Chapter Two
The weight on Ridge’s chest got heavier by the minute.
Since he had woken to the news of Shadow sneaking away in the middle of the night, he had paced the floor.
Begged Tracker to trace Shadow’s location.
Paced some more. Still, Shadow didn’t come home.
Two hours after nightfall, Ridge couldn’t take it any longer.
He jumped into his SUV and headed out. Club Affinity always looked dead from the outside.
Somehow, they were always still packed inside.
He had no clue where all the regulars were parked.
Ridge parked next to Shadow’s car. Ridge stormed the door, ready to break a bouncer’s neck if necessary.
He didn’t have a membership. Ridge only knew the club’s location and schematics because he stalked the fuck out of Shadow.
Plus, he wanted no stone unturned when it came to Zeus.
No one came near his family without him knowing everything about them, down to their shoe size.
Ridge didn’t know what the guy saw in Ridge’s face, but he opened the door for him.
He gave the guy a sharp nod as he passed.
Ridge wouldn’t forget the kindness. Inside, he jogged down the steps.
His gaze skimmed every room he passed, searching for an unmistakable blond who likely stood a head above everyone.
While he saw a lot of things that had him ready to bleach his eyes, he didn’t see Zeus or Shadow.
He ground his back teeth and pushed through the door at the end of the hall with all the rage in his heart.
Ridge dove into the crowd. His head never stopped moving as he hunted his prey.
If he had a way to get up high, Ridge would find his man immediately.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t, and Shadow wasn’t his, goddamn it.
Finally, he spotted a shirtless Zeus surrounded by men on their knees.
Ridge’s gaze immediately dropped to eye each man.
Shadow had better not be on his goddamn knees for this motherfucker.
Thankfully, he wasn’t. Ridge would hate to kill Zeus…
not really. He would kill the bastard in the blink of an eye if he thought it would make a bit of difference.
Ridge was used to hovering over everyone. It pissed him off to be eye to eye with Zeus.
Zeus didn’t look surprised to see him. He pulled the sucker from his mouth, somehow making the move look sultry as hell. Zeus smirked. “Look at you. Flashing eyes. Flared nostrils. Are we fighting or fucking?”
Everything about Zeus was too perfect. It was sickening. “What have you done with Shadow?”
“Nothing he didn’t beg me to do.”
Ridge ran his tongue over his teeth.
Zeus sighed. “Jealousy. Tiresome. You literally just missed him. Honestly, I don’t know how you didn’t pass him on your way in.”
Probably because he had been searching the goddamn dance floor for ten minutes and Shadow was too good at hiding. Ridge pinched the spot between his eyes where a pain bloomed. He was so tired of living like this. Feeling like this. Shadow made him fucking crazy.
A sharp thwack hit his thigh. It didn’t hurt, but it snapped Ridge back to attention. It took him a moment to realize Zeus hit him with a crop. “Do you want me to cram that thing up your ass?”
Zeus’s eyes swam with laughter. “Kinky. Come with me.”
Ridge’s tone stayed as dry and droll as ever. “That wasn’t an actual offer.”
Zeus popped his sucker back in his mouth. “If a single one of you gets off your knees, you’ll be banned for a week.”
“Yes, sir.”
The round of agreements had Ridge fighting an eye roll. Zeus was hot, but he wasn’t that fucking hot.
Zeus motioned with his crop. “Move your feet.” He used the same hard tone with Ridge as he had with the subs.
Ridge didn’t know why he immediately obeyed, but he did.
Zeus led him to an unmarked door at the back of the club.
A fingerprint later, they left the sound of sex and music behind.
Another fingerprint and they were inside an apartment.
He barely spared the place a glance. Ridge had known Zeus lived at the club.
He had never considered what the place might look like.
Nor did he care. He was too aggravated to give a damn about much.
Zeus led him into the bathroom.
“I’m not really interested in putting anything in your ass.”
Zeus shot him a laughing glance. “You should be so lucky, but no. Come here.” He positioned Ridge in front of the mirror. “What do you see?”
Ridge tossed a quick look toward his reflection. “Myself. Why?”
Zeus rolled his eyes and bodily turned Ridge, so he continued looking at himself. “Look at you and then look at me. What do you see?”
Ridge looked between them. “Yeah. I don’t know what you want. It’s us.”
