by Shea Balik
Nor was he ready to take on the role of an adult. One that must make a decision that would kill him no matter what he chose.
“The family farm and all of your parents’ assets have been left to their children, Patrick James, Jennifer Ann, and Daniel Tyler. Patrick James has also been made executor of their estate and guardian of his siblings until they come of age.” The lawyer’s voice droned on and on as he continued reading his parents’ will.
With each word another nail was put into the coffin of the future he’d planned to share with Syn. There was no way he could raise his siblings in that tiny apartment in New York City. Nor could he take them away from the only home they’ve ever known, not after they’d just lost their parents.
“Do you have any questions?” the lawyer asked PJ after he was done.
Why was life so cruel? It was the only question that mattered at the moment, and PJ didn’t think the lawyer could answer that one, so he shook his head no.
“Okay.” The lawyer stood and handed PJ a business card. “This is my card. Call me anytime if you think of something. In the meantime, I will draw up the paperwork to put the farm in your and your siblings’ names, and make you Jennifer and Daniel’s guardian. I will contact you in a few days.”
Absently, PJ shook the man’s hand and headed out of the office with his brother and sister in front of him and Syn behind him, a hand on his lower back giving him the strength he needed to get through this. He just wished he knew that hand could remain there when Syn had to leave for New York and he had to stay behind.
* * * *
“You can’t be serious!” Syn yelled after PJ finally found the courage to tell his Dom he was going to stay on his family’s farm. “You hate farming. Hell, you hate Iowa.”
It was odd, but in the two years they’d been together, PJ couldn’t ever remember Syn yelling. The man had the temperament of a saint, never allowing anyone to rile him. Yet, there he was, his face red as he fought with PJ. “I’m not about to let you break your promise to me,” Syn said angrily. “We’ll just take Jennifer and Daniel to New York with us.”
It was wrong of him, but PJ was secretly happy that Syn was willing to fight for him. He just wished this could turn out differently. “You know that isn’t possible. We can’t afford anything big enough for all of us.”
“Then we’ll move outside the city and I’ll commute.” Syn’s jaw was set, his arms crossed over his chest and his feet braced apart. He was a warrior to the core. One that didn’t back down from a challenge. But this wasn’t a battle Syn could win, no matter how much PJ may wish for it to be otherwise.
A tear tumbled down his cheek at the thought of never getting that happily ever after with this amazing man. “I’m not about to take them away from the only home they’ve ever known.” PJ planted his own feet, hoping his stance would convey just how serious he was. “They just lost their parents. I won’t make them lose their home, too.”
Syn’s stance faltered a bit as he stared at PJ. “Fine. I’m moving here.”
God, but PJ wished he could let Syn do that. He would give anything to keep Syn, but not when it meant having Syn hate him in the end. As much as he might try to deny it, he knew Syn would never forgive PJ for preventing him from pursuing the job of a lifetime. “No, you won’t.”
When Syn opened his mouth to refute PJ’s statement, PJ stopped him. “I’m not about to let you move here where there are no job opportunities for you.” Even as more tears slid down his cheeks, PJ smiled. “You belong in New York.”
Syn sighed. “Please come with me,” he said as he took PJ in his arms. “I don’t want to think of a life without you in it.”
Neither did PJ, but that was exactly what was going to happen. “I will always love you, Syn. But I have to do this and you have to take that job.”
He felt Syn nod.
Was it wrong that he wished Syn would fight harder?
Both of Syn’s hands came up and cupped his face, tilting his head up to look into those piercing brown eyes that PJ had fallen in love with the first moment he’d seen them at the coffee shop where they’d met.
“I love you, my little love,” Syn said softly before taking his lips in a kiss that conveyed all the emotions they felt for each other. It was a good-bye, one that would haunt PJ for the rest of his life.
