Chapter 2 #5
His steps were light on the wooden floor, not enough to disturb the sleepers. Leo crouched down beside them, and for a moment, he was caught staring at Joshua’s face, features soft and lax in sleep, lips parted. Like this, Joshua looked painfully young.
“Princeling,” Leo whispered. There was no reaction, so he reached out to touch Joshua’s shoulder. “Joshua. Hey.”
Joshua woke up with a start, shooting into a sitting position and blinking, wide-eyed, at Leo. The sudden movement roused Tristan as well, had him roll over with a groan, while Mo mumbled something unintelligible and buried his face against his arms.
“I’m so sorry.” Leo shifted away and sat back on his haunches.
It was disconcerting to have all of Joshua’s sleepy focus, made heat scramble up the back of Leo’s neck and warm his cheeks, unsettling him further.
He suspected his flush was obvious even in the weak light.
“I wouldn’t have woken you if it wasn’t necessary. ”
With a soft exhale, Joshua ducked his head and scrubbed a hand down his face, then ruffled up his hair. The strands were long enough that a few curls hung into his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Nearing midnight.”
“Any news?” Tristan asked.
Leo was glad for the excuse to look away from Joshua. “Yes, actually. That’s why I woke you. Sorry again.”
“Oi, Puri.” Without missing a beat, Tristan pinched Mo’s stomach just as Nate entered the room, stopping to take in the scene.
He drew closer while Leo scrambled to his feet.
Joshua followed suit, propped himself up against the wall.
He looked drained, robbed of the self-assuredness he’d displayed that very morning.
When Mo made a protesting noise, Leo dragged his gaze away from Joshua’s profile and caught Nate holding himself uncommonly still, as though transfixed by the tattoo that had become visible where Mo’s T-shirt had ridden up.
The black letters sitting above the waistband of Mo’s trousers spelled “Don’t think I won’t” and reminded Leo of a tattoo he’d seen on Joshua while leafing through the Metro earlier today—a “why not?” inked into a similar spot, clearly visible in the pap shots from Joshua’s holiday in Spain.
Leo’s attention hadn’t lingered on those pictures. He wasn’t that person anymore.
“What’s the news, then?” Joshua asked once everyone seemed reasonably awake, even Mo having dragged himself upright.
Sleepy and grumpy, Mo was still the most beautiful man Leo had ever seen up close.
He could appreciate the aesthetics, but unlike Nate, he didn’t feel a need to stare.
His capacity for attraction had been on the back burner for years.
“It’s good news.” With a smile directed at Joshua, Leo spun a chair around and straddled it backwards, elbows on the armrests.
“Looks like the police got the guys, cleaned out their evil lair of sin and debauchery. They’re in custody.
And before that, Nate’s virtual breaking and entering was successful. ”
“You can never be a hundred percent certain,” Nate contributed, because of course he couldn’t just omit some details in the interest of soothing a client. Sigh. “But chances are good. At least I managed to erase all traces I could find.”
Well, yes. That, and he’d refused to let Leo have a look at anything before making it disappear. Leo’s curious streak had been wildly offended at Nate squirming and blushing over something he wouldn’t share. Bastard. Friends didn’t kick their friends out of their offices.
“Thank you,” Joshua breathed, and Mo sat up a little straighter to fix Nate with a look from underneath hooded lids.
“Same from me,” he said. “Thanks.”
Nate rubbed a nervous hand over the back of his neck and didn’t reply. Wow, Leo had never seen him like this; he’d seen Nate on the prowl a number of times, but it had always been casual. This was… weirdly intense.
Up until now, Leo had been convinced that Nate considered sex a physical exercise rather than anything substantially important.
Like scratching an itch. Leo understood all too well, although he didn’t see the need to involve another person.
Personally, he was fine wanking off in the shower whenever his body demanded attention, quick and efficient, head empty, mess-free with the evidence washing down the drain while he finished cleaning himself.
“You’re welcome,” Nate mumbled in Mo’s vague direction, shuffling his feet. His stance didn’t relax until Mo’s focus had shifted off him.
“So we’re… It’s over?” Joshua’s voice carried an edge of disbelief, and Leo lifted his shoulders.
“It’s never really over until you wear your secrets like a crown, Princeling.
” In the wake of the informal address, Leo could feel Nate shoot him a surprised glance, and Tristan snorted while the corners of Mo’s mouth twitched.
Joshua on the other hand seemed cautious, even wary.
His back straightened, gaze clear on Leo’s face.
“You think there’s more where this came from?” he asked.
