On the far end of the kitchen was a pantry, and inside it, a door to the basement. Kyle was pleased to find a small washer but no dryer. They’d passed laundry lines at the back of the house, so he wasn’t surprised. It would have to do. They just needed clothes that wouldn’t attract attention; whether they were damp or not was simply a matter of comfort.
He walked back upstairs. “Take off your pants.”
Sebastian coughed and struggled to swallow the bite of sandwich in his mouth. “What?”
“That dirt will never come out of your silk shirt, but the pants should be fine. Besides, there’s nothing the right size.” Kyle nodded to the selection of T-shirts he’d draped over one of the kitchen chairs. “Pick one of those.” He held out his hand for the pants. Sebastian seemed hesitant, and Kyle sighed as he pulled off his own grimy jeans. “Suit yourself.”
“No, no. Clean would be good.” Sebastian stood and kicked off his slacks. He looked down at himself in his muddy shirt and dress shoes and chuckled. “I look pretty stupid, huh?” He took off his shoes and tossed Kyle his socks before unbuttoning his shirt.
Stupid. Kyle didn’t answer as he removed his boots and peeled off his own socks for the wash. Sebastian’s black boxer briefs showed off the firm roundness of his ass, and as he bared his toned upper body, stupid was the last thing in the world Kyle was thinking. Control. Get control. Before he could be disastrously distracted again, Kyle escaped to the dank basement.
As the washer filled, he shoved the clothes in roughly and poured detergent over them. He had to concentrate on the mission. He needed to find the Chimera. And Sebastian had no idea where it was. Logically Kyle knew what he should do. Leave Sebastian to his own devices and find out where the Chimera was.
Sebastian would only slow him down. Besides, Kyle had saved his life. What more was he supposed to do? He wasn’t a bodyguard. He had his own life to think of. Sebastian would have to make it on his own. If his father was determined to see him dead, Kyle couldn’t save him. This isn’t the job.
But he’d promised Sebastian he’d help him escape. You’ve told a million lies to any number of marks. It’s just one more. Yet the guilt ate at him, and he knew he’d have to keep his word. He had the connections to make it happen. He could get Sebastian on his way to a safe new life and never see him again.
Unbidden, the memory of Sebastian in his arms filled Kyle’s mind. Sleeping so soundly against him, breath warm, lips parted. His mind went back further, and it was as if Kyle could taste him on his tongue again, hear Sebastian’s cries of pleasure, feel the heat and connection between them.
Groaning, Kyle rubbed a hand over his face. He needed to stop that train of thought before he went upstairs and took Sebastian on the kitchen table. He’d met his fair share of men over the years. Men he’d been attracted to, men he’d shared time with. Not much time and rarely more than once, but that was a consequence of his work. He’d accepted it long ago.
He shouldn’t have gone back to the Brambani estate at all, and now here he was, hiding out in a stranger’s home, saddled with Sebastian. Slamming down the washer lid, Kyle swore. This should be an easy decision.
“Kyle?” Sebastian called softly from the top of the stairs.
For a moment Kyle’s options seemed to crystallize in his mind: door number one and door number two. He hesitated, telling himself to go through the first, familiar door, to do his job as he’d been trained for so many years.
“Everything okay down there?”
Sighing, Kyle shook his head at his own foolishness as he made his choice. “Fine.”
He wished it were true.
Sitting in a strange kitchen in the Alps, wearing only his underwear and a borrowed black T-shirt that was a little too big for him, Sebastian had to marvel at how truly bizarre his life had become. It already seemed so long ago that he’d been at home, bored at his father’s party and thinking of ways to avoid his brother’s matchmaking attempts.
He took a little bite of his sandwich, still feeling guilty about being in someone’s home uninvited. Yet he couldn’t deny his hunger, so he ate more as Kyle returned from the basement. At the sink, Kyle placed his gun on the counter and shrugged out of his black jacket and mud-smeared T-shirt, which he tossed into the garbage.
