Chapter 8
Day Five: Crossing the Line
Adam
When I woke up in the morning with my body glued to Jordan’s, I felt the funniest thing—peace.
I would almost say pleasure, but I was spooning with him, so peace it was.
His body was warm, and he smelled nice. Well, he smelled like food, but that core scent of him, that touch of citrus, was ever-present on his skin.
I sniffed at his neck, and then I just… breathed him in for a while.
My morning wood was ill-timed, considering the situation, but I wasn’t too bothered by it.
It was certainly better than spending the night in a cold, black hole.
When Jordan stirred in his sleep, rubbing his ass against my crotch, I regretted that he wasn’t a woman.
The sensual grind made my teeth grit, and I put my hand on his hip to make him stop when he moaned.
My gaze slid to his crotch, and I grinned at the sight.
Lookie that. Little Jordie was hard. Again.
For me, probably. I would have pointed it out to him just to fuck with him, but we had bigger fish to fry.
Namely, a job to do. Bad guys to deceive and leave this fucking place before things could get any weirder.
Also, it was time to wake the sleeping beauty.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” I whispered in Jordan’s ear, allowing my lips to graze his earlobe. Why? Because it was fun.
Jordan moaned and started to turn toward me, only to let out a startled yelp. He was off the mattress in a heartbeat, wide-eyed with alarm.
“I didn’t do n-nothing,” he stammered. “I swear!”
I rolled my eyes. “Get a grip and help me put away these mattresses before the guards arrive. I don’t want to spend another night in the hole.”
“Oh,” he muttered, crossing his hands over his crotch to hide the situation there. “Right.”
I smirked. “I know what morning wood is, Jordan. I woke up with one. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
His cheeks turned pink as he reached for the mattress and threw it on the bunk.
I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Or is it because of what happened the other night?”
Jordan paled. “What... what happened?”
I shrugged. “Nothing in particular. What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know!” Jordan growled. “I can’t fucking remember!”
At that point, the guards came, but this time we were ready. No one puked, no one was handcuffed, and we didn’t piss anyone off, so things were looking up. When our breakfast came, I ate the stale toast as if it were a Michelin-star meal, feeling strangely invigorated.
“We should get Crusher off your back,” I said to Jordan when I finished eating. “He’s getting on my nerves.”
“And how do you propose to do that? He’s not the most reasonable person if you haven’t noticed.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just tell him that you’re my bitch and problem solved.”
Jordan choked on his apple. “Excuse me?”
I grinned. “Yeah, we’ll tattoo my name on your forehead or something.”
“Not funny. And I don’t think it would solve our problem because you shoved a fish patty down his throat. He’s not likely to forgive that.”
“Yeah, probably not. It was a good joke, though.”
“I disagree.”
It was later in the day when they sent us to the yard, and a thought occurred to me. It was a big, dangerous gamble, but also something that could make Santiago sing. I was mulling it over when the person in question approached me.
“Have you heard from the other party?” Santiago said as we headed to the empty part of the yard.
“I have. The Haitians are interested. They suggested a meeting at a neutral place. How does Havana sound?”
“Hmm… not a bad idea. Let me check and get back to you on that.”
Santiago was known as an opportunistic narcissist, so I decided to use this to my advantage.
“Have you ever thought of establishing your own business?” I said as we strolled. “Don’t get me wrong, I dig your boss, but you seem like a capable, smart businessman. Doing your own thing never crossed your mind?”
Santiago smirked. “You’re either a very brave or a very stupid man. And I don’t think you’re stupid.”
I gave him a questioning glance. “Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong,” he replied, gazing into the distance. “Let’s just say that the current situation is a means to an end.”
At that point, Jordan joined us, still breathless after jogging around the yard.
“Your shadow is here,” Santiago said, giving him a once-over.
I chuckled. “Mr. Smith takes care of the clients. I’m more into procurement. It’s a well-oiled machine.”
“You two fucking?” Santiago said, looking at us both.
Jordan’s eyes bulged as I tried to choose the smartest answer. Did Santiago ask us that because he was a bigot or interested in one of us?
“Don’t get me wrong,” Santiago elaborated. “I’m not homophobic. It’s just that Mr. Crusher likes a virgin ass, so if Mr. Smith doesn’t have one, I suggest letting the rumor spread. Crusher’s interest will probably diminish after that.”