“Hopefully not where this came from, but…” Leo maintained eye contact and didn’t shift on his chair.
“This was your bodyguard blabbing, Joshua. Unless you deny yourself completely, cut off your balls, so to speak,”—oops, inappropriate again—“there’ll always be someone who could throw you for another loop. ”
Joshua pressed his lips together and looked away. He didn’t argue, and Leo wondered if Joshua had already thought of it himself and Leo was merely putting it out in the open.
“Not a problem right now.” Tristan’s tone was defensive. He draped an arm around Joshua’s shoulders. “Jay, you don’t have to think about this just yet, yeah? Let it settle for a bit. Day’s been shitty enough, just—let’s go home, have some pints.”
“Think I need stronger stuff,” Joshua muttered. Again, he messed up his hair with both hands, twisted the strands into a wild tangle that made him look young and a little lost. Leo took too long dragging his attention away from Joshua’s fingers.
Thank God this tango with the past was about to come to an end. It was playing tricks on his mind.
Mo stretched with a small yawn, rising to his feet. “I’ve got tequila and whisky.”
“Sounds about right,” Joshua said.
“Just a sec,” Leo told him, holding up a hand.
“Sorry. If you want to leave without security, that’s fine.
I understand, and we won’t stop you. Or,”—he cocked an eyebrow—“call your mum and tell on you. But there’s still the matter of what we do with that Johnson bloke.
We can’t keep him trapped in the conference room forever, you know?
In fact, we have no legal grounds as it is. ”
“Thought your unconventional methods are part of the package? Like, do unto them as they do unto you?” Tristan’s grin gleamed white but faded quickly—a commendable effort to lighten the mood.
It was sweet, the way both Tristan and Mo had remained glued to Joshua’s side, and Leo supposed it could be seen as an indirect assessment of Joshua’s character.
It was possible that Leo had judged him too harshly. Not that he’d admit as much.
“Actually, we prefer to do unto them before they do unto us,” Nate said.
“Pre-emptive strikes.” Leo nodded. “Our speciality.”
Nate cast a quick glance around the room. “Nothing too bad, though,” he rushed to add, and, oh. They were in the presence of a representative of the Crown. Maybe not the best idea to brag about the, ah… very grey areas they exploited at times. “And it’s for the greater good.”
“The greater good,” Joshua, Mo and Tristan intoned as one, a morbid chant that clearly doubled as an inside joke. Leo needed a moment to place it.
Right, of course: Hot Fuzz. As a self-appointed expert on Pegg/Frost movies, Leo should have recognised it immediately.
Also, he wouldn’t have pegged—no pun intended—Joshua as the type to watch black comedies; it was almost as though the Prince was a normal person.
He just might do things as mundane as playing FIFA, which improved the chances that Leo’s earlier comparison of privileged birth to an easier difficulty setting hadn’t come across as gibberish to Joshua.
Also, Leo needed to stop wasting quite so much brain space on the Prince.
“Great film,” he said. “But not actually an answer to my question about Johnson.”
He regretted his insistence when all traces of cheer disappeared from Joshua’s eyes, leaving them tired and helpless. Joshua’s voice carried exhaustion. “I don’t know. What options do I even have?”
“Fire his arse and leave it at that.” Leo ticked off his fingers. “Fire his arse and burn his bridges. Have him arrested on made-up charges. Have him arrested on true charges, so accessory to extortion, only that would mean the story will get out. Or, lastly, keep him on as your bodyguard.”
“Not an option,” Mo bit out. “That cunt needs to be far away from Joshua.”
Leo raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Don’t shoot the messenger, mate. Joshua asked me for his options, so I gave him the complete list. It’s not my call what he picks.”
For an uncomfortably long second, Mo stared at Leo. Then he shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“I think he needs therapy,” Joshua said quietly. “Johnson, I mean.”
“You’re fucking shitting us.” Tristan sounded both exasperated and thoroughly unsurprised. “Fucker betrayed you.”
“Not to mention violated the non-disclosure agreement I’m certain he signed.” Leo got up from the chair and stepped closer to Joshua, studying him. “This is your call, though. So what will it be?”
Joshua held Leo’s gaze for a moment before he sighed and slumped further into Tristan’s side, dipping his head down.
The gentle light softened the contours of his face, evening out the sharp line of his jaw.
“I don’t know,” he repeated. “I guess I can’t have him work with me anymore, not after…
this. And I can’t have him work with anyone else either.
What if he does the same thing to them? And I could have prevented it? ”