Cash groaned as Dev veered off course from the facts with all that unnecessary information, making him wildly uncomfortable. He summarized it to move the story forward. “Dev made a sex tape of us without telling me.” For the record, if Cash had anything to say about it, his orgasm expression wasn’t going to be etched on any part of Dev’s body. “When Dev found out the truth about my employment, and why I was here, he watched the video on a loop to taunt me while on his government-issued cell phone.”
Cash rested a shoulder against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. The range of looks on Alec’s face was priceless, showing that he immediately understood the ramifications.
“Dev says he didn’t realize that everything, all audio and video, was being recorded. My peers saw the sex tape, my leads also saw it. People in the US Attorney General’s office saw it. I believe it’s still an active record.”
For the first time, Alec cracked a genuine smile that quickly turned into a laugh. He unwound himself from Keyes to laugh harder.
“The way he makes it sound…” Dev’s hand shot out toward Cash as if he could be talking about anyone other than him. “Seems like I should’ve known about my phone being DEA public record.” Dev couldn’t hold his annoyance due to the unfortunate hilarity of the situation. He started to laugh at himself. “But I didn’t know they had that kind of control over my screen.”
“Devilman.” Keyes was laughing now too, shaking his head. “You’re nothin’ but pure chaos.”
Cash didn’t disagree except to add, pure chaos, all the time.
“That may be true,” Dev shot out. “But if I’m chaos, Cash is my balance. He makes me wanna be a better man. And Keyes knows that those aren’t goals I’ve ever had for myself.”
“Yeah, same,” Keyes said, giving Dev a commiserating whack on the back.
As much as Cash enjoyed seeing the lighter side of Dev, now wasn’t the time to linger. He pushed off the doorframe, fisting his hands at his side, blocking his need to reach out and touch Dev as Alec touched Keyes so freely.
Keyes and Alec were his new relationship barometer. Their love was the real deal. It radiated off them and showed in every move they made. They were in sync with one another. Made to complete the other. If Cash could find the end to this case and life settled into normal, then perhaps he and Dev had a shot at the same thing.
Maybe. To live a life with Dev would require an infinite amount of patience on a level he wasn’t sure he possessed.
Exhaustion had Cash stifling a yawn that turned into a full-fledged, jaw-cracking, mouth-wide-open deal.
“So how do I help?” Keyes asked.
“You don’t.” Alec said the exact words in unison with Cash. Alec’s voice was more forceful.
The two bikers shared a look with each other that didn’t ring of obedience. Of course not. Cash scrubbed his hand down his face, wondering what those implications might mean.
“We’ll be going at it hard from this point forward,” Cash explained, trying to stop the havoc the two friends might cause the case as it trudged to some conclusion. “Keyes, the best thing for you to do is to keep to yourself, follow the court orders, and focus your attention on protecting Alec. I don’t know where all this is going to land. Let me do my job. Dev’s a lot to handle on his own…” Dev and Keyes exchanged another longer, more meaningful glance.
Then Keyes smirked at Dev who grinned broadly.
Whatever more he might say was going to be unheard. Those two had already devised a plan and sorted the outcome without saying a word. The only positive was Alec looked just as determined to keep Keyes out of the case.
They’d have to see what happened. Cash let go of a heavy breath. With his head first, most likely due to the extreme eye roll he gave, he turned to leave the bedroom. Dev’s bark of laughter followed him out, meaning Dev was reading him and mocking his reaction with uncanny accuracy.
Cash paused in the entry of the guest house, waiting for the rest of the crew to follow.
Dev came through the bedroom door first. His bright smile and easy gait spoke of the relief that came from having Keyes on his same page. These happy moments sent a flood of dopamine to Cash’s brain. The world faded as he stared at the most stunning man alive. Dev glanced at him then back at Keyes who followed Dev out the bedroom door.
Dev stopped midway down the hallway and looked back in Cash’s direction. Their gazes locked.
The biker’s handsome facial features softened the longer they stared at one another. Cash’s entire world walked toward him in all his natural swagger. Slightly bowed legs, thick thighs, and those tight jeans made the strut pure magic. Dev’s sun-kissed skin and heavily inked body lurked under the vintage jeans, T-shirt, and long-sleeve thermal. All the bangles and straps lining his wrists and neck helped bring the essence of the man to the forefront and helped tie Dev’s look together. The whole picture was sexy as hell.
If souls were in fact fated, his destiny was right there in front of him. He knew it now like he’d known as a young boy, fascinated with the bad boy from his childhood. The man Dev had become completely captivated him.
He swallowed the lump building in his throat. The fatigue and worry of the last few days, hell, the last few weeks, caused the emotion to settle differently over him. Exhaustion made his dry eyes sting as he fought the well of sentiment. The heavy weight of this case, and his job for that matter, was robbing him of the opportunity of doing everything he could to make this man his.
Dev’s brows lifted. The look in his eyes became quizzical the longer he stared, but the happy smile remained. The toothy grin was a rare treat. Cash forced his gaze away, opening the front door, welcoming the rush of cooler air. Dev’s hand touched his arm before he could take a full step outside.
He had to guard his heart before he turned back to Dev. A second or two passed before he glanced over his shoulder.
“You good?” Dev asked, scanning his face. “You look weird.”
Dev didn’t get it.
