by G. R. Lyons
“Vic?” He waited, but when he didn't get an answer, Ryley inched the door open, wondering if Vic was asleep. He found Vic in bed, but the man was just lying there, staring up at the ceiling. “You alright, babe?”
Vic nodded once, but didn't say anything.
“Alright. Well…I'm off to bed. Did you set your alarm or do you want me to–”
“Ry?” Vic glanced at him, clearly hesitant. “Would you stay with me?”
Ryley took a moment before he answered. This was probably a really bad idea, and Ryley was missing Asher like crazy, but this was Vic, after all, and Vic was in serious pain. Ryley put on a smile and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “Yeah, of course.”
He slipped into bed at Vic's side, then held the man when Vic turned toward him and rested his head on Ryley's shoulder. Ryley took a deep breath and let out a sigh. Gods, he'd missed this.
But he missed Asher, too, oddly enough. More than he thought he might.
What the hells was he going to do?
* * *
RYLEY STROLLED into the office the next morning and was greeted with cheers and applause.
The entire office got to their feet, leaving their desks and coming over to shake Ryley's hand and congratulate him on a successful find. The Ardens were a high-profile family. This was definitely going to be a case that was talked about for months.
“Where's Vic?” several people asked. “We wanted to congratulate him as well.”
Ryley shrugged. “He stayed home. Wasn't feeling too good.”
And that was putting it lightly. He hadn't even been able to get Vic out of bed. The alarm had gone off, and Ryley had found Vic just lying there, staring up at the ceiling, still looking completely numb. There was no way the man could have functioned at work.
Considering what had happened, Ryley figured Vic could use a few days to recover before diving back into things.
The boss stepped out of his office to shake Ryley's hand, congratulating him, then the man held up his hands and called out, “Listen up!” The whole office fell silent. “I'd like to remind everyone that not one word of this case leaves this office. The Arden family deserve their privacy while they recover from this ordeal, so I'll ask each of you to respect that by not spreading gossip around town. Gods know it'll get out eventually, but let's allow them to do so in their own time.”
“Yes, sir,” several voices replied.
“Good. Thank you. Alright, back to work.”
Clerks and agents scurried about, going back to their cubicles. Ryley did the same, but before he could set out his files and take a seat, he noticed an evidence box sitting in the middle of Vic's desk.
That was weird. What was an evidence box doing sitting there when Vic hadn't been in the office to request it?
“Hey,” Ryley called to a clerk who breezed by. “What's this doing here?”
The clerk stopped, juggling a stack of files in his arms. “Oh. Evidence from some old case. Mr. Lucius called last week to request it be pulled from the file room on the day he returned. Said he wanted to review it for something.”
Ryley frowned. So Vic had planned to get right back to work after getting Asher home. At least, he had been prior to getting the call about Cam.
“He's not coming in,” Ryley told the clerk. “He's taking a sick day.”
“Oh. Well, I can put it back after I get these delivered,” the kid said, nodding at the files.
“Yeah, sure.” Ryley waved the clerk away, and the kid rushed off. Ryley eyed the box, curiosity getting the better of him. What old case could Vic have been thinking about while they were all the way over on Erostil? And why would he suddenly want to review an old case when there were bound to be new ones to handle once they got back?
Ryley set down his things and walked over to the box. Like all their evidence collections, the box was only labeled with contract and case numbers. No names. The point was to protect the client's privacy in case a box was pulled out of the evidence room and held there in the bullpen for review, right where anyone could see. Ryley glanced at the numbers, but they didn't mean anything to him other than the case code indicating the evidence was from over twenty years ago.
His eyebrows went up. Now he was really confused. He could understand Vic reviewing a case that was a couple months—maybe even a couple years—old, but not something that went back two decades. Ryley glanced around the office, then flipped back the lid.
Ryley's breath caught in his throat. In the box, on top of a stack of case files, was a clear evidence bag. Ryley reached in and lifted the bag with shaky hands.
The bag held a blood-stained knife.
