar. I couldn’t see what transpired, but despite
the animosity I sensed between them they seemed to understand each other.
“I’m gonna grab some ice and a first aid kit.” Gage vanished and, once Kash and I were alone, the room suddenly seemed to shrink.
His blue eyes shone with concern and I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “Please…”
“Alec,” I offered my name and he smiled for the smallest moment.
“Please, Alec, take off that shirt. I have a feeling you won’t tell me what happened, but I need to make sure you’re taken care of. If not, I’ll take you to a—”
I shook my head. “Don’t say hospital. I’m not going there. Kash, I just need help.” The moment I said his name his lips parted, but the lapse of control lasted a mere second or two, then his features no longer were filled with longing.
God, he was probably ten years older than I was and I shouldn’t notice how damn attractive he was. I shouldn’t even have noticed him at all, no matter if he’d touched me or not.
I didn’t have the heart or the mind to crush on anyone.
His fingertips ghosted across my cheek. “Then let me help. Take off that hoodie.”
My chin started to wobble at his soft command and I bit down hard on my lip to keep the tears from forming in my eyes. I wasn’t an emotional guy per se, but right at that moment I wanted to hand all of my emotional baggage over to someone else and let them carry it for me. However, I’d come here because I needed to stand on my own two feet and a job was exactly what I needed to be able to provide for myself.
I exhaled slowly, keeping my eyes on him as he sat back on his heels. I knew moving as much as I was about to would nearly kill me with pain, but I wasn’t ready to look weak in Kash’s eyes. If I couldn’t convince him of my strength how would I be able to make Gage believe I’d be responsible enough to do anything in his bar?
