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And that was it. Charlie left, softly closing the door behind him.
No big explosion. No shouting and throwing dishes. He didn’t even get to toss Charlie’s clothes out the window to the streets below, because he never left anything at Will’s apartment despite constantly staying there.
It wasn’t the quiet that bothered him. It was that Charlie didn’t even try to fight for him, for what they had.
Present day
Now, he was stuck in a car with Charlie, heading to only God knew where, and eventually they would have to talk to each other. He hated to admit that curiosity was chewing on him. How in the world did Charlie end up in the middle of this? Could Charlie have some business with Benicio Perez or the Perez family?
That would be bad. The Perez family was nothing but trouble for all of Argentina.
It was on the tip of his tongue to warn Charlie about dealing with the Perez family, but then he clearly remembered the ease with which Charlie, Westin, and Edison moved with those guns. Charlie had mentioned Kairo’s name as they were moving about the clinic. The other man must have been supporting them remotely.
What the fuck is going on?
Thankfully, Charlie pulled up to a quaint two-story house in a quiet neighborhood before they had to start talking to each other. Charlie killed the engine and got out of the car, leaving Will to follow. With a sigh released between clenched teeth, Will climbed out and trudged up to the house.
As he stepped inside, Kairo’s smiling and slightly shocked face immediately greeted him.
“Holy shit! Doc Will, it is you. I know Charlie said it was you, but I couldn’t wrap my brain around it,” Kairo shouted.
“Good to see you,” Will murmured, sticking his hand out.
The man snorted, batted it away, and pulled Will into a tight hug. Kairo had always struck him as being too nice to be stuck with this group of delinquents—but then, nothing seemed to ruffle Kairo’s feathers.
Kairo released him from the hug, only to hold him by the shoulders. “That being said, how the fuck did you get mixed up in this crazy shit?”
“Yeah, Doc Will, how did you get pulled into the center of a shooting?” Charlie drawled from where he stood glaring at him from the middle of the living room. His arms were folded over his chest and his biceps were straining the long-sleeved, blue cotton shirt he wore. The stupid part of Will’s brain might have sighed a little. Charlie had always looked so good in blue. All shades of blue.
Why did time have to be so kind to this man? It was like he’d magically grown hotter for every year that passed. It was terribly unfair. Will was quite sure his new wrinkles and sprinkling of gray hair only made him appear older, not more attractive.
“I’m not in the middle of a shooting,” Will countered stiffly. “In case you didn’t notice, I work at a free health clinic. That means that I see all manner of injuries and illnesses. If I ask too many questions, people who need me won’t come in out of fear. It’s more important to me to save lives than to pry into their private lives.”
“And do those injuries include bullet holes?” Charlie growled.
“Occasionally.”
Charlie narrowed his eyes on him. He knew that look. He was treading on very thin ice, but that didn’t explain why his heart skipped a beat and his mouth suddenly grew dry. It was nothing. So, his ex was hot. Big deal. He was also a domineering, lying asshole.
“What the fuck, Will?” Charlie exploded, throwing his arms up in the air.
Behind him, he heard Kairo’s footsteps hurry down the hall to another part of the house. Coward. Trying to get out of the line of fire and leaving Will on his own. He hadn’t seen Charlie lose his temper often when they’d been dating, but when he had, it was a scattershot method. Anyone who was within eyesight stood a chance of getting hit even if they hadn’t caused the problem in the first place.
Will crossed his arms over his chest, closing himself off to his former lover. “What would you like to discuss, Charlie? Why I’m in Buenos Aires? Does that mean you’re willing to talk about why you and your friends are here? Or how about why you, West, and Ed are so adept at using guns? Almost with a kind of military precision. Has the IT business gotten that cutthroat?”
Watching Charlie deflate in front of his eyes was a high he’d never felt before in his life. Charlie was an expert at deflection and evasion, but the man knew he was fucking trapped this time.
“We’re not talking about me—”
“We’re never talking about you!” Will snarled. “And you know what? We’re not talking about me, either. You gave up the right to have any interest in my life years ago.”
