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“How did you, Cassie, and Jake meet?” Cole asked.
Phoenix laughed, but the sound was tinged with sadness. “I was working as a barista while I was at uni in Sydney. Jake was showing an office nearby and he stopped in for coffee. He ordered what the dude in front of him did. It was the most disgusting mismatched blend of tastes that I’d ever made. He really only wanted an espresso—it’s all he drinks—but he got tongue-tied around me and couldn’t think straight.” He knocked his shoulder into his husband’s and laughed when Jake wrapped an arm around his shoulders and planted a kiss to his temple.
“Completely lost my head. Couldn’t even string a sentence together.”
“Anyway, Cassie came in to chat me up the next day because Jake spoke to her about me. We got together but then lost contact. I moved up here a few years later and started working at the club. Addy met Jake and Cass at the housewarming next door and gave them a card for the club. We ran into each other that first night and the rest is history.”
Jake turned Phoenix’s face, his hand cupping his lover’s cheek. Phoenix’s eyes slipped closed as Jake pressed their lips together ever so gently. When he pulled back, he whispered something against Phoenix’s lips that prompted the other man to nod and kiss him again. It was chaste, nothing more than a slow press of lips together, but the love between them was captivating, and like ripples in a pond, radiated outward until they were all smiling goofily at the pair.
“How did you three meet?” Robyn asked as she tugged a balled-up piece of bread from Jax, her stepson’s hand. He was glaring at his sister, about to throw it at her. “Is that the right thing to do?” she asked, getting a headshake in return, the little boy’s shoulders dropping. She kissed his temple and gave him a new piece of bread. “Eat this one. No throwing, sweetheart.”
Bryce grinned, regaling the group with the story of how they’d decided to do a road trip when their flights were cancelled, and Cole’s gaze went wistful. Ava leaned in close, squeezing Cole’s hand, and asked, “Are you okay?”
He nodded, his smile soft. “Yeah, just can’t believe I’m sitting here with both of you among people who understand and accept us. I’ve never had that before, you know?”
“We’re all lucky,” Phoenix explained, clearly having overheard their murmured conversation and getting the attention of the others around the table. “I found my way back to Cass and Jake at my lowest point, and they and Addy all promised me I had friends I hadn’t met yet who cared about me. Con was at his lowest too when he came home to Levi and Katy, and King and Addy were there for Liam when his world was falling apart. So were Mike, Ezio, and Robyn—they came together when the three of them were struggling for different reasons. I know it’s been tough for all of you, but we understand. You’re safe here.”
“It took me—took us—years to come out.” Jake motioned between himself and Phoenix. “Our one-night stand wasn’t by choice. My dad was a bastard. He destroyed mine and Cassie’s careers, then did the same to Phoenix after he found out about us. He scared Phoenix into cutting off all contact with us. We understand how hard it is. How shi—crappy the world can be.”
“How did the site get the picture?” Connor asked.
“We don’t know,” Bryce replied with a shrug and a shake of his head. “But it was taken from the back of the house. Whoever it was, didn’t just stumble past and see an opportunity to make a buck. We were careful.”
“Who ratted you out?” Cole asked Levi.
Levi tilted his head in Katy’s direction. “Her d-head brother. He got his five seconds of fame and lost half his family because of it.”
“I wish we knew,” Bryce mused with a frown. “I hate that it could have been someone we knew. Someone we trusted.”
“I might know someone who can help,” King volunteered hesitantly. “I was thinking about it the other night and found her number. She was one of my students a few years ago, a computer and maths prodigy. She might be able to look into it.”
“How?” Bryce asked, his brows furrowed.
“I have no idea, but I know she’s done this kind of thing before,” King replied.
“Is that the person you referred me to?” Levi asked. When King nodded, he added, “She shut down a hack of the LGBTQIA shelter’s website within five minutes. Some right-wing group of nut-jobs were redirecting people to their site, then spamming them with hate messages. She’s good at what she does.”
“Let’s speak with her,” Ava agreed, nodding. “Can you give me her number?” Her guys deserved to know. Bryce was walking on eggshells, scared that someone they knew had sold them out—and given how small that list was, it was no surprise he was wary—and Cole needed the closure. He needed to feel empowered again after having his privacy ripped away from him so publicly.
“I’ll pass on yours and ask her to call you if she thinks she can help.”
*****
They’d stayed up late the night before, talking into the early hours. Mike’s, and Nick and Emma’s kids had crashed out on the couches in the lounge room somewhere around the 9:00 p.m. mark after their movie wrapped up, and the adults had just stayed in the backyard talking.
Ava rolled over trying to shield her eyes from the blinding sunshine coming through the gap in the curtains, but she was awake. It was probably a good thing given the rattling around of her phone on the bedside table next to Bryce. He groaned and Ava clambered over him, reaching for it before it went to her message bank. It was a private number and Ava never normally answered those, but King had warned her that his friend would be calling from one.
“Hello, hold on for one sec,” she croaked, clearing her throat from the sleep still clinging to her. Ava slipped on Bryce’s shirt that he’d dropped to the floor the night before and padded out into the cosy lounge room, closing the bedroom door behind her. “Sorry, this is Ava.”
“Hi Ava, I know King. He gave me a brief of what’s happened to you and asked if I could help you find out where an image came from.”
“Yes, oh my god, thank you for calling so quickly.” She filled her in, giving her the whole sordid story, and the woman hummed thoughtfully between asking questions for more detail.
“Okay, I’ll do some digging and let you know if I come up with anything. Give me a couple of days and I’ll be able to tell you whether there’s something there. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
She couldn’t call her anyway—the number was private.
“Sure, okay,” Ava said slowly, pausing when she realized she had no idea what her name was. “Sorry, I’m usually more awake when I’m speaking with people. I didn’t catch your name.”
