by CJ Turner
“I won’t repeat myself,” said the bodyguard. “Move away from Mr. Grant.”
Manu didn’t care about what the muscle man said because he was too worried about Alister. He scanned the area and spotted his backpack where he had dropped it. He started to move toward it from his crouch when the security man stepped forward, pointing the gun at Manu’s heart.
“Stop right there.”
“Are you an idiot?” snapped Manu. “I need to get an air canister for Alister. It’s in my backpack. Check for yourself.”
The bodyguard held a wary eye on Manu as he bent his knees and picked up the pack. One-handed, he pulled the zipper and reached around. He pulled out one of the green-capped canisters Manu carried for emergencies. He held it and glanced at Alister, who struggled for breath and offered the canister to Manu.
“If you stop sticking that gun in my face, that will help,” said Manu.
Reluctantly, the man lowered his weapon, and Manu retrieved the oxygen can from his hand. He rushed to Alister and held the can to him.
“Deep breaths, buddy.”
Alister sucked in the oxygen once and again. His color didn’t return, but at least he stopped gasping. Manu pulled up Alister’s wrist and checked his heart rate. He looked to the security man. “He needs medical care. There is a hospital in Boulder with a helipad. Can you get him there?”
“I’m fine,” insisted Alister.
“You are not fine,” said Manu.
“You can be sure I will,” said the bodyguard. “Please, Mr. Grant. Your parents are frantic with worry.”
“Who gave me up? That rat fink Daniel, I suppose.” Despite his distress, Alister puckered his face looking put out as if someone betrayed him.
“No, sir. I traced your phone to your friend’s house. You should know, sir, that you can trace a phone even when it’s turned off.”
“No, you can’t,” said Alister. “I checked it out.”
“Sir, you forget where I used to work. I have resources.”
Manu watched this exchange in astonishment. Who was this gun-toting man who had “resources?” Why did Alister act like this was an ordinary course of events? Manu never had a gun leveled on him before this day and, had he not been so worried about Alister, he would have been more frightened.
“Go with him,” said Manu. “You need a doctor to look at you.”
“Okay, but only if you come to the hospital.” Alister gave him a hopeful look, and Manu took Alister’s hand.
“Sure,” he said. “I have to return the horses and make the drive. It will take a while. Go. I’ll check on you later.”
Alister nodded his head, and Manu helped him stand. Alister tried to return the can, but Manu pushed it back.
“Take it. And for God’s sake, do what they tell you at the hospital.”
“I will,” said Alister. “See you soon, right?”
“Sure,” said Manu.
Manu watched Alister walk away, supported by his bodyguard. And he found he disliked another man’s arms around Alister. This shocked him because he was not a jealous person. And really, he hadn’t had that much time with the twink.
He mounted Thunder and grabbed Sally’s reins for the long trek back to Mrs. Thurman’s. He worried each mile about Alister and wondered if he should go to the hospital. That bodyguard was over the top, and Manu did not enjoy the idea of facing him again. But he decided that he should check on Alister. With that decision made, he relaxed the remainder of the ride.
But when he returned, he found a black SUV parked by his truck and a blue Maserati Ghibli a few spaces away. Manu scratched his head. He didn’t have any other clients booked. He saw Sargeant Pupper playing with Jack and knew to whom the SUV belonged. The Maserati, however, was still a mystery.
Upon seeing Manu, Jack flew toward him with Sarge following, both of them barking their greetings. Sebastian Brevard strode from the barn where Manu kept his office, and Mrs. Thurman followed, looking perplexed. Another person moved behind them in the barn’s inside shadow, but Manu didn’t take immediate notice. Instead, he stared at Sebastian, who walked toward him with his face full of storms.
“Where the hell is Alister?” demanded Sebastian. “And don’t tell me that he isn’t with you. His security detail barged in on me, confiscated his computer, and found the receipt for your little day trip.”
“I don’t see where any of that is your business, Brevard.”
“Manu,” said Mrs. Thurman. “If you know anything, tell him. The sheriff is looking for you to ask the same questions.”
“Sheriff?” This was craziness. Why would the sheriff care if Manu took a client on a tour? Everyone and his brother knew what Manu did for a living.
“His bodyguard found us on the mountain.” Which was a neat trick. He wondered how that happened.
“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Thurman. “A man did go into your office and got one of your tour brochures.”
Which would list the different routes Manu used.
“That would be me.”
Manu groaned when his former boyfriend, George, emerged from the barn. “What are you doing here, George?”
“Well, I had a favor to ask and couldn’t find you. Then the sheriff called me, asking if I had a clue as to where you were. I knew you’d have brochures here, so—”
“Martin, so help me, if you don’t tell me where Alister is—” said Sebastian in a dark tone.
“Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?” said Manu. “Alister isn’t your boyfriend. At least that is what he told me.”
“That doesn’t matter. You don’t fuck with the Grant family. No one does.”
“Oooh, the Grants?” said George. He pulled his hand through his long blond hair with his blue eyes lighting with excitement.
“And who are the Grants?” said Manu.