Zeus released a put-upon sigh. He set his crop on the counter and tossed his sucker in the trash. “Let’s play a little game.” Zeus stood shoulder to shoulder with him. “You’re a sniper. You’re observant as hell. I know you can think of something to say other than ‘it’s us.’”
Ridge took a deep breath and really looked. At that moment, Zeus was a master in his field of deprogramming. He wasn’t the guy he played in this club. Well, he was probably that too. Zeus was sexual in every way, but he also took everything he did way more seriously than people realized.
Ridge spouted things off, hoping Zeus got to the point. “You have blond hair. Mine is black. We’re the same height. The same size. I don’t know what you want.”
Zeus smiled for real. He was twice as sexy.
“You’re getting warmer. We are the same height and build.
I bet we damn near weigh the same. Our eyes are the same color.
Really look at us. Other than our hair color, we could be twins.
Hell, for all we know, we might be. None of us know our true origins.
We are nearly carbon copies of each other. ”
Ridge looked closer at Zeus and then at himself. Damn. The guy was right.
Zeus held his stare in the mirror. “Why do you think he comes to me?”
Ridge couldn’t look away. Zeus could be hypnotic. “I don’t know. Probably for all the same reasons everyone here does.”
“No.” Zeus almost looked sad. “He’s not here for me at all. No one here is, honestly. They’re all seeking something, but it isn’t me. That’s especially true for Shadow. With me, he can close his eyes and pretend I’m you.”
A derisive snort burst from Ridge. “Is this you hoping I don’t take you out when you don’t see it coming?”
Before Ridge knew what happened, he found his back against the wall and a very pissed off man had him by the jaw.
Zeus looked deadly. His usual mask of calm had vanished.
“Do you think I don’t want him? Do you think I haven’t pulled every trick I know to steal him from your blind ass?
” Zeus’ thumb skimmed Ridge’s bottom lip.
He leaned in and swept his lips across Ridge’s mouth.
To his shame, Ridge was hard as stone. It was more than obvious he stared at the dom who loved control.
“I could do things for him you could never dream.” He spoke each word close enough to Ridge’s lips they brushed his skin.
This time, when Zeus kissed him, he went all in.
The taste of cherry candy filled his mouth.
Ridge wanted to shove him away. He also craved knowing what Zeus had that Ridge didn’t.
Ridge already knew it was almost everything, but he had one thing Zeus didn’t: love.
He desperately loved Shadow, and he would stay faithful.
Zeus could never, so he supposed that was two things.
Either way, Ridge was frustrated as hell.
Zeus pulled away. “Go home. Stake your claim. If you don’t, one of these days, he’ll submit to me.”
Zeus grabbed his crop and walked away, leaving Ridge to silently follow in his wake. He didn’t look at Ridge again. Ridge headed for the exit. His mind was a mess. He needed to clear his head. Zeus had given him too much to think about.
Shadow stayed in his head all the way home.
He was sick of the drama. More than anything, he was tired of being in love and wanting that love in return.
The worst part was, he knew he had it. Shadow just didn’t deserve it.
Sometimes, he wished he would wake up with amnesia and meet Ridge again for the first time.
He wondered how far they would go if Shadow was someone different.
Every day, he watched Ridge’s love turn a little more toward hatred. While Shadow knew it was for the best, his heart ached. He wanted back all the moments they shared before Ridge had decided Shadow was a monster.
Blood coated Shadow’s clothes and skin. It had somehow gotten into his mouth.
God, he just wanted to be clean and for Ridge to hold him.
He was more than a little disappointed when he didn’t find Ridge waiting for him in the community shower.
It was possible they made him stay longer at the shooting range.
Fuck. Of all the days for Ridge not to be here, this was the worst. Or maybe it was for the best, all things considered.
Shadow’s teeth chattered. He locked his back jaw, refusing to think.
Shadow knew how quickly and easily he could fall into shock.
He couldn’t let that happen. Shadow couldn’t show a hint of weakness.
Nothing would get him killed quicker. Under the streaming hot water, Shadow squeezed his eyes shut and tried like hell to keep his mind blank.
He didn’t want to see their faces. They had looked at him and saw a child.
He saw the fleeting hope in their eyes that maybe Shadow had been there to set them free.
He had been. Just not the way they wanted.
His throat got tighter by the second. He wasn’t supposed to feel.
If he hoped to ever get out of this place, he had to be perfect.