Images from Ryley's nightmare slashed through his mind. Looming figures. Screams. Cries. Blood. Blood everywhere, soaking his skin, filling his lungs. Ryley dropped the evidence bag back into the box and slammed the lid back in place, squeezing his eyes shut and gasping for breath.
He didn't wait for the clerk to return. Ryley hefted the box and carried it back down to the evidence room himself, finding the empty spot where it was normally stored and shoving it into place. He stumbled back, feeling oddly unsettled, though he couldn't explain why. It just didn't make any sense.
He knew that knife. Though, how that was possible, he couldn't even begin to say.
Chapter 14
RYLEY GLANCED at Vic's door on the way to his own bedroom. They'd been back from Erostil for over a week, and Vic had hardly left the room. Ryley was pretty sure the man hadn't even really left the bed. He didn't want to disturb Vic, but this was starting to get ridiculous.
He knocked on the door. “Vic?”
There was no answer, so Ryley turned the handle and peeked inside. Sure enough, Vic was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He was wearing the same t-shirt he'd put on to sleep in the day they'd gotten home, and between the stubble on Vic's face and the greasy mess of his hair, Ryley was pretty sure the man hadn't been up to shower even once.
Ryley sighed. “Come on, Vic. You've gotta stop this.”
“I can't, Ry,” Vic mumbled, not even looking at him.
Ryley crossed the room and perched on the edge of the bed, right next to him. “Vic, you've been in this bed all week. Clearly, you haven't showered, and something tells me you haven't eaten, either.” He saw a slight grimace cross Vic's face, which was enough to tell him that he was right. “Look, I'm sorry about Cam. I know you're hurting. But you can't just stay in bed forever. You can't waste away like this.”
“Why not?” Vic asked. “I failed him, Ry. I failed him again. What's the point? Cam was the reason I did…everything. Who am I without that? What's the point of even living?”
Ryley sighed again. What could he possibly say? Vic was the comforting therapist type. Ryley had absolutely no idea what he could tell Vic that would get him out of that bed.
Vic was silent for a long while, then slowly reached out and touched Ryley's hand. “Ry…”
Ryley looked at him and saw dark, raw need pushing through the grief on Vic's face.
Before Ryley could say anything, Vic sat up and yanked Ryley into a kiss.
“Mmmph.” Ryley flailed for a moment, then shoved Vic back. “Vic, no.”
Vic frowned. “Why not?”
Besides the fact that you reek? He shook his head. “I think…I want to try to be with Asher now.”
Vic narrowed his eyes. “So?”
Ryley blinked. “So? Seriously? I'm not gonna cheat on him, Vic. Not when he's so fragile.”
Vic shrugged. “Never stopped you before.”
Ryley's jaw dropped, and he shot up from the bed, pacing the room. Inhale, one. Exhale, two. Gods damn it all, the man had a point, but still…
“So you can cheat on me but you can't cheat on him?” Vic asked.
“Victor,” Ryley barked, then huffed out a breath and covered his face, fighting for patience. Inhale, one. He dropped his hands and shot Vic a look. “I'd say I'm sorry again—sorry I cheated on you—but that's not even
the point. I'm sorry about Cam. I'm sorry you're hurting. But right now, you are throwing your life away. There are probably lost kids out there, waiting for you to save them, and you're lying here, doing nothing. What about them, Vic? Would Cam want that? Would he want you to just give up like this? Give up on them? There are still people you can save. I don't think Cam would want you to leave them to suffer.”
All the anger drained out of Vic's face, and he sank back against the headboard, his eyes shimmering with fresh tears. He swallowed hard, then sniffed and nodded.
“I'll go out tomorrow and find somewhere to live,” Vic mumbled, not looking at him. “And I'll…come back to work.”
Ryley sighed. “Good. That's good.” He gave Vic's hand a squeeze. “You've got this, Vic. I know it's hard, but it's gonna be alright.”
Vic nodded, still not looking at him.
“Alright.” Ryley stepped back. “Now why don't you get up and take a shower?”
Vic hesitated, then nodded again and got out of bed, heading for the washroom. Ryley reached for the sheets, getting ready to drag them off the bed. Gods knew they needed a washing in the worst way.