“Oh, babe,” said George. They make your rich family look like street beggars. They are the .001% that own the 1%. And if I remember correctly, their youngest son got kidnapped when he was seven—”
“Five,” said Sebastian.
“Okay, five. And it is ultra-difficult to meet any of them. If you aren’t part of their circle, you can forget it.”
Manu blinked. Alister kidnapped as a child? He could imagine an ultra-wealthy family out of their minds if a kid went missing. But Alister was no kid.
“If that’s true,” he said to Sebastian, “what is he doing here?”
Sebastian frowned.
“He said he had to get away, but he didn’t say why. When I talked to his sister Livvy, she said he disappeared during a barbecue. Almost got his bodyguard fired. So where the hell is he?”
“He’s on the way to the hospital in Boulder.”
“What!” Sebastian tore past him and climbed into his SUV. He opened the passenger door and called Sargeant Pupper, who leaped into the vehicle. He fishtailed on the gravel as he headed down the driveway.
Manu sighed and shook his head. He wanted to see Alister, but he didn’t want a scene at the hospital.
“Mrs. Thurman, can I impose on you? That is, George, if you don’t intend to take Jack back.
“Well, that’s why I wanted to talk to you.” George walked to Manu and put his hand on Manu’s chest. Manu scoffed. “What is it, George?”
“Weeeelll, you see, I met someone.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“But we’re jetting to France, so I’d appreciate it if you kept Jack. Look, I love him and all—”
Sure. Like you loved me.
“But I just can’t take him with me. So I thought—”
“No.”
“Bu—”
“It’s not fair to Jack. He needs one home and one master. You made it clear that wasn’t me.”
“I’ll be glad to sign his papers over to you.”
“He’s not a car. He loves you, though God knows why.”
“Now you’re acting spiteful. Please, Manu. I won’t ask you for anything again.”
Man
u looked at Jack, who looked up at him.
“Jack, do you want to live with me?”
“Woof!” barked Jack and thumped his tail. This was ridiculous. Jack didn’t know what he said.
“See, it’s settled,” said George. He pulled an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to Manu. “There are his papers and a notarized document saying I released ownership to you.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to run.” He rubbed Jack’s ruff with both hands. “You be a good boy for Manu. He’s a keeper, you know. I’m just no good at keeping anyone.”
Manu blinked. George never said anything like that or acknowledged why the relationship ended.
“Bye, sweetheart,” said George. “I’ll send you a postcard.”
With a wave of his hand, he dashed to the Maserati and wheeled out of the driveway. George pulled close to the fence, running along the drive in an odd maneuver, but didn’t stop. A white SUV drove up marked with the words “Shadow Mountain Sheriff Department.”
Sheriff Walter jumped out and walked toward Manu.
“I have a warrant for your arrest, Manu. I’d appreciate it if you’d make this easy, turn around and let me cuff you.”
Chapter Nine
Alister
On the morning of his second day in the hospital, Alister waited for the doctor to give the word on if Alister could leave. Alister felt fine, and he suspected his confinement was more at his father’s behest than medical need. But his father could be persuasive when he wanted. There was usually a large cash donation involved.
Sitting in his hospital bed, Alister stared at his Vertu Bentley phone Sebastian had brought him, checking on the social media posts he put up for Martin’s Mountain Tours. He had wanted to do something for Manu after the mountain man suffered the horror of Alister’s bodyguard pointing a gun at him. And he wanted to distract from his anger at Daniel, who surely must have ratted Alister out. Alister didn’t believe for a second his bodyguard could locate him from his switched-off phone and refused to take Daniel’s calls. Instead, Alister texted instructions to his PA.
The Insta page, under his massaging and a giveaway, had grown to 1,000 followers overnight. Facebook was a little trickier, but with ads, he grew those likes as well. Twitter lagged as it could. It required more following and unfollowing to build the number, but he got it a respectable 500 followers.
He had even started a blog and posted pictures there, but it was more for the ease of auto posting than anything else. A few blog platforms made that easy. The platform that Manu had chosen for his little blog was on a blog farm that did nothing to improve sales, but Manu obviously didn’t have a clue about building a blog. The only thing good about the platform Manu chose was that it offered a selling page where a client could book a tour, so Alister linked the blog he built to Manu’s selling page. Manu’s platform took a hefty percentage, though, and Alister hoped he could convince Manu to move everything to the new blog. Alister bought the dot-com name and paid for five years for the domain. That would instantly bump up the ranking once the search engines indexed the blog, but that could take a while. And he needed content, so he reached out to a freelancer he knew and bought twenty posts about taking tours in the Rockies. The guy was working on them now.
One of the biggest “likes” on Insta was the shot he took of Manu looking over his shoulder while riding Sally. And Alister had to admit, Manu looked damned handsome on that horse. He only wished Manu could have ridden him before the Grim Keeper showed up and dragged Alister away.
Bored and sad because Manu had not shown as promised, Alister plugged away at posting content. He had no way of knowing if it represented a bump in Manu’s business, but he hoped it would. He didn’t blame Manu for not showing. With his gun and threatening manner, the Grim Keeper put a dent in the whole ‘let’s seduce Manu’ thing. Still, Alister had hoped Manu would care enough to check on him.
