Chapter 11 Dare
ELEVEN
DARE
“I’m sorry,” Slade said and I huffed. “There’s been nothing.”
Slade was one of the many teammates that had settled on the island, thanks to Wyatt, and he used his tech smarts to help with surveillance and tracking.
Thankfully he was also studying to pass his exams so he could be a teacher, so he wasn’t entirely putting his life on pause and in danger because of my stupid ex.
I let out an expletive and Slade apologized again as if it was his fault that Victor the dickhead had gone MIA since his last stint outside Zach’s building.
“He must know we’re onto him,” Slade said.
“Yeah, I know. But if he was here you’d have found him. People like him think too much of themselves to hide.”
Slade sighed on the other end of the line, and I squeezed my phone. Neither he, nor my device were at fault here.
“And you’re sure there’s been no chatter on that GhostLink?” I asked.
Slade took a beat before replying.
“The GhostLink phone is as good as useless since its owner died.”
I huffed.
“Trust me. We’re as frustrated as you are about that. We’ve been waiting for so long to have an ear inside their organization, and as soon as we get it it’s dead.”
It had only been a month or so since Slade had apparently discovered a phone they’d cloned from one of the local gangsters had a secondary, encrypted function.
GhostLink, it was called. Used by criminals all across the world to conduct their dealings and exchange funds and perversions.
That development had been instrumental in rescuing Teddy’s boyfriend, Wesley, when he’d been abducted.
But when his abductor, and owner of the GhostLink phone died, so did the chatter.
Which made sense. Who would message a dead man?
“Look at me. A few days ago I wanted nothing to do with Wyatt’s mission and now I’m getting involved in this shit,” I groaned.
“I know. But…you care about Zach. We all do. It’s impossible not to get involved.”
I huffed again.
Was it that obvious I had feelings for the guy? I mean, how much more obvious could it get than taking him under my wing, putting him under my roof and keeping him there until the coast was clear and his ex was preferably eaten by fishes.
“I know. Thanks anyway, man. I might drive around in the afternoon. See if I can find him.”
“No need. We’re all on lookout. Even our boyfriends are on the lookout for that man. But we’re coming up empty. I know you don’t think so but I’m sure he’s hiding.”
It made no sense. Why would Victor come all the way to this island only to hide like a scared little kitten at the first sight of trouble? Men like him didn’t hide. They didn’t cower away. They were predators, not prey.
“I still don’t get how he found Zach,” I muttered.
Slade hummed.
“Yeah. I was talking about it with the guys. He probably found him through Zach’s business listing, you know.”
“I mean…maybe, but that doesn’t explain the company he kept when I saw him. Unless you’re saying he brought his own small army to deal with a little guy like Zach.”
“Yeah,” Slade replied. “That stumps us too.”
Zach came out of the bedroom and smiled as he reached for the coffee pot and I turned my back on him, as if I was doing something bad.
But he’d been through so much I didn’t want to concern him and have him worrying twenty-four-seven about Victor.
“All right. I have to go. We’ll talk later,” I said and hung up before Slade could say another word, and turned to face Zach. “Good morning.”
Zach hugged a mug of coffee close to his chest and he beamed at me with his own greeting.
“How did you sleep?” I asked.
His eyes looked puffy, and his shoulders were hunched. But he was still as adorable as ever.
“Good, yeah.” He glanced out the window. “It’s getting colder, isn’t it?”
I jolted, as if I’d just woken up, and rushed to the thermostat.
“Sorry. I’ll turn the heating up. I forget not everyone has the body temperature of a furnace,” I said and Zach laughed as something tickled my throat and I coughed.
“Are you okay?” he asked when I stopped and rubbed my chest.
“Yeah.” My voice came out hoarse. “I don’t know where that came from.”
I cleared my throat and took a sip of my coffee to soothe my insides, but Zach kept staring.
“Are you sure? That guest room sure was cold a week ago. It must be freezing in there now with the temperature drop.”
I chuckled.
“Don’t worry about me, Zach. I can take care of myself.”
“Oh, I know. I also know how stubborn men can be.”
I laughed.
“You say that as if you’re not a man.”
He shrugged.
“I’m usually the exception, not the rule.” He smirked.
God. It didn’t matter what he said or did— smirk, or laugh, or smile—they all made me go wild.
“I’m fine,” I said, and as if to drive my point—or Zach’s—home, I had another coughing fit that earned me a very smug glare. “Okay. Maybe it is a little bit cold. I just need to fix the heating.”
Zach didn’t say anything. He just took a sip of his coffee and smiled.
“What?” I asked when his gaze didn’t waver. Not that I was complaining.
“Didn’t you say that last week?”
I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my own coffee.
“Okay. Yeah. I guess I’m a typical man who says he’ll do something and then never gets around to it.”
Zach bit his lip and with it a giggle, muttering, “You said it.”
“What! I’ve been busy!” The whine escaped me before I could stop it.
And then came another cough. Gosh. It was as if my body was against me or something.
Zach sighed and put his mug down, his face turning serious as he approached me.
“Okay. You’re clearly coming down with a cold and that room is far too cold to sleep in. So, maybe you should take your bed back.”
“What? So you get a cold too? That wouldn’t be very smart.”
He licked his lips, pushed them to one side, then the other before he said.