As Kyle rinsed his jacket and wiped it clean, Sebastian watched from the corner of his eye. Kyle wore simple white briefs that left nothing to the imagination. Although they’d touched each other the night before, Sebastian still felt a thrill of excitement examining Kyle’s long, lean body.
“See anything you like?” Kyle asked, not taking his eyes from the sink.
Sebastian turned his head and fought the blush, but it was no use. “No. Maybe.” He glanced up to find a tiny, teasing smile lifting Kyle’s lips, and his stomach flip-flopped with desire. “Yes.”
Kyle seemed about to say something, but then the smile faded and he turned back to his jacket, dabbing it dry with a towel. “We need to figure out where your father is hiding the Chimera.”
Sebastian went back to his sandwich, feeling…well, he wasn’t sure what. Definitely confused. If Kyle was telling the truth about the Chimera—and if Sebastian finding it could mean saving a lot of lives—then he should be focusing on that. Instead, here he was lusting after Kyle. Sex should be the last thing on his mind considering the circumstances. “What about the men after us? You think they work for my father? Or maybe it’s you they’re after.”
Kyle hung his jacket over the back of a chair and sat. He hadn’t put on a fresh T-shirt yet, and his muscled chest was extremely distracting. Sebastian tried not to stare at the sprinkling of hair across Kyle’s pecs and surrounding his nipples.
“Could be. More likely it’s your father’s men finishing the job. Even if I managed to kill these two, there are plenty more where they came from.” Kyle picked up a second sandwich and bit into it with gusto.
“This doesn’t bother you at all, does it?”
Kyle swallowed. “No.” After a moment he added, “I’m used to it.”
“How do you get used to this? Don’t you want a normal life?”
“Normal’s overrated. I like my life. I like my job. I’d eat my gun if I had to have a normal job, sitting in some cubicle, watching the clock.”
“There is some middle ground, you know. Between a cubicle and…what are you? A spy? Agent? Operative?”
“Yes.” Kyle took another mouthful of his sandwich.
Chuckling, Sebastian shook his head. “Top secret, huh?”
That wry smile graced Kyle’s lips again. “Eyes only.”
Sebastian found himself smiling back, but it faded as his thoughts returned to his predicament. “Those men who work for my father…they won’t stop until I’m dead, will they?”
“Probably not.”
“Thanks. That’s reassuring.”
“Pretty lies aren’t going to help you. It depends on how badly your father wants you dead. He might reconsider and call them off. But it seems unlikely.” Kyle certainly didn’t appear too concerned about it.
“I always knew Papa liked Ben better. It’s not as if he hid it. But I still…I still thought he loved me. That’s what fathers are supposed to do, right?”
Kyle’s expression was unreadable. Finally he nodded and pushed back his chair. “Laundry should be almost done.” He disappeared back to the basement, and Sebastian tried to banish thoughts of Arrigo from his mind. It would do him no good to brood on his father’s betrayal.
A minute later Kyle returned and hung their clothes over chairs to dry. Sebastian ran his hand through his hair, which was crusted with dried mud. “Ugh. Do you think I can take a shower? Do we have time?”
Kyle pulled on a white T-shirt and checked his watch. “Yes. Still have another half an hour before we should attempt a move.”
“Do you want one too? I mean, not at the same time. Unless you want to.” As the words left his mouth, Sebastian wanted to call them back, but he forced himself to meet Kyle�
��s eyes. If he was going to die any minute, he might as well take what he wanted.
Kyle shook his head. “I have to keep watch. Go on.” He handed Sebastian his damp trousers. “Take your time, but be ready to run.”
Upstairs, Sebastian tipped his head back under the small stream of hot water. Eyes closed, he washed his hair and soaped his body. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this tired yet wound up at the same time. He wished he could open his eyes and have this all be a dream. But you’d have never met Kyle if this wasn’t real. Sure, you’d be safe and sound—but miserable and lonely. And safe for how long? Your father was never going to accept you.
As he remembered Kyle’s touch and the taste of his kisses, a thrill shot up his spine. Despite his best intentions, his cock came to life as he thought about the wet heat of Kyle’s mouth wrapped around him. He skimmed his hand down his belly as he rinsed the soap from his body and—
Thunk.