A knock on the door raised his hopes but, instead, his doctor walked in.
“How are you feeling, Alister?”
“I’m great, Doctor Chase. I want to get out of here.”
“Well, let’s take a listen to your heart and see how it's doing.”
Alister sighed. He knew how his heart was doing—down and out because a certain mountain man didn’t show.
The doctor pressed his stethoscope to Alister’s chest, and as he did, Alister noticed a bracelet on the doctor’s wrist.
“Hey, I know what that bracelet is.”
“Um, hum,” said the doctor as he continued to listen. The doctor pulled back. “Well, I still hear the murmur I found yesterday, so when you get home, you should make an appointment with a cardiologist. I can give you a referral.”
“A murmur? What does that mean?”
“Most times, nothing big, and it can happen for several reasons. Now, what were you doing when the breathing problem popped up?”
Alister felt his face color. There was no way he would answer he had got done frotting a sexy mountain man when the attack came.
“I was on a horseback tour in Rocky Mountain National Park.”
“I see. Struggling in altitude means you probably shouldn’t try to go too high into the mountains until you get an answer on the health of your heart. We treat a murmur with medication and, depending on its cause—surgery. But it’s the mitral valve, which is the easiest one to treat.”
“Oh,” said Alister. He had always been in peak condition, and the thought he might have a physical defect did not appeal to him. His parents would lovingly interfere even more in his life. Alister didn’t want to think about it. Instead, he crooked his finger at the bracelet the doctor wore.
“You wear the hook away from your heart. That means you aren’t in a relationship.”
“That’s right. How do you know about it?”
“There is a legend in my family of the sea captain that founded our family in the colonies. Captain Grant brought a hook bracelet he had made for his wife in St. Croix and told her to wear it always, so no man got the idea the Captain wouldn’t come home to her.”
“That’s a great story. My mother met my father in St. Croix and gave this to him when they got married. He wore it every day until he, I mean, they passed.”
“I’m sorry,” said Alister. “It’s great you honor your father.”
“Thanks. I wear it to remind me to take their ashes to St. Croix, but the life of a doctor. I can’t seem to get away. I have to finish my rounds. I’ll write up your discharge papers, and the nurse will come in to go over them with you.”
“You’ve been awesome, Doctor Chase. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. You’ve been a great patient, and I appreciate that.”
Another knock at the door made Alister’s heart flip-flop hoping it was Manu, but Sebastian entered.
“How are you doing?” he said.
“Great. The doctor is discharging me.”
Sebastian shot the doctor a concerned glance.
“Should he?”
Dr. Chase shrugged his shoulders. “There is nothing more I can do for him here. We discussed his next steps and his limitations. Okay, Alister. Take care.”
“Thanks, Doc.” The handsome doctor walked from the room, and then Sebastian whirled on him.
“Limitations?” he hissed.
Alister huffed. “Geez, would you settle down? He told me I have a heart murmur as if it’s any of your business. It’s probably congenital, and often they don’t show up until your body experiences stress. It’s not serious. I won’t die. You can stand down on the Alister Grant health watch now.”
“And just what are your limitations?”
“I shouldn’t go too high up in the mountains until a cardiologist looks at it. Do you know one? You seem like you might with the way your eye twitches when I talk about heart problems.”
“Stop. I do not know a cardiologist. At least not for my health. I do have a client—”
“Of course,” Alister sighed. “Well, send Daniel his number so
he can arrange the appointment.”
“Are you going home?”
“And risk a plane? Those go higher than a ride in the mountains. I think not. I have Daniel looking for an apartment for me here in Boulder.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” said Sebastian. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that. And I have more than enough room.”
“No, no. I appreciate you taking me in, but I shouldn’t impose any longer. And since my parents know where I am, I have access to my usual resources.”
Sebastian stared at him with suspicion. “You’re not staying here for your health, are you?”
Alister fanned his face. “I do not know what you are talking about.”
“Look, Manu can’t see you.”
“What do you mean?”
Sebastian looked away. “Forget I said that.”
“What have you done, Sebastian Brevard?”
“Me? Nothing. The sheriff arrested him.”
“What? Tall, Dark, and Grim, get in here!”
His bodyguard stuck his head inside the door. “Mr. Grant, I do have a name.”
“What happened to Manu Martin? Why did the sheriff arrest him?”
“The charge was third-degree assault,” said his bodyguard.
“What? Where are my clothes? We’re getting out of here now.” Alister flung his sheets off him and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He waved Sebastian away. “Out. I don’t need gawkers while I dress.”
“Wait,” said Sebastian. “He can’t see you. There is a restraining order.”
“That’s utterly ridiculous. Who asked for one?”
“Your lawyer.”
“My lawyer? Who is behind that? My father?” Alister was all shades of indignant now. “Out, both of you, now.”
Alister stood with his hands on his hips while the two men left the room. Then he picked up his phone and dialed Daniel’s number immediately.
“Alister. Thank God. I thought you were angry with me.”
“I have bigger problems right now. Here is a list of things I want you to do, and I need them done now.”
