How did he know Kieran was here? If he stayed quiet, he’d probably leave, but then he was bound to come back. If he did that when Derek was here, fuck knows what could happen between those two. He knew Derek blamed Grant in part for what had happened. He heard the front door open. What the fuck? Panicking, he headed up the stairs.
“Kieran, get the fuck down here. We need to talk.”
That was a voice you couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t the friendly guy who took Kieran for breakfast that morning, or the flirty one who’d offered him the night of his life; this was the mob boss. Kieran walked back down the stairs. His entire body was shaking.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Kieran. I just want to know what’s going on. Why did you quit?”
“He didn’t,” said a familiar voice.
Grant spun around to face Derek.
“You know it’s a crime to break into people’s houses, and you’ve been caught on camera.”
“Have I?” asked Grant.
Derek took out his phone and tapped it a few times. “What the fuck? How have you done that?”
“Don’t insult me by asking stupid questions. Now, shall we sit down and have a civilised conversation?”
“No,” said Derek. “You can get the fuck out of my house. You’ve done enough damage. I won’t hesitate to call the police.”
Grant chuckled. “I’d like to see you try. And what have I done to Kieran, other than given him an opportunity he threw back in my face?”
“You left him with a fucking rapist!” Derek shouted.
Grant’s eyes widened. Derek was breathing heavily, his fists balled. Kieran was still shaking all over. Grant looked at him, and Kieran couldn’t help but recoil from him. The man he’d naïvely thought was “alright” now terrified him.
“Do you want to tell me what happened, Kieran?” His voice was softer.
Kieran shook his head and nodded at Derek. His legs felt wobbly, so he sat on the bottom stair. He knew Grant wouldn’t leave until they told him, but Kieran couldn’t do it again. Telling Derek and then Hassan had been enough for him. He was fine with Derek doing all the talking.
“Carl and Kieran had met before. Just a couple of hookups. The second time he got heavy-handed. Remember when you asked if I was the one who’d caused the bruises on Kieran’s arms?”
Grant nodded.
“That was him. He then tried to drag Kieran into the back of my club, even though he was saying his safe word.”
Grant looked at Kieran. He looked angry, but he knew it wasn’t directed at him.
“He then kept hassling Kieran online, and he had to block him on everything. He uses Domtop69 as his profile, but the guy is no dom, he’s a fucking predator.”
“Kieran, why didn’t you tell me when we had breakfast?”
Kieran flinched, not sure what to say. Derek moved closer to Grant, his fists still balled. Did he have a death wish or something?
“He’s one of your men, Grant, and you brought him into the shop. What was he supposed to think?”
“Back the fuck up, Derek, and tell me the rest.”
The tone of his voice left no room for debate. Kieran could see Derek was shaking with rage. Grant looked composed, but his eyes showed he was furious about what he was hearing. What was making him angry? Kieran didn’t know if itwas what Carl had done, or Derek making accusations about one of his men.
“He waited until everyone had left and came back to the shop. Offered to clear the air with Kieran and gave him a drink which he’d spiked. I think you can work out the rest. He turned all the lights off and just left Kieran on the floor.”
Grant looked at Kieran again. He was fuzzy because his eyes were watering. He heard Grant take a deep breath.
“Kieran, I know my apology will mean fuck all to you, but I can promise you I’ll deal with this.”
Grant went to speak, then turned to leave. Kieran hadn’t seen the man lost for words before.
