Tyler
TYLER
Doing his best not to let his frustration show, yanked his shirt from the floor, then decided at the last minute to leave it off. Who cared if he was seen without a shirt? He was in the room he had rented. He could answer the door with his dick hanging out, and the intruders would have to suck it up and deal with what they saw.
“There’s no one here but me,” growled at the door as he stomped toward it.
“We know Nathaniel is there. We’re just here to take him home. We don’t need any further trouble,” the gruff-sounding man told him.
leaned forward, looking through the peephole. Two men in suits stood on the other side of the door, looking impatient. He couldn’t see any identifying characteristics, but he supposed that didn’t matter. Private security wasn’t exactly going to announce themselves as such. The upside was that they had no jurisdiction in the hotel room. Which meant they could say what they wanted but couldn’t come in without his permission.
“Man,” huffed. “Just go away and let me rest. It’s been a long day.”
It was hard to tell, but he was pretty sure the gruff man rolled his eyes. “Just open the door and let us take Nathaniel home. Then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Go away,” told them.
The other man straightened. “Look, we just want Nathaniel. After that, you’re free to go, my friend.”
“I’m not your friend, and you need to leave me alone,” shot back.
“We’re not going away until we have Nathaniel. His father’s orders were clear,” the gruff man snarled.
Annoyance won out over the voice in his head, one that sounded like Clay, warning him against opening the door to strangers. He shoved the bolt on the door to the side and gripped the handle. As he pulled on the door, it blew back toward him.
Taken off-guard, he felt a sudden flare of pain in his shoulder and stumbled back. Catching himself on the wall, he almost tipped backward into the bathroom as he flailed for balance. It was all the time the two men needed to push their way into the room, and with a bright flash of fear, realized they were armed.
“What the hell is this?” Nate’s voice barked out, and stupidly, realized it was the first time he’d ever heard the man swear.
“You’re coming with us,” the gruff man told him as the other man watched try to get to his feet.
“Stay down,” the other man told him, his mustache quivering from his sneer.
“You aren’t my father’s men,” Nate said. “Let go of me!”
“You’re coming with us, rich boy,” Gruff Man insisted.
was already taking to his feet, having finally found purchase on the carpet just outside of the bathroom. Mustache jerked when he saw coming, his hand going into his jacket.
Elliot’s words echoed in his head. “If your opponent has a gun, and you don’t. Make sure they never get the chance to use it. Break their wrist, smash their nose, anything to keep them from pulling it on you.”
Clay’s words came next. “And never let them get the chance to recover. Everything we’ve taught you and will teach you won’t matter for shit if you don’t do it right. Never let the enemy get the upper hand. Stay on top of them like your life depends on it because it probably will.”
slammed into the man, hand wrapping around the wrist reaching into the coat. Mustache grunted as he hit the wall, head thumping hard off the solid plaster. Without thinking, shoved his forehead into the bridge of the man’s nose, his stomach churning at the crack and the sudden spray of blood against his face.
“What the fuck?” Gruff Man barked, and saw him whirling toward him.
twisted Mustache’s wrist, earning another cry, and spun him around. Still dazed and in pain, Mustache stumbled forward, almost colliding with Gruff Man. It didn’t work. Gruff Man shoved his partner away, though it ruined the element of surprise he had to get the better of .
It occurred to him that he was bigger than both of them. They were tall, but they weren’t as thick as him, and he knew, from all the training he’d received, that he had to use every advantage at his disposal.
He charged, leading with his shoulder as Gruff Man recovered. The man’s eyes widened in shock right before slammed into him. There was enough force behind the attack to lift Gruff Man off his feet and send him flying. A crash echoed through the room as the man hit the TV and crumpled to the desk below it with a groan.
swept the room with his eyes, knowing the danger hadn’t passed. Nate was in the corner, between a bed and a wall. Gruff Man was stirring, recovering quicker than might have guessed. Mustache was still trying to figure out which way was up by the confused stirrings of his head.
“Stay there,” told Nate as Gruff Man picked himself up, searching his coat again.
“Right here,” said, kicking the gun that had fallen to the floor beneath one of the beds.
Unbelievably, the distraction proved useful, with Gruff Man’s eyes snapping to the gun as it slid under the bed. surged forward, pushing his arm into Gruff Man’s chest and shoving him against the wall. The force shook the wall, unhinging the half-broken arm holding the TV and swinging down toward them. leaped back as the device missed his head, landing in Gruff Man’s lap.
“Behind you!” Nate cried out.
whirled around in time to see a flash of something moving toward him. Twisting, he tried to get away, feeling a line of fire race up his forearm as he held his hands up to defend himself. Without thinking, he lashed out with his foot, catching the still dazed but very pissed Mustache in the knee. The man grunted, stumbling back as he clutched the large combat knife.
Another jolt of pain lanced up his right side, sending him stumbling. Gruff Man was just as dedicated to the fight as was, and his next blow missed ’s knee by half an inch. It was enough, however, to send him crashing to the ground between the beds.
“Fucking hell, rich boy has himself a bodyguard,” Gruff Man grunted, spitting out a wad of saliva and blood.
Gruff Man and Mustache were on their feet, and knew he was at a disadvantage. However, his eyes caught sight of something beneath the bed, and his heart leaped with a sudden surge of excitement. Flinging his arm out, he grabbed the gun, flicked the safety off, and swung it around to the two men as they advanced.
Swearing, both men dived out of the way, hurrying toward the door before could say anything. took to his feet, hobbling on his partly injured leg to follow them. For a moment, he had the back of one of the two men in his crosshairs, felt his finger tense, and then...relax.
“Call the police,” told Nate, slowly advancing toward the door. “Nate.”
