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The relief he’d felt when they’d seen Zander that first day he was awake had been a high unto itself. Like a drug. And after so long being locked in that room with Vince, with no answers and no way to see Zander, he’d slowly felt himself coming back to life when they’d finally gotten the chance to see Zander, to touch him.
But then he’d disappeared again and somehow, this one felt worse because they knew he was alright. That he was up and on the mend. But he wasn’t coming around to them. To see them. Why? Vince was strong enough to pretend he didn’t care, but Scotty would catch the same feeling that roiled in his gut flashing in the depths of Vince’s eyes in his few unguarded moments. Vince wouldn’t seek Zander out to ask what was happening; he was too strong for that.
But not Scotty. He was weak and had always been the weak one. So he’d left their room while Vince was grabbing a shower—the door was no longer locked from the outside, keeping them prisoner, thanks to Zander he was sure—and he’d made his way to Zander. He’d gotten lost because the building was a fucking maze, and he’d had to ask one of the silent, sullen bodyguards hanging around for help finding Zander.
Out of all the things Scotty had imagined being the reason keeping Zander away—and he had imagined a lot—this hadn’t been on the list.
“Scotty.” Zander released Derri, who scowled as Zander reached a hand out to Scotty. “Hey.”
Scotty took a step back. He wanted to say something, call Zander on what he just witnessed, but all Scotty’s lips did was tremble.
“Hey, no.” Zander grabbed his shoulders, shaking him gently. “Don’t do that, it’s not what you think.” He clasped Scotty’s face in both hands, staring deeply into his eyes before lifting his head and barking, “Give us the room.”
It took Derri the longest to leave. Scotty knew that even though his gaze was trapped by Zander’s. The tension in the room dropped considerably when the door closed behind Derri.
Scotty’s throat spasmed. “I-I wanted to find you,” he rasped. He touched Zander, fingers digging into the soft cotton of his t-shirt and fisting it. “I wanted to know why you haven’t—” He swallowed. Maybe he shouldn’t ask. Maybe what he just saw was the reason.
“I’m sorry.” Zander’s breath was harsh when he bumped his forehead to Scotty’s. “I’ve been busy,” he admitted in a murmur that washed up against Scotty’s lips. “And I needed—” He cut himself off with a shake of his head. “It doesn’t matter. What you just saw isn’t what it looked like. Derri and I were just clearing the air between us.”
What did that mean? Scotty’s heart wanted to know everything because it wanted assurance that what he felt was reciprocated. But what was it that he felt? He wasn’t even sure sometimes.
“Derri wants something I can no longer give him,” Zander told him softly.
“You.” He’d seen enough to have an idea of how Derri felt about Zander. “He wants you.”
Zander nodded. “Yes.” He searched Scotty’s face, eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay? Where’s Vince?”
Scotty shrugged. “Taking a shower. I had to see you.” He glanced away, cheeks heating as he mumbled, “I wanted to know why you’ve been keeping your distance from us."
“I’m sorry.” Zander tugged Scotty into his arms. “I needed time to think, to figure out my next move, and you two…” He sighed. “You distract me,” he confessed against Scotty’s temple. “In the best way.”
Scotty clung to him, face buried in the other man’s neck, inhaling the clean scent of his warm skin. When he and Vince were locked in the bedroom, all Scotty had wanted was moments like this. All he’d thought about were moments like this. He didn’t want to let Zander go. Was that normal? Was it too much? He was too afraid to ask. “We miss you,” he said instead. “Vince pretends he’s not hurt that you’re not coming around but I can see it.”
Zander swore softly and pulled back from the embrace. “Come on.” He took Scotty’s hand, lacing their fingers.
“W-where are we going?” he asked as Zander opened the door.
“We’re going to fix this, once and for all.” Zander waved away the bodyguard who’d immediately stepped forward. “It’s okay,” Zander told him.
They left the guard behind, walking in the direction of Scotty and Vince’s room.
“Why do you need bodyguards?” Zander’s uncle was dead, so what was Scotty missing? “And they call you sir.”
Zander’s fingers tightened around Scotty’s before quickly relaxing. “Yeah. It’s… They’ve always called me that. You know, from before. Mostly because I outranked them and also because my uncle was the boss.”
“But with your uncle dead, why do you still need them around?” Granted, he didn’t know shit about how criminals at Zander’s level operated, but that part didn’t make sense to Scotty.
Zander blew out a breath, glancing at Scotty and then away. “It’s a long story. One that’s going to have to wait.” He stopped and Scotty realized they’d arrived at their destination. Zander pushed the door open and entered, gently tugging Scotty with him.
The door closed behind them and Scotty entered to find Vince in the middle of getting dressed. He was paused with one leg inside his jeans, one out, and his upper half bare. When he spotted Scotty, he sighed audibly.
“Fuck, Scotty, I was worried about you.”
Something Scotty hadn’t considered when he’d left their room. Shame filled him and he pulled out of Zander’s hold, rushing over to Vince. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I just?—”
“He came to see me.” Zander joined them. “He had some questions.” He lifted an eyebrow as he held Vince’s gaze. “Is he the only one with questions?”
Vince’s jaw tightened but he didn’t speak. So Zander did…after brushing a thumb across Vince’s bottom lip.