“Don't,” Vic said. Ryley stopped and looked over his shoulder at the man. “I'll get it.”
Ryley let go of the sheets. “Alright.” They stood there awkwardly for a moment. “I think I'll go see Asher. See how he's doing. Give you some time alone.”
Vic nodded once more and disappeared into the washroom.
Ryley heard the shower come on, and left the room. With any luck, by the time he got home, Vic would resemble something like his usual self.
At the moment, though, he just wanted to see Asher. He still loved Vic, and probably always would, and even though there was a part of him that wanted Vic back, that argument—and especially that kiss—threw everything into perspective for him. He didn't want to be with Vic anymore. He wanted to be with Asher. They barely knew each other, but Ryley didn't care. He was sure of exactly where he wanted to be.
* * *
ASHER SAT on the couch in his uncle's house—rather, one of the couches, since the place was so big that there were several couches in multiple rooms—and stared out the window at the pool in the backyard. He and Uncle Greg had been watching a movie between his uncle's conference calls, giving them both a few hours respite from the whirlwind of activity that had defined Asher's first week back on Agoran. Between visiting multiple doctors, a therapist, a nutritionist, the bank, and a school, amongst other things, Asher felt as though they hadn't stopped moving except to sleep.
And he was definitely feeling it. He had no plans to get up off that couch any time soon, if he could help it. His brain felt on the verge of complete overload.
Except that he was missing Ryley bad, and he hadn't heard a word from the man since they'd gotten back. Asher grabbed a pillow and crossed his arms over it, crushing it to his chest. Ryley must have gotten back together with Vic, or started up some other affair. He'd just have to accept it.
Considering Ryley had admitted himself that he had a history of cheating and promiscuity, Asher was probably nothing more than a fling for him. Sure, Ryley had said he wanted to see where this might go, but that was probably just a feeling of the moment talking. Ryley couldn't possibly be serious about him. Now he was sure of it.
“Ash, we have a visitor,” his uncle called.
Asher looked up and saw Uncle Greg smirking at him, and as the man walked into the family room, another figure followed.
Asher jumped up. “Ryley?”
Ryley grinned at him. “Hey, Ash. How's it going?”
Asher took a step forward, then stopped himself. He wanted to touch the man, hug him, kiss him, drag him off to bed and get him naked, but he couldn't do any of those things, not if circumstances had changed between them.
“Mr. Skye and I were just discussing your progress,” Uncle Greg said, and Asher's heart sank further. His uncle's words just confirmed Asher's suspicions. Ryley was only there to see how he was adjusting. Uncle Greg checked his watch. “You know, I should be getting a call from Kadyr here any minute. Why don't you two have a visit without me?”
Ryley frowned, looking at Uncle Greg. “Kadyr?”
“My head of security at the casino,” Uncle Greg said. “You know him?”
“That name sounds familiar– Oh! Vas-kelen?”
“Yes, actually.”
Ryley nodded. “He's the uncle of–” Ryley paused, and Asher was pretty sure he saw a hint of a blush on the man's cheeks. “Um, this guy I know.”
“Ah,” Uncle Greg said, chuckling. “Small world, eh?” His phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket to check the screen. “If you'll both excuse me. Ash, I'll be in my office if you need anything.”
Asher gave him a nod, and Uncle Greg turned away, answering his phone as he walked off. He watched his uncle go, then looked at Ryley.
“This guy you know?” he asked, unable to resist curiosity.
Ryley grimaced, hesitated, then sighed. “The guy I cheated on Vic with.” He paused, then added in a mumble, “One of the guys.”
Asher nodded once, chewing his lip and crossing his arms over his chest.
Ryley took a step toward him. “Ash, I'm trying not to do that anymore. I swear.”
Asher looked at him from under his eyelashes. “You don't owe me any explanations.”
“Yeah, I do,” Ryley insisted, taking another step. “I like you, Ash. And I'm so sorry I haven't been to see you. Work's just been so crazy, and Vic was a mess–” He broke off and sighed. “I'm gonna be honest with you: Vic kissed me.” He held up his hands and hurried to add, “But nothing else happened, I swear. The poor guy was just so hurt, and looking for comfort, but I stopped him and–” He shook his head, sighing again. “Gods, I missed you so much, actually, but I couldn't just leave him like that, you know? Not after what happened.”