Sebastian’s eyes flew open. He strained, listening. Had it been the pipes? Or something else? Leaving the water running, he stepped out, quickly toweling himself off and throwing on his clothes. He’d left the bathroom door ajar, and he eased it open, listening.
The house was silent but for a low murmuring. As Sebastian crept down the stairs, he realized it was Kyle on the phone. Exhaling, Sebastian was about to go back upstairs when he heard his name. He inched down the stairs, his bare feet quiet on the carpet. He couldn’t see Kyle, who was still in the kitchen at the other end of the small house, but at the bottom of the stairs, he could hear him.
“Don’t worry about him.”
A pause. “I guarantee he won’t talk.”
A longer pause. Then, “Understood. I’ll neutralize the problem.”
Heart pounding, Sebastian sucked in a breath. Oh, Jesus. Kyle was still talking, but Sebastian couldn’t hear him over the blood rushing in his ears. For a long moment he was frozen. Kyle had brought him this far. Would he really kill me?
Along with the terror, Sebastian felt foolishly wounded. Somewhere between lying naked in Kyle’s arms and escaping his father’s men, he really had started to think of them as being in this mess together. Being a team. Despite his best judgment, he realized he’d started to rely on Kyle. To trust him.
Reality set in with a jolt, and Sebastian went into action. Glancing around, he saw several pairs of shoes on a mat by the front door. Moving as quietly as possible, Sebastian stuffed his feet into a pair of sneakers, knotting them tightly.
He examined the front door. He didn’t think he could get it open without Kyle hearing, and tiptoed back up the stairs. He crept into a bedroom at the front of the house and eased the window up. There were large bushes beneath the window, and if he lowered himself out, perhaps it wouldn’t be too far to fall. At the mere thought of falling, his palms prickled and his head spun.
It was certainly better than the alternative.
He peered out again. The home was small, and the drop wasn’t as far as it could have been. He swallowed thickly. Do it! Man up! There was no way he could best Kyle. The man was simply too strong and too skilled. Even without the gun, Sebastian was no match for him.
Resolved, he threw one leg over the sill, but he froze as memories of the tree churned his gut. There had to be another way. Ben wasn’t here to climb up and help him down this time. Giving up on the window, he crept back downstairs and listened. Kyle seemed to have gone back to the basement for some reason, so Sebastian edged the front door open and slipped out.
Go, go, go!
He didn’t look back as he raced toward the main street. He knew the other men who wanted him dead were still out there, but his first priority was getting away from Kyle. He stayed close to buildings, running as fast as he could. The sneakers pinched his toes painfully and his lungs burned, but he kept moving. When he reached the center of town, Sebastian stopped in the shadow of a church. Breathing harshly, he looked back.
He was alone. Perhaps Kyle hadn’t heard him. Maybe he’d gotten lucky. Turning back to the street, Sebastian examined his options. A police car sat by the alley where he and Kyle had left the crippled sedan. Maybe he was wrong, and the police could help him. Surely his father’s reach couldn’t come this far up the mountains? He had no idea who Kyle’s employers were and how many connections they had. Perhaps he could give a false name. And tell the police what, exactly?
Too risky. That direction was out. To his left, two tour buses were parked on opposite sides of the street by the town’s café. As parents and children wandered off the buses, snapping pictures and venturing into the café, Sebastian left the shadow of the church and walked calmly toward one of the vehicles.
His pulse thrummed, heart thudding against his rib cage. The driver was smoking on the sidewalk, and Sebastian climbed on board. A few people had remained on the bus, including an older woman near the back. Blowing out a long breath, Sebastian made his way down the aisle. When he reached the woman, he leaned down, smiling his best, most charming smile. “Is this seat taken?” he asked in English since he wasn’t sure where the tourists were from and assumed they wouldn’t understand Italian.
The woman blinked in surprise. In a heavy French accent, she replied, “No.” She picked up her cardigan, giving him a quizzical look, eyes flicking over his wet hair.
