Chapter Three
Two days in Hawaii felt like a lifetime.
Clay still had almost the full seven weeks to go.
Working next to Scout every day, talking and laughing, was absolute hell.
Clay noticed everything about him, from his smell to how sexy his smile looked when his eyes swam with genuine happiness.
Clay wanted more every day. There was only one way to survive.
He had to get out and find something else to do with his time.
As shitty as it seemed, Clay waited until Scout was busy to grab one of Beau’s cars from the massive garage and head out.
Even though he always wore his seatbelt when he drove, Clay still smiled as he strapped in, thinking about Scout’s outrage over him not wearing one.
The farther he got from the estate, the more his chest hurt.
Feeling any sort of way was ridiculous. He also really hated going out alone.
Once upon a time, he had dragged poor Shadow out to the club after he had gotten shot.
That was how much he hated doing things alone.
Of course, the Shadow thing was a bit of a different story.
Under any other circumstances, he would have asked Fabrice.
One of Scout’s brothers, Shadow, was a member of an underground kink club.
He needed Shadow to get in as a guest. There was only one reason: Zeus.
Damn, Clay got goosebumps just thinking the guy’s name.
While Scout had definitely sidetracked him, he hadn’t forgotten the pure lust of simply being in Zeus’ company.
He owned Affinity—the kink club they had visited that night.
Clay was fully aware Zeus had been literally bred to use his sexiness to get close to anyone.
All the Agafonov brothers, along with Zeus, had been born, raised, and trained in a Russian spy program.
They each had a specific skill. Getting into anyone’s bed for information or assassination was Zeus’ forte.
It didn’t matter if a person knew that about him.
Knowledge and brainpower had nothing to do with it.
That beauty was built for sex, and it was impossible to ignore.
Logically, Clay understood that Zeus kissing him wasn’t personal.
But that was all it had taken to toss Clay into a full-blown obsession, even though Clay had refused to let Zeus see he was moved.
Clay had his pride and knew his limits. His heart didn’t stand a single chance against that god.
Not only did he not have that much game, but he had also always been a ragingly jealous person.
All it would take was one night of Zeus working that club and Clay would become the next big serial killer.
That was one thing he had learned as part of Beau’s army: he could and would kill a man.
The sound of his cellphone ringing poured through the car speakers, startling Clay from his thoughts. Scout’s name showed on the car’s infotainment screen. Sometimes it was like Scout knew Clay thought about Zeus. He always saved Clay from heading down an idiotic road.
Clay hit the button on his steering wheel to answer. “Hello?”
“Where did you go?”
Just the sound of Scout’s voice made him smile. “I had to get out of the house. There’s a club on the beach called Hula Moon Club. I thought I’d check it out.”
For a moment, only silence met his words. Clay almost apologized for leaving without saying anything. Scout spoke before Clay broke. “Sounds like fun. I’ll meet you over there.”
Clay shook his head at his own weaknesses. His smile was out of control, though. “Great. I’ll see you there.”
“Yep.” With only that chirped word between them, Scout disconnected the call.
Metal music went back to blasting throughout the car.
Clay dissociated for the rest of the drive.
When he pulled into the overflowing parking lot, the only thing that stopped him from leaving was Scout being on his way.
There was nowhere to park, and he was instantly nervous at the size of the crowd.
As if God sent him a challenge, he had to slam on his brakes to keep from getting hit when a car unexpectedly backed from its parking spot.
Clay couldn’t be irritated. He slid in right behind the guy.
Clay practically felt every car behind him raging at Clay for getting a decent space.
He gathered his stuff and his courage and then stepped out.
An ocean breeze rushed over him, bringing with it the scent of tropical flowers and salt.
Clay breathed in the smell. He loved it here.
Every time they came, Clay dreamed about staying.
No one left Beau, and he couldn’t leave Fabrice behind, so Clay pushed the fantasy from his head.
He probably wouldn’t be happy here full time anyhow.
In his heart, he knew what he loved was the feeling of being on vacation.
If he lived here, eventually, he would want to get away from here too.
His thoughts carried him to paying the cover charge and diving into the crowd.
The place was a tad different from what he expected.
There were a lot more leather daddies than he had pictured.
Clay went straight to the bar and ordered a beer.
He swallowed half his drink before deciding to turn around and people-watch.
His breath caught. Clay’s vision zoomed in on the cut body headed his way.
Even in the darkness mixed with neon lights, Clay felt the power of Scout’s stare.
Having Scout’s attention was a little frightening.
He saw everything: every flaw and shame.
Still, Scout didn’t look at anyone else, even when people tried talking to him.
He weaved through gyrating bodies until he stood toe to toe with Clay.
As if that wasn’t close enough, he boxed Clay in against the bar and leaned in to speak against Clay’s ear.
“Just one question. Were you trying to escape me?”
God help him. Clay found himself clutching Scout’s shirt. Even while holding the neck of his bottle, he managed to get some shirt with that hand too. He couldn’t let Scout get away. “I knew you’d find me. You’re probably tracking my phone.”
A soft, sexy as fuck laugh brushed the shell of his ear. Scout reached between them and stole Clay’s beer. As he watched Scout down his drink while still holding eye contact, Clay knew he was in trouble. He had Scout’s undivided attention, and Clay was totally in.
Scout polished off Clay’s beer and set the bottle aside.
Free of that holding them back, Scout took Clay’s hand and led him onto the dance floor.
Clay looked nervous as hell. He kept chewing his bottom lip and breaking eye contact.
Then his gaze would shoot back to holding Scout’s stare, as if he refused to look like a coward.