I nodded. “Thanks for the tip.”
“Yeah, I prefer my future business partners alive,” Santiago said, nodding. “I’ll be in touch.”
After he left, Jordan gave me a panicked look. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
“That only makes it worse,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Just to get it out of the way… I’m not fucking you.”
“I didn’t ask you to!” Jordan exclaimed, sounding alarmed. “I’m not taking a dick inside me… especially not yours. Jesus!”
I wasn’t worried about getting a knife in my back because I could take care of myself, but Jordan was in danger.
He would never be able to fend off Crusher and his goons all on his own.
I was mulling it over until we returned to our cells, but it only made me feel agitated because I couldn’t see a way out.
“I don’t like this shit,” I growled once we were alone. “Coming here was a stupid idea, and I was an idiot for agreeing to it. And now you’re in danger. I won’t accept that.”
Jordan tucked his hands into his pockets. “I can protect myself.”
“Against Crusher, Moses, and all the others?” I barked. “Are you insane? No! You’re getting out of here. I’ll call Biancchi and make it happen.”
“Don’t you dare!” Jordan exclaimed, wide-eyed. “I’m not leaving you alone here. Also, I’m not some defenseless puppy, so get off my back. I’m staying!”
“No, you’re not,” I said through my teeth. “You will do what I say. I’m a senior you-know-what, and I make the call.”
“Fuck you!” Jordan bit out. “No!”
“Mr. Smith. Mr. Mayhew.” A lazy drawl made us both turn around. “I apologize for interrupting the lovers’ spat, but it’s shower time.”
Jordan gulped. “Wha-at? Ag-gain?”
“Seriously?” I said, rolling my eyes. “Seeing my dick is the biggest problem you have right now?”
Color flooded his face, and for the umpteenth time, I asked myself: how could I have been so blind?
Now that I knew about it, his attraction to me was so obvious I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before.
I was a detective, for crying out loud. A good one, at that.
It was pissing me off. He was pissing me off.
Once in the shower, I shared it with him.
“What I said earlier is not up for debate, Jordan. I will finish this on my own, and you will do what I say.”
“No, I won’t.”
We were alone in the shower, as Santiago promised, but now I wasn’t sure it was such a good idea. I was tempted to hit my partner, and rightfully so, because he was fucking disrespectful.
“Yes, you will,” I insisted. “I will put you on a stretcher if I have to, but you’re getting out of here. Stop pissing me off.”
“You stop pissing me off,” Jordan countered, tilting his head back so the water could rinse the shampoo away.
He said it so calmly that it made my blood boil.
“You’re leaving, and that’s that!” I growled, letting my gaze drift down to his crotch. “At least you won’t have your little problem anymore.”
Actually, it was a big problem. A big, hard problem that I tried to ignore ever since it appeared after I took my clothes off.
Jordan blinked the water out of his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
“You don’t want to go there, pal,” I warned him.
“Yeah, I do!” Jordan countered.
I glanced at his boner before looking at the wall, knowing I would regret the next words coming out of my mouth.
“I make your dick hard, Jordan. It’s probably why you’re not thinking straight, pun intended.”
He gasped. “Never!”
Lying through his teeth. Wonderful. As it happened, I hated liars and being lied to. What was I? An idiot?
“Uh-huh,” I said, glancing at his crotch. “Not interested. Got it, princess.”
“It’s not you,” Jordan mumbled, covering his erection with his hands.
I looked around the empty room pointedly. “Do you see someone else here you like?”
“It’s not fucking you!”
“Right,” I said, laughing bitterly. “But don’t worry. You’ll probably develop another amnesia by this time tomorrow.”
He paled and stepped toward me.
“What do you mean?” he said in a low voice. “What… what does that mean?”
God, I was so tired from this stupid conversation.
“D-did…” Jordan stammered when I refused to answer. “Did something happen?”
I scoffed.
“When? The other night?” He grabbed my arm, making me look at him. “Fucking tell me!”
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me, you lying little shit. You know exactly what happened.”
“No, I don’t,” Jordan growled. “Just tell me, you fucking bully!”
Oh, I had it with him. I was done. I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
“Enough!”
“Just tell me what happened!” he said, struggling to free himself.
“Wanna know what happened?” I hissed, losing it. “This fucking happened!”