Asher nodded again. “He did look pretty messed up.”
“He was. Still is. Cam was–” Ryley stopped, looking out the window, frowning in thought, then turned back to Asher. “He'd probably kill me for telling you this, but…” Ryley paused, took a deep breath, and launched into a story, telling Asher all about Cam and why Vic had wound up so utterly devastated. The more Ryley spoke, the more stunned Asher felt, his eyes going wide and his jaw hitting the floor.
“Oh my gods,” Asher breathed when Ryley finally finished. “That's…”
“Awful, I know,” Ryley said, and Asher nodded agreement. “I couldn't leave him after that.”
Asher nodded again. After hearing that story, he couldn't blame the man. He definitely would have done the same in Ryley's position.
“But nothing happened, Ash, I swear,” Ryley went on. “And nothing's going to.” He closed the distance between them and reached for Asher's hands. “I think I want to be with you. Only you.” He laughed. “I barely know you and it doesn't make any sense, but…Gods, I can't stop thinking about you.”
Asher blew out the breath he was holding and pulled Ryley into his arms. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” Ryley murmured, burrowing in close before tilting his head up for a kiss.
Asher was all too happy to comply. He bent down, clutching Ryley tightly as he explored Ryley's mouth with his tongue. Ryley whimpered and shifted his stance, brushing their hard cocks against one another, making Asher even more desperate to get them both naked as soon as possible.
He blushed and looked around, then grabbed Ryley's hand. “Come with me.”
Ryley grinned and followed.
They dashed upstairs to Asher's bedroom, locked the door, and fell into bed, clothes scattering everywhere in their hurry to get undressed.
Ryley gasped. “Wait…” He scrambled off the bed, snatched up his pants, and pulled out his wallet. “Shit.” He dropped the wallet and looked at Asher. “Please tell me you have condoms here.”
Asher blushed and pointed at the nightstand. “Uncle Greg brought me some.” Ryley's eyebrows went
up, so Asher said, “I must have said something about you or…”
Ryley grinned and swooped in for a kiss, then darted over to the nightstand and pulled out a box of condoms and a bottle of lube. Asher blushed even more. Uncle Greg was the only person Asher had ever directly come out to, but that had been thirteen years ago, back before he went missing. The fact that his uncle not only remembered that fact but accepted it—to the point of making sure Asher was prepared in case of having a guy in his room—was touching, even if it was embarrassing as all seven hells.
At the moment, though, he couldn't help but be thankful. Sooner than Asher thought possible, he was pushing his sheathed cock into Ryley's hole, feeling on the verge of crying at the incredible sensation.
Gods, he'd missed this.
“Ry…”
“Ash– Fuck.” Ryley writhed beneath him. “Gods, babe, feels so good– Fuck. Oh gods. Yes, right there…”
Asher moaned, completely enthralled by the feeling of Ryley's body and the look on Ryley's face, watching the man come undone beneath him. How had he survived so long without experiencing this? Granted, he hadn't known what he was missing, but now that did, he couldn't imagine living without it ever again. The exquisite pleasure was so far beyond anything Asher had ever imagined that he was still half-convinced it wasn't quite real. It was too perfect to be real.
Ryley came first, and as beautiful a sight as it was, the effect was marred when a sharp pain stabbed through Asher's knee, forcing him to slow down his thrusts. After a moment, the pain ebbed, and Ryley smiled up at him, running his hands all over Asher's body.
“Come inside me, Ash,” Ryley murmured. “Fuck, babe, you're so hot like that.”
Asher groaned and shifted his weight, taking some more pressure off his knee, and he caught Ryley's smirk right before the man flexed his muscles, intentionally tightening around Asher's cock.
“Gods,” Asher gasped, and he let go, slamming into Ryley as the sensation pushed him over the edge. He bent down and braced himself on his arms, trying to catch his breath.
