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“Cayson! Where’s your watch?” Cayson didn’t realize that Quick was holding his hand, his face showing just how upset he was, no matter the excuse for his bare wrist.
“I left it at home by mistake this afternoon. I was kind of distracted.” Cayson hoped Quick could accept that one. However, his sharp green eyes focused back on him, his teeth clenched together, as if he was trying not to yell.
“What’s going on, Doc? It’s okay to tell all of us, because we can’t have secrets between us. If Quick needs us, he’s going to tell us anyway,” Duke interrupted Quick’s glare.
“Well. When I got to work, there was a gift on my desk.” Cayson looked at Quick expectantly, telling him yes, it was Joe. “I called his cell and fussed at him. Next thing I know, he’s in my office, pushing me around.”
“He touched you.” Quick’s voice was low, deadly. If Cayson hadn’t been looking at him, he’d have sworn a demon had spoken.
“Rome,” Duke said Quick’s name, sounding like a warning.
Cayson watched as Quick closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths before he opened them again. It took a lot for him not to gasp at the startling green of Quick’s irises, his pupils contracted to tiny pinpoints, showing just how livid he was. No matter how he tried to calm himself, if he was angry, his body would react and no words could disguise it. He didn’t really want to know what Quick did when he was this livid. How he fought for a person he cared for. Cayson had a feeling it wouldn’t end well for the other person. Now he was regretting saying anything at all. Was he about to seal Joe’s doom?
“Cayson, why don’t you sit down here and tell us from start to finish.” Duke guided him to a chair in their makeshift lobby, all the men crowding around to hang on his every word. Quick stood behind Duke like he needed someone to hold him back.
Fuck. What am I doing?
When Cayson had finished, none of the men said anything for a while and he assumed they were digesting it. He’d conveniently left out the part about Joe grabbing his crotch. He said Joe shoved him… that’s it, but regardless, Quick’s body language was screaming at him. As if they could all hear it, Brian was the one to place a hand on Quick’s shoulder in an effort to settle him.
“All right. This guy has just upped the ante on us,” Duke said first, and all of them nodded their agreement.
Wait! What the hell are they agreeing to?
“Cayson, are you okay staying with Quick for a few days until we figure out this guy’s intentions, or at least until he calms down?” Duke asked, his voice calm and comforting like he was trying to soothingly trick Cayson into saying yes, he needed a babysitter. No freaking way. And that melodious voice may work on Vaughan, but Cayson was immune… mostly.
“I’m not going to impose on Quick.” They’d just started seeing each other. He wasn’t about to live with him, he wasn’t an adolescent. Cayson had to do what was logical. And running to hide out at Quick’s didn’t sit well with him rationally or physically. They still needed their own space, or shit would go south.
“There’s no imposition,” Quick finally spoke again. “I have a guest room, if that’s what’s bothering you. This is only about safety.”
Cayson stood up, his hands out in front of him. “I think we may be going overboard. And I may have overreacted. Joe isn’t dangerous. He’s a mediocre anesthesiologist, for Pete’s sake.” Cayson didn’t know why, but for some reason he wanted to appear as strong and fearless as the men surrounding him. Even without all the black and leather, they still looked vicious. They looked like trained killers. Cayson puffed his chest out a little more. “I’m not scared of him, if that’s what y’all think.”
“No one thinks anyone is scared. Safety has little to do with being scared. Plenty of men have met worse fates, all because they ‘weren’t scared’,” Duke said around air quotes. “You wanna know what’s on their gravestones? ‘Here he lies dead, but he wasn’t scared.’ No one gives a fuck if you’re scared or not, but you will be safe.” Duke stood to his full six-foot plus height. “You’ve been telling me what to do for almost a year, controlling my health. Now you’re in my house. I assume you came to us for advice, and this is it. You’re going to stay with one of us… I don’t care who you pick. You’ll be under our protection while this jilted ex gets some act right about himself. When I’m confident he’s not a threat to you or my guys, then everything can go back to normal. Until then. Defcon Four. Am I clear?”