Sebastian’s French was quite good, so he spoke to her in her own language, asking her about herself. The woman was only too happy to talk to him, and as the passengers returned to the bus, Sebastian forced himself to nod and smile and act normal. From the corner of his eye, he watched the street and saw no sign of Kyle or the other men.
The driver returned, asking if all were aboard. After a chorus of replies, the engine rumbled to life and the bus headed up the street. Sebastian leaned over the woman, keeping his head low as he gazed out. He muttered an excuse about forgetting to look at the church, and scanned the street.
As they turned on to the main highway, Sebastian thought he saw movement in the shadows of the church where he had been minutes before. He couldn’t be sure, and a moment later they were on the highway. As the bus climbed the mountain and into Switzerland, Sebastian waited to be pulled over. Waited for gunshots.
Yet none came, and after a few hours, he allowed himself to relax. He was safe.
For now.
Chapter Six
As he sped down the mountain, careful not to go too fast and attract the attention of the carabinieri or civilian police, Kyle kept an eye on the white roof of the bus several hundred yards in front of him. It disappeared from sight around bends but reappeared below as the road twisted and turned.
It had only taken Kyle twenty seconds to breach a car parked around the corner from the café and hot-wire it, but a dozen cars were between him and his quarry now. Still, it was nothing to worry about. He began passing one car at a time, quick and careful. The bus drove on ahead, and Kyle guessed it would stop at the next lookout.
As he waited out a line of traffic heading north, he replayed the conversation with Marie in his mind. He hadn’t been surprised that she called; it would be easy for her to check if he’d left Italy as instructed. The reception was spotty, but Marie’s anger at being disobeyed came in loud and clear.
“Where are you?” Her voice was tinny.
Kyle chuckled. “I’m sure you’re tracking my phone as I speak.”
“Yes, and I’m sure you’re using the blocking chip you were not supposed to have in your company phone.” She exhaled sharply. “You’re off the reservation, as you Americans say. Mr. Grant, don’t be foolish.”
“I’m finishing the job, Marie. I’m finding the Chimera. That’s all.”
“I told you to go home. The director himself is getting involved. He’s very displeased. I haven’t told him yet that you aren’t back in New York. I can’t delay much longer, or it’ll be my head on the block.”
“All I want is to do my job. I’m going to find it. I won’t fail.”
There were a few moments of static, and w
hen Marie spoke again, Kyle had to strain to hear her. “Do you really think you can?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Yes!”
The phone went dead, and Kyle wasn’t sure if she’d gotten the message. He went to the bottom of the stairs and listened to the running water. Sebastian had been upstairs for—he glanced at his watch—six and a half minutes. Would probably be ten more at least. Let him enjoy his shower.
Ninety-two seconds later, his phone rang again. Marie started talking as soon as he picked up. “You have forty-eight hours. Get it done. And we heard about your heroics. Where did you leave the boy?”
“He’s with me. He can help.” Kyle didn’t think that was true, but it was in Sebastian’s best interests to be helpful to the Association.
“He knows too much. Take him out of the equation.”
“Don’t worry about him.”
“This is not negotiable, Mr. Grant. It comes from the director.”
Kyle blinked in surprise. The director. “I guarantee he won’t talk.”
“Take him out and go find the Chimera.” Marie’s voice faded, and the line crackled. “There’s no room for error. Kill him.”
“Understood. I’ll neutralize the problem.” If he didn’t agree, the Association would send someone else. He and Sebastian had enough problems to deal with.
“See that you do, and find that goddamned powder.”
“I will. I have a lead.” A complete lie, but it would reassure her.
“Then stop talking.” The line went dead.
As he pocketed his phone, Kyle was already going through a list of options, none of which appealed. All he knew was that he didn’t want to kill Sebastian. He needed an alternate solution.
Two vehicles remained between him and the bus. As it turned off the highway at a lookout point, Kyle followed. He pulled up and stopped fifteen feet from the bus door. Watching the tourists pile out, he readied himself, his door an inch ajar.
The Chimera Affair: Gay Romance Page 7
