Page 48 of Glow

“This is truly a rare situation,” the man argued.

“I don’t care how often it happens, once was enough for it to happen to me,” Dan said.

The other man sighed. “All right. I will take care of the refund and explain it to my manager. We will expect to hear from the police. Thank you for letting us know.”

The call ended, and Dan looked to Quinn with a look of tired satisfaction. “Well, at least that went sort of okay-ish. Surprised he didn’t already know.”

“You did great holding the line,” Quinn told him. “You can always post a review if they jerk you around, and maybe the manager didn’t have time to talk to the staff yet.”

Dan looked around at the jumble in the living room, where they had piled all the stuff from his hotel room. “Just let me know where you want me to put things,” he told Quinn. “I can do this by myself. You need to go to work.”

Quinn shook his head. Dan was safe now, but he looked understandably shaken. If Quinn was honest with himself, he also needed the reassurance that his lover wasn’t in danger.

“I don’t take many personal days,” he replied. “I’ll tell my boss what happened, and if he doesn’t just give me the day off, then I’ll swap it. That way we can put things away together.”

Dan kissed him, eyes shining with gratitude. “Thank you. I didn’t want to ask, but I’m glad you’re staying with me. I’m sort of a mess right now.”

Quinn hugged him tight. “That’s a perfectly normal reaction. To be honest, I’m feeling a little off my game, too. Let’s work things away, and then we can figure out dinner.”

They turned on an upbeat playlist and chatted as they unpacked Dan’s belongings. “When you’re to go back to Dover to take care of the rest of your stuff and the house, I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks.” Dan folded his clothing and placed it in the dresser drawers Quinn had emptied for him. “I brought everything that was personal and essential. Most of what I left came from my grandfather and my dad’s place, but I’ll think about what I might want to keep. If you’re with me, you can help me decide.”

Now wasn’t the time to say it, but Quinn thought it actually worked out well that Dan’s unplanned move happened before he had completely unpacked and gotten settled, since it was clear that they were going to move in together sooner rather than later.

“Thank you again for letting me move in on short notice,” Dan told him.

Quinn stepped up behind Dan and pulled him close. “I love you. I want you to be safe. And I’m going to do everything I can to keep you that way.”

“Love you too,” Dan replied.

Quinn's phone rang. “It's Liam, I'll put it on speaker,” he said before greeting his caller. “Hey, Liam, I’ve got Dan here with me. What's up?”

“Thought you’d want to know that the podcasters, Sutton and Sullivan, were arrested based on the information I filed and complaints by others,” Liam replied. “The court has ordered them to stop the podcasts until the charges are dealt with. Dan’s not the only one to be a target, and the others have brought some pretty serious lawsuits.”

“Think anything will happen to them?” Quinn asked.

“From what my sources told me, it seems likely at least some of the charges and damages will stick,” Liam replied. “How that translates into restrictions or penalties remains to be seen, but it’s a good start. And now that they’re on the community’s radar, they’ll be monitored if they try anything again.

“I did find something else out while I was looking into Sutton,” Liam went on. “He accepts money for sponsorships and ads. Some of the companies he’s featured are in legal trouble for being scams or at least under delivering. If they have to pull out their support, he might not be able to afford to keep broadcasting or be forced to cut back on his reach. Sullivan was a little cleaner, but not by much.”

“Fingers crossed,” Dan said. “Thank you.”

“I think I mentioned that I know some private investigators who specialize in supernatural cases,” Liam replied. “I’m feeding them information about Harrison, Sullivan, and Sutton as well. They have some pretty extensive contacts in places I don’t, so I’m hoping we’ll get enough serious dirt on these guys to shut them down for good. It would be a community service.”

“Thanks,” Quinn echoed. “And let me know when you want me to come read nature books to the kids’ reading program. I can bring some park ranger show-and-tell stuff too.”

“Working on possible dates right now, can’t wait.” Liam paused. “I still have some leads to run down on the bounty hunter, so I’ll be back in touch. Stay safe. Talk to you soon.”

He ended the call. Dan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Talk to me,” Quinn said after giving Dan a few minutes to regroup.

“It’s good news that Liam’s finding solid information to help the sheriff and the lawsuits,” Dan replied. “I just hope it comes together fast enough to make sure the podcasters and Harrison stay off our tails.”

“Sutton and Sullivan sound like they’ve got a world of trouble to deal with,” Quinn said. “I’d be surprised if they come after you again soon. With Harrison, all bets are off. He’s in the wind, and he knows how to disappear. I’m wondering if he’s ex-special forces or ex-intelligence. That would go along with the paranoia.”

“It seems like an awful lot of fuss just because I need to change my skin and run around in the woods every so often,” Dan observed.