Chapter Four
2016
Frustrated, PJ nearly threw the phone he was talking into across the room. Only the fact that he’d have to spend several hundred dollars to get it replaced stopped himself from acting so childishly
“As I’ve explained, my employer wishes to remain anonymous until he’s ready to make his announcement regarding the club.” Joel was clearly getting frustrated, as well, with the questions, but as far as PJ was concerned, it was Joel’s fault for not being more forthcoming about his boss’ name.
It wasn’t fair that Joel knew who the man was but PJ, who was somehow supposed to design the look of the club, didn’t know anything about him. It seemed laughable to PJ that he was supposed to guess what the owner wanted when he didn’t know who he was.
“Fine,” PJ grumbled. “Did the boss even bother to look at my designs, or am I just supposed to guess at what he wants?” PJ was being petty but he was tired of all this subterfuge.
When he’d taken the job and been told the boss wanted anonymity, it hadn’t occurred to him that it would apply to PJ. He just thought PJ would have to sign a non-disclosure, not be kept in the dark.
“I’ve sent you an e-mail regarding his comments on each design,” Joel told him.
PJ knew it was unreasonable, but he was beginning to hate Joel. It wasn’t the man’s fault, but PJ resented not knowing who his boss was.
Turning on his tablet, PJ looked at the e-mail Joel had sent him and scowled at the extensive notes. “Was there anything he liked?” PJ groused.
Nothing irritated PJ more than having his designs criticized. It didn’t help that he’d had to draw them without any real reference point since his boss refused to talk with him. The only instructions he’d been given was to design something with dark colors that were warm and inviting.
PJ had presented five different designs with that in mind, but each of his concepts had at least one page of notes that clearly said his boss wasn’t happy with any of them.
“Joel, do you have that transition list for me?”
The deep cadence of the voice that came through the phone from Joel’s end, had PJ freezing where he sat. It couldn’t be. Could it?
“I’ll have to call you back,” Joel said and before PJ could say anything the line went dead.
PJ’s pulse sped up as he sat there trying to figure out if that voice was who he thought it was. It just didn’t seem possible. What would the odds be that after all these years, Syn would be his boss?
PJ may not know exactly who his boss was, but he knew it wasn’t Titan and the last he’d heard, Syn still worked for them. So it couldn’t have been Syn. The man had just sounded like him and PJ and his stupid heart had leapt to the wrong conclusion.
It had been thirteen years and just the thought of Syn could send PJ into a tailspin. He’d tried to move on, but no matter how many men he’d met, they could never measure up to Syn. Lonely, PJ often wondered if Syn had found someone else.
He’d checked up on Syn in the past, but never once had he dug deep enough to know if he was with anyone else. His heart wouldn’t have been able to take it if he had discovered Syn had in fact moved on.
Still, that voice had sounded so familiar. Maybe it was Syn. It would explain why he was staying anonymous. PJ shook his head. There was no way that had been Syn. As far as he knew, Syn didn’t even know he’d moved to Florida.
“Hey PJ. You ready for lunch?”
PJ smiled as his brother, Daniel walked into the space PJ had been hired to design into a club. “Yep. Let me just grab my bag.”
* * * *
“Do you think he knew it was me?” Syn had been so careful to
keep PJ in the dark about who his boss was.
After spending time with his friends in Cedar Falls, Syn had come to the realization that he’d made the biggest mistake of his life thirteen years ago when he’d walked away from PJ. After hiring a private investigator to find him, Syn had put a plan into place to once more become a part of PJ’s life.
The more the private investigator had learned, the more Syn regretted walking away all those years ago. PJ had experienced more pain and heartache than any man had deserved. Syn couldn’t help thinking if he had stayed, maybe things would have turned out differently for his little love.
“I don’t know,” Joel answered. “But I’ll just lie.”
Syn nodded.
They had a month left before he was finally able to leave his job at Titan and move to Florida to woo PJ once more. “Even if he finds out, it won’t change anything,” Syn said. “I’m still going to move to Florida and get PJ back.”
He hoped.