Nate grunted and walked forward, trying to catch every angle just outside the doorway before stepping out into the hall. A door at the end of the hall slammed shut, making him whirl around, gun outstretched. The hallway was empty.
“Shit,” he muttered, backing into the hotel room.
Knowing it wouldn’t do them a bit of good if the two men showed up with more firepower, still closed the hotel room door. He shoved the bolt across and flipped the bar over the top half of the door. It might not stop anyone determined enough, but it would deter them, and now he was no longer unarmed.
He could hear Nate speaking on the phone, his voice tense but speaking quickly and clearly. grabbed the chair under the desk, marveling that it hadn’t been knocked over.
“What the hell was that?” he wondered faintly as he pondered how long it would take for the cops to show up.
* * *
Two hours later, after both the cops and an ambulance showed up, flopped down on a bench outside a pizzeria across from the hotel. He could see Nate, still talking to the last of the officers, his dark brow pinched in worry and what suspected was deep thought.
He’d already texted Clay and Elliot briefly, telling them what happened. And despite having assured them he was fine and no one had been seriously hurt, he’d had to call them to make sure they didn’t come barreling across the city to him. The last thing they needed was to add Clay and Elliot to the mix of the police investigation.
A finger tapped his shoulder, bringing his head up. A police officer, tall and blond, was peering down at him.
“Ah, sorry. Did you need something, officer?” asked him, summoning a tired smile.
“Not at the moment, though if we need to contact you, we’ll be sure to give you a ring. I was coming to tell you that we were finishing up here, and the two of you are free to go.”
“Thank you. I hope you guys get to the bottom of this,” said.
The officer nodded grimly. “I hope we can too. In the meantime, I advise you and Mr. Carter to play it safe while in the city.”
looked over to see Nate walking toward them. “I think we can manage that.”
“Good, you two take care of yourselves.”
“Thank you, officer.”
When Nate reached him, he slumped onto the bench beside him, giving a hefty sigh. looked at him, unable to help examining the man to make sure he wasn’t hurt.
Nate glanced sidelong at him, smiling gently. “I am in one piece, .”
“I’m just making sure,” said without a trace of embarrassment.
Nate snorted softly. “You were the one who was injured.”
held up his arm, a bandage wrapped around it. “Oh, it was a scratch.”
“You nearly required stitches,” Nate pointed out.
“Nearly. That’s the keyword. I didn’t actually need them.”
“And the bruising?”
“Eh, my leg is fine. I can still walk without limping.”
“You got into a brawl with two armed men, and you’re worried about me?”
eyed him. “They were after you . So yeah, I’m worried about you.”
Nate sighed. “That’s what bothers me the most about all this. They were after me, but you were the one who ended up getting hurt.”
snorted. “Barely.”
“.”
“Nate.”
They stared at one another, each trying to best the other in their impromptu staring contest. It was Nate who finally looked away, sighing heavily.
“Where did you learn to defend yourself like that anyway?” Nate asked softly.
beamed. “Clay and Elliot. They’ve been teaching me stuff for years, but that’s the first time I’ve ever had to use it. Never even thought about what I was doing. I just...did it. I guess all those times they told me they were drilling instinct over thought into me makes a lot more sense now.”
“It still begs so many questions about who those two men are,” Nate said.
frowned. “Well, obviously, they wanted to take you. And they weren’t part of your father’s security force.”
Nate laughed softly, gazing down into his lap. “I wasn’t referring to them. I meant Clay and Elliot.”
shrugged. “They’re Clay and Elliot, that’s all there is to it.”
“You always were good at simplifying matters that I found less than simple,” Nate mused.
could only shrug again. What did he care what Clay and Elliot were before he met them? Sure, he’d always been curious, more so about Clay than Elliot, because he was the most secretive of the two. But at the end of the day, they were who they were, two men who loved each other fiercely and loved him with the same intensity.
“Clay and Elliot might be a mystery, but they’re not a dangerous mystery,” pointed out. “I know where they stand and what they’re about. What I don’t know is why two men showed up at the hotel room we were sharing and tried to take you.”
Nate slumped back on the bench, sighing. “As far as the police can tell, they were attempting to kidnap me.”
“Yeah, I gathered that much. I’m more worried about why ,” said.
Nate waved a hand in front of him listlessly. “I suppose my father might have had a point about the upcoming re-election. I thought he was using the additional security as an opportunity to keep a closer eye on me. But perhaps he had a point, and everyone directly related to him is in danger.”
raised a brow. “You’re telling me Gruff Man and Mustache showed up to grab you because your dad is the mayor?”
Nate eyed him with faint amusement. “Mustache and Gruff Man?”
“Well, it’s not like they introduced themselves. I’m working with what I’m given here, Nate,” huffed.
Nate chuckled. “Fair enough. And yes, I do believe that’s the case. I’m not sure what the aim would be, but I can imagine some might believe that if they had the son of the mayor, they might be able to blackmail my father into stepping down. Who knows, maybe my father has just made the wrong enemies. I’m sure he’s made plenty of them.”
“Well, it can’t be because of his charming personality. That sure as hell should have won him several allies,” grunted.
Nate reached over, taking ’s hand in his and squeezing. “Thank you.”
“For what?” asked, bewildered but still willing to happily accept the affection.
“Putting yourself at risk to protect me,” Nate said.
snorted. “Of course.”
“I mean it,” Nate insisted. “If you hadn’t been there, I?—”
His phone rang. The sound shrill and breaking their conversation as Nate’s face went still. cocked his head, watching as dread made Nate’s face go slack, draining the color from it.
“Nate?” asked.
“That’s...my father’s ringtone,” Nate whispered.
“Your dad is calling you?”
“Yes.”
“Shit.”
Nate pulled his phone from his pocket. “I think ‘shit’ is an excellent way of summing it up.”