“Well…then…maybe we share. It’s a big enough bed.”
I shook my head. Maybe a little too fast because Zach’s disappointment was obvious.
“I couldn’t do that. You’re my guest. What kind of host shares the bed with the guest?”
Zach rolled his eyes.
“The kind who hasn’t fixed the heating yet and is trying to save himself from catching his death?” He raised one eyebrow so high it could have gotten lost in his hairline, but it had the desired effect because he did have a point. As much as I hated that.
“Fine. I guess. But I’ll fix it tomorrow.”
Zach smiled and patted my shoulder. “Sure you will.”
And with that he turned around, grabbed his coffee and took a sip. And all I could do was watch him, his back, his…perfectly round ass that was still perky despite the pajamas he wore, and I bit my lip.
Yeah. Because sharing a house with a hunk is not bad enough for my self-control, now I had to share a bed too? That would go down well. The last thing I needed was to wake up with a boner pressed against him.
I sighed.
Why did I even think of that?
Now, of course, my cock got hard. Fuck my fucking life.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head and realized he was staring at me.
Hang on. How long have I been staring at his ass?
“Uhm—” I started to reply when there was a knock on the door and both of us turned to look at it.
Lookah launched himself at the door like it was the devil incarnate.
I approached and quieted Lookah, peeking through the eyehole, and the tension in my back loosening when I saw who was there. I opened the door.
“Hey, Duke,” I said and the young vet greeted me back with a full smile that got even bigger as soon as he saw Lookah.
The man dropped to his knee and gave my four-legged guy all the attention for a solid minute or two before he even deigned to look at us. But that was Duke for you. More at home with the animals than the humans in any given space.
“What brings you here?” I asked when he stood back up and I ushered him in.
“I thought I’d come in and check on your little monsters. Hope that’s okay,” he replied and I nodded.
“Want some coffee?” Zach asked him.
“Oh, I’d kill for some,” he said. “How are you hanging on?”
Zach shrugged and attempted a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Good. Good. Thanks.”
He passed a mug of coffee to Duke along with a blueberry muffin.
“Here. I made these yesterday. They’re still fresh,” he said, and Duke practically inhaled the whole thing. Not that I could blame him.
There was nothing quite like a homemade pastry, especially if made by Zach’s wonderful hands. I swear I’ve put on an extra ten pounds this past week alone from all the delicious goods he’d been making.
Thankfully, he’d adjusted his portions to a more manageable number, or I’d soon have to look out for a whole new wardrobe.
“Gosh, I miss your stuff, dude. When are you going to open the truck again?” Duke asked.
Zach laughed with a bitter tone.
“You’d have to ask my insurance company. But I don’t even know if the truck will ever be back.”
“No! Don’t say that,” I told him.
I didn’t want any defeatist language around here.
“That’s right,” Duke added. “The Wandering Bundt is a staple of Mayberry at this point.”
Zach sighed.
“While that may be true, that truck took me forever to find and convert. I doubt I’ll be able to find such a bargain again and even if I do, it’ll take me ages to get it done up, inspected and all that jazz.”
There was a sadness in his eyes. Of course there was. Fucking Victor had taken away his dream job. His calling. How could he not be sad?
“You’ll find a way. We’ll help. I’m sure we can figure something out,” Duke said before I could.
And as I opened my mouth to agree, there was another knock on the door.
“Wow, aren’t you popular today?” Duke commented.
I walked to the door and opened it to find Warren.
“Hey, man,” he said.
“Hey! What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see my friend. Is it a bad time?” Warren replied and stepped in. “Oh. Busy house.”
Duke chuckled.
“And who’s this tall glass of water?” he asked.
Warren smirked.
“Warren. Warren Goodman.”
Duke’s gaze narrowed and his lips pursed into an o-shape.
“You’re Wyatt’s brother?” he asked.
“The one and only.”
Duke grinned. “Well, isn’t your gene pool quite the marvel.”
Warren choked and I patted his back.
“And you are?”
“I’m Duke. I run the animal sanctuary on Checkmate Road. And we’re always looking for volunteers,” he practically growled.
“Down boy,” I muttered.
“Oh relax,” Duke said. “I’m a happily taken man.”
He brushed me off with a limp wrist that made Zach laugh.
“Then act like it,” I told him and the young vet gasped.
“Come on,” Zach said, pushing Duke to the side. “I’ll take you to the goats. Nice to meet you, Warren.”
His tone was kind and warm but there was something in his expression that seemed hollow. Almost defeated.
I would have thought it had to do with the conversation about his truck but then his gaze drifted from Warren to me and back to Warren.
Was he…was he jealous of Warren? Did he think there was something going on between us?
And why did that single thought make my insides tremble, roar even.
Was it possible Zach liked me? Maybe even wanted me?
“Well, the vet is here to see the goats, what is that other handsome man doing here?” Warren asked when they retreated to the spare room and I snapped my attention back to him.
“His name is Zach and he lives here. For now.”
Warren’s eyes shot wide open.
“Does he now? What the hell have I missed?”
I sighed and offered him coffee.
“Sit down. I’ll tell you everything,” I said and offered him a seat at the kitchen island.
“Only if you pass me one of those muffins. They look delicious.”
“They are. They so are,” I sighed again.