* * * *
“Yes, the crew is nearly halfway done. The paint and woodwork is all in place. The floor will be started tomorrow and will take a week to complete.” It had taken two more e-mails, but finally they had come up with a design his mysterious boss had approved.
Then it had been a mad dash to get the materials in and crew hired. In another two weeks the club would be ready. PJ couldn’t explain it but he was excited. He just wished it was for the club’s grand opening and not meeting his boss in four days.
“Good. Is the top floor finished?” Joel asked.
The building PJ was renovating was an old hotel. The main floor was being turned into a club, but it was the second and third floors that had PJ shivering just thinking about. For the second floor had been turned into a BDSM club. He had only tried to find another Dom once. The moment PJ had taken off his shirt, he’d safeworded, realizing he just couldn’t do it.
Without Syn, he didn’t want anything to do with the world of BDSM. It was a shame since he’d enjoyed it so much, but nothing had ever felt right without Syn, no matter how much he tried.
The third-floor rooms were turned into BDSM rooms for private play. Each room had toys and equipment that would make a sub drool and a Dom smile.
The fourth floor was turned into private suites for guests to spend the night for a price. But it was the fifth floor that had PJ sighing. It would be the owner’s residence, and was exactly how PJ had always dreamed his and Syn’s home would look like one day after they’d both made it.
The thought of Syn had PJ asking again, “Isn’t it time for you to tell me who my boss is? I mean I’m going to meet him in a few days. What am I supposed to call him? Hey you?”
Joel didn’t miss a beat. “I would suggest sir.”
An expected shiver raced along PJ’s spine. He couldn’t help but think Joel was trying to tell him something, but PJ refused to believe Syn could actually be behind this club. It just couldn’t be possible. Could it?
“We’ll see you in a couple of days,” Joel said before hanging up.
PJ sighed as he put his phone down on the folding table before him. Getting up, he started making his rounds to check on the progress. As he wandered outside, he heard a scream. When he turned to look at what was going on, he was stunned to see an older woman, probably in her sixties, hitting a man who was tugging on her purse.
“Give it back!” the woman yelled. “My precious baby is in there.”
PJ had no idea what she was talking about. All he knew was she was being mugged right there in broad daylight with people walking past as if they weren’t witnessing it for themselves. It was surreal to see bystanders completely ignoring the poor woman and what was happening to her.
Not about to stand by and do nothing, PJ rushed toward them. “Hey. Leave her alone!” he shouted.
PJ blinked when the assailant turned his way with a gun in his hand. There was a loud bang, then another, then another. For several moments PJ had trouble moving. He had no idea why he was on the ground, but since everyone around him was also curled up on the ground, he figured he’d followed their example.
Screams erupted around him. The man who had been mugging the woman took off running with her purse in hand. The woman wailed about her precious baby. PJ tried to get up to go after the man but pain shot down his arm and leg. He must have hit them when he went to the ground.
“Are you okay?” someone said as they hovered over him. “Don’t try to move,” the man said.
Suddenly, a woman in a police uniform was there. “We need an ambulance at…” Her lips kept moving but PJ couldn’t make out the words. A strange ringing in his ears blocked out most of the noise around him.
Lethargy gripped PJ, forcing him to close his eyes.
“Sir, I need you to open your eyes,” the woman officer shouted.
Try as he might, PJ just couldn’t open them. He was too tired. The intense pain kept him from sleeping at first as hands pressed down on his shoulder and hip. But when someone pushed against his stomach the searing agony had him crying out as blackness enveloped him.
* * * *
Syn had already said his good-byes to the few friends he’d made in New York. Now it was time to say the hardest of his good-bye’s. It was odd that the men he’d met in Cedar Falls, North Carolina would mean more to him than any of the friends he’d made in the place he’d lived for the last thirteen years.
Then again, the people of Cedar Falls were a different breed of men, the kind that Syn wasn’t sure he could ever say farewell to. In some ways, they would always be a part of his life.
