Cash walked over to Dev, tugged at the fabric of his slacks to make room as he bent at the knee. Cash balanced on the balls of his feet, getting on Dev’s eye level. The man refused to glance his way.
“You need to look at me,” Cash said with a steely tone.
He waited several long moments before Dev’s hard, hate-filled glare landed on him. Rage, fueled by betrayal, danced like the devil behind Dev’s beautiful blue eyes. The very thing Cash had dreaded most was happening. Dev would never think of him the same again.
Cash pulled himself together enough to hold Dev’s stare. He tried to make his voice stern yet encouraging. “This is going to go one of two ways. You can work with me, and I’ll protect you. Or you can fight me and be put away for a very long time. It’s your choice.”
“I know my rights,” Dev growled. “And not one of you sorry motherfuckers have read ’em to me.”
“Oh no. You have no rights. I’m with the Attorney General Exempt Operations. Your rights ended the minute I stepped into this building. So which way is it going to be, Devin?”
“I should’ve left you to die on the street.” Dev spit at him again. This time, the gross wad landed on his dress shirt.
Cash let go of the breath he held and closed his eyes as he got to his feet.
“These guys know you got railed with a big, fat one up your ass?” Dev yelled.
Here they went. Hoping to curb the diatribe about the sex he and Dev had shared, Cash looked pointedly at Joe. “Gag him.”
“He sucked on my asshole like it was a fuckin’ Blow Pop. You sure drank my come every chance you got…”
The hurt building inside Cash made him lash out. “They know everything, Fox. You’ve been under constant surveillance since I moved in here. I hope the memories can keep you company as you sit in that cell all by yourself for the next thirty years.” Cash started toward his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. He heard a yelp and a slap and assumed Dev had gotten a chance to bite at one of the agents.
"Cash,” Joe said and started toward him. The confusion on the young agent’s face needed to be addressed, but not right now. He lifted a hand to Joe, stopping him from saying anything more. He’d explain when the time was right.
“This operation’s now under the control of the US Attorney General’s office. Under his authority, there’s no further communication with the local DEA office until I say so. Call Agent Fox. Get her over here. Tell her it’s time.”
He let the bedroom door fly shut behind him.
His heart hurt so damned badly.
Compartmentalize the pain. Think with a clear head.
It was hard to think at all with Dev handcuffed and sitting on the floor in the other room.
He scolded himself.You have to stop this. Dev was never going to be yours. You knew the consequences when you accepted this position. Pull it together. You have a job to do.
Cash continued to remove his shirt, folding it inside out.
If he were going to get through the next twenty-four hours, he was going to need all the help he could get.
Chapter 22
Dev’s blood boiled.
The rage consumed him and burned like acid through his veins.
What the fuck had he let happen?
How had Cash snuck so completely under his radar and made him fall hook, line, and sinker?
His stupid plan for the night was to walk into this apartment, carefully tell the man from his past that it was okay to be himself. He no longer had to hide or be afraid. Then he was going to ask that man for something more permanent. Whatever Cash needed, whatever rules he played by, Dev had decided to play by them too.
It had all been fairy tales and unicorns prancing around his head as he dreamed about his magnanimous idea to let Cash off the hook for his secrets, give him a safe space to be himself. He’d envisioned intimate meals, a clean house, and fantastic sexual quests in their future. He saw he and Keyes hanging out with their two normal guys, living a made-for-TV life. In the dream, Mae and Abi grew up well-adjusted and happy.
Less than thirty minutes ago, he’d been planting daisies in the front yard of his and Cash’s Southlake, Texas, home. Dev wanted to give Cash a beautiful life, making up for the cruelty and pain of his past. He’d been so lost in the concept of him and Cash and their coupling he hadn’t even fought Cash when he took him to the damn floor.
He’d thought it was their style of foreplay more than anything else.