He knew. Scout saw that too. Clay knew Scout would be in his bed tonight.
Like most friends, Clay wouldn’t want to fuck up what they had.
He obviously hadn’t realized that what they had was hardcore sexual attraction.
It had always been inevitable that they would fuck.
Scout had only been biding his time, waiting for the signs to move.
Clay running away from him tonight turned out to be the trigger he needed pulled.
He had waited too long, and that had sent Clay running. Scout couldn’t allow that.
With Clay in his arms, Scout moved against him. He allowed no space between them. This was a club where people came to find a hookup for the night. Scout wanted no misunderstandings. Clay was his for the night.
Scout skimmed his lips across the shell of Clay’s ear. There was no mistaking the chill bumps on his neck. Scout kissed those too, making things worse. Clay’s breathing turned faster. Yeah. He knew there was no going back.
“You’re crossing a line we can’t uncross.”
Scout smiled against Clay’s neck. “That line has never existed between us, and you know it.”
“You should let me cut in.” The booming voice broke the spell Scout tried to weave.
Clay immediately took a step back and motioned toward Scout, silently offering Scout to the man who had interrupted his plans. He wore a leather harness along with leather pants. Scout’s gaze moved between the objectively sexy interloper to Clay and back again.
Scout shrugged. Maybe a hint of jealousy was exactly what Clay needed. Scout smirked at his new dance partner and motioned him closer.
Lips immediately pressed against his ear to be heard over the noise surrounding them. “Jay.”
“Scout.” He didn’t know why they exchanged names. Scout already knew who he would leave with tonight.
“You have a last name, Scout?”
Honestly, Scout was a tad annoyed. Clay hadn’t gone back to the bar. He danced nearby, laughing with a blond.
“Agafonov.” He didn’t know why he had done that. Now would come the inevitable questions about his accent and surname.
“That’s what I thought.” The unmistakable feeling of a knife pressed against the spot beneath his ribs.
“Move toward the back exit. Don’t draw any attention, or you’ll be dead in less than five seconds.
” There it was: the Russian accent. It was another operative.
Scout had gotten complacent. Living with Beau had given him a sense of protection.
He had let his guard down, and here he was.
Scout danced his way toward the door Jay had indicated.
He didn’t draw attention to himself or look for Clay.
The last thing Scout wanted was for Clay to get hurt because of him.
Plus, Jay obviously underestimated Scout.
Scout fought another smirk. This time, for a different reason.
Jay didn’t know him. He had been off the leash for over a decade. There were no rules for him.
Darkness engulfed them as Scout stepped outside. The alley where the club obviously dumped its trash was completely devoid of life. That was good, since Jay was about to lose his life right here. Scout readied himself while ensuring no move he made gave him away.
“I suggest you drop that knife if you want to keep your head.”
Scout blinked. Clay stood behind Jay with a gun pressed against the back of Jay’s head. Scout couldn’t believe Clay got the drop on both of them.
The knife hit the ground.
Scout felt Jay tense, readying to attack. Before he could, Clay had Jay’s arm at an odd angle with Jay bent and twisted with the gun still against the guy’s head.
“Don’t even think about it, motherfucker. You have no idea who you’ve fucked with.”
Despite the pain Jay had to be in, Jay chuckled. “He no longer has our government backing him. You’re the one fucking with the wrong one.”
An evil smile stretched Clay’s lips.
Scout took a step back. This was a man Scout hadn’t met.
“Oh, I didn’t mean him. It’s me you won’t walk away from.”
Goddamn. He was sexy.
Clay’s gaze flickered his way. “Call Beau. Let him know we were attacked. We need a cleanup crew.”
That got Jay’s attention. He struggled against Clay’s hold.
If Clay even noticed, he didn’t show it.
Meanwhile, Scout was shocked into complete uselessness.
Jay was trained by the same people as Scout and Clay treated him as if his skill was nonexistent, which enraged Jay more by the second.
He spat, cursed, and fought. Clay calmly held him twisted like a pretzel with one hand and a gun to the guy’s head with the other.
All Scout could do was take out his phone and call Beau, as ordered. He imagined this was one for the private line.
Beau answered on the first ring, proving the number was only for emergencies. “What’s happened?”
“We’ve been attacked.”
“Is my boy hurt?” The bite to Beau’s tone was even more terrifying than Clay’s cold calm.
“Not yet. Threat hasn’t been neutralized. Clay says we’ll need a cleanup crew.”
“Put me on speaker.”
Scout didn’t hesitate. “You’re on.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m good.”
“That’s my boy.” Clay smirked. Beau continued while Scout couldn’t look away from Clay. “You know where to put him. I’m on my way.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can our new guest hear me?”
Clay’s gaze flickered toward Jay, as if checking to see if he was still conscious—like the guy wasn’t still struggling. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. When I get there, you’ll wish my boy had killed you. No one fucks with one of mine. Think on it while you wait for me. I bet you can’t even dream of what I’ll do to you. Your people know not to touch the Bosi family. It looks like they need reminding.”
The phone disconnected, and Jay went limp, as if the fire bled from him. “No one mentioned anything about the Bosi family. I was instructed only to retrieve a defector.”
Clay made a low humming sound. “Well, let this be lesson number one. Not asking questions gets you killed. Come on.” He repositioned their bodies to hide the gun between them as he marched Jay to his car.
Scout hopped in the back. He wouldn’t risk anything happening to Clay on the drive. “We’ll come back for the other car tomorrow.”
Clay tossed him a wink, and everything inside Scout sang. He would be absolute fire in bed. Jay should die twice just for that interruption alone. Scout had never been more primed.