He handed two of his friends, Jesse and Vail, a margarita, before turning back to the bar and getting his beer.
Jesse smacked his lips after a sip. “Damn, but that’s good. You really ought to give Manny a raise before you leave,” Jesse told him before taking another drink.
Syn chuckled. “You know Manuel hates that nickname.” Then again, there was very little Manuel liked about Cedar Falls. He complained every chance he got that Syn stuck him in the small town with no entertainment value. Manuel’s words, not Syn’s.
He might have to consider hiring Manuel for his own club once he was ready to open. Syn made a mental note to have a chat with Manuel before leaving Cedar Falls.
A mischievous grin appeared on Jesse’s face that had a way of making most of the men in this room run for cover. “Why do you think I keep calling him that?” Jesse informed Syn.
“You know, if you keep pissing Manuel off, he’s going to stop serving you altogether.” Manuel had already thrown Jesse out of the bar area once, which was when Jesse turned his sights on irritating Manuel as much as possible.
Jesse cocked his head to the side and gave Syn a wide-eyed expression of innocence that Syn damn well knew was fake. “He already did that. Why do you think I had you get my drink?”
Syn burst out laughing. “I just might miss you the most, Jesse.” He’d actually miss all of them, but Jesse had a way of turning any situation into an event of epic proportions.
“Hey,” Parker joked as he came up behind Jesse to wrap his arms around him. “No hitting on my husband.”
“If you wanted to save me from being hit, why don’t you stop slappy over there,” Jesse groused, pointing to Vail, who had slapped Jesse when Jesse had brought up Vail’s cousin’s sex life earlier. “I think I’m going to have a bruise.”
Parker gave the spot Jesse rubbed on his arm a kiss. “You’ll live, angel.” When Parker’s large frame straightened once more, he stared hard at Vail. “But no more hitting my sweet angel, got it?”
Vail stood his ground. “Only if he stops talking about Macon’s sex life.”
Jesse smirked. “I would think you’d be happy to know someone is tapping your cousin’s ass. I mean, if nothing else, it should put him in a better mood.”
Just as Vail pulled his arm back to slug Jesse again, a hand grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Hold on there, little flame,” Lakota, Vail’s boyfriend, said. “As much as Jesse
probably deserves to get punched, I really don’t want to have to fight with Parker.”
Vail glanced over his shoulder at his boyfriend. “But he keeps talking about Macon’s sex life.” Vail gave a shudder as if the thought were too much for him to handle. “It’s just gross.”
Lakota chuckled and pulled Vail safely into his embrace. “Maybe, but that still doesn’t warrant you hitting him.”
Vail pouted. “How else am I supposed to get him to shut up?”
The smile that Lakota gave Vail was just as wicked as Jesse’s. “By fighting fire with fire, of course.” Then he looked at Jesse. So it’s my understanding that Chastity and her boyfriend are quite loud and adventurous when it comes to having sex, especially when they are in the park.”
Jesse clapped his hands over his ears when Lakota mentioned his sister-in-law’s sex life and started singing, “La la la la la.”
This was why Syn was going to miss these men. They never failed to have a good time. “I really am going to miss all of you,” Syn told them sincerely.
“Then you’ll have to come and visit us,” Aidan said with his husband, Zane by his side. Aidan was the reason Syn was friends with these men and he would forever be grateful. “I still can’t believe you quit. I honestly thought you were married to this job.”
“Sadly, I was.” That was part of the problem. “Now it’s time to find the same happiness you all have found.”
“Do you know where PJ is?” Stone, one of Titan’s best security men, asked when he and his husband, Griffith, joined the group.
“Yeah. I hired a private investigator to not only find him but make sure he wasn’t involved with someone. As much as I believe PJ is the one for me, I don’t want to hurt him by breaking up a relationship. Thankfully, he’s currently single.” Syn had been shaking when he’d read the report the private investigator had sent him. As much as he wanted PJ to be happy, he’d wanted to be the man to make PJ happy even more.
