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There was a real good old boy network.
And I needed to stick around the area for my brother.
No, this was it.
I was trapped, and hopefully I would eventually earn a little bit of trust and could do my real job again. And if not? My stomach curdled. I had no idea what to do then. I sat there for a long time contemplating life, then a sharp sigh drew me back into the real world. I glanced up at Albion, and he tossed a white paper bag onto the bench beside me.
“What’s this?” I asked.
He thrust a large cardboard cup at me, and it was either take it or wear the contents.
Plain coffee wasn’t my thing, but I didn’t feel brave enough to mention it.
“Lunch,” he snapped. “I didn’t think you were dumb enough that you wouldn’t get anything from another place if you didn’t like this one.”
The food here was fine, but he’d told me to sit out here. Frustration ate at me. How had I fucked up? He’d given me a nod! And yeah, I could’ve gone somewhere else, but I didn’t bother telling him that I’d paid six hundred dollars for heart medication last night. He probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. My bank account was sad enough without me paying for lunch at a restaurant.
“Let’s go,” he snarled at me. “You can eat in the truck, but if you spill it, you’ll be picking up every crumb with tweezers.” He walked away.
My heart leaped and I fought down a smile because I knew he fucking meant it. He glanced over his shoulder at me and there was nothing there. No playfulness. It was all hate. My stomach contorted again with a strange sizzle of desire and longing. This was so close to what I wanted my life to be like and miles away at the same time.
A cruel, sick tease.
“Now!” Albion said, walking faster, and I rushed to reach his side.
Same as always, I would take what I could get and hope for the best of the worst.
He glared at me out of the corner of his eye.
“What?” I asked, my gut sinking.
“A sneak and no manners?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
For a second, I blanked and had no idea what he was talking about, and then I squeezed my fingers on the bag as I panicked. Finally, relief smacked me.
“Thank you for lunch... Sir.” Okay, maybe I was a sneak because pure pleasure powered through me at using that word with him. He didn’t know how much I liked it.
He grunted and looked ahead, and I hid a smile as I sipped the bitter coffee.
2
ALBION GUTHRIE
Wade Lee wasa pain in my ass.
The only reason I went along with this charade was because of the boss. If he hadn’t given Wade another chance, I wouldn’t have been sad about it, but now I was stuck with ordering the traitor around like he was my submissive. I couldn’t even get myrealsubs to listen as easily as he did. I’d expected him to fight at some point, but the only negative reaction I’d gotten out of him was a small wince before he did whatever I’d told him.
It was extremely inconvenient, and I couldn’t begin to understand him. He’d never hidden the fact that he was gay, yet he’d joined Xadrian’s homophobic vendetta against our boss, Wick Guidry. The entire thing was beyond ridiculous.
“Remind me why you’re doing this again?” my best friend, Massimo Sabbatini, drawled from where he sat at the bar beside me. With eyes the color of ice, dark hair, and a beard, he was the type of Dom that most of the subs around these parts wanted. His voice was naturally deep and demanding, and the mystery that surrounded him had all the pretty ones hard in their pants. It didn’t hurt that he was a Sabbatini, part of a rumored mob family. What sub didn’t want a mobster for a Dom? It was all part of the fantasy.
They never stuck around for the reality, though.
Massimo gave me a long look.
Oh, shit.He’d asked me a question. “Because my boss told me to handle it.” I waved at the bartender, a cute little thing named Avery who wore pointed elf ears that pressed against pale white-blond hair. He couldn’t be much over five feet tall but had the bratty nature of someone bigger than my six feet. I’d seen him give lectures to Doms who towered over him when they got too rowdy or started a fight.
Avery dropped another glass of whiskey on the silver bar in front of me and winked before his interested green gaze slid to Massimo. “Anything for you, tall, broody, and handsome?” His voice was tinged with an Australian accent and the words were as light and airy as his appearance. No one would guess he owned the club we were drinking in.
