Chapter 11 #3
And now the opportunity that’s been presented to me comes in the form of Harrison’s own enemy who’s been causing a lot of problems for him and the man he wants to be with.
Apparently, this asshole has their own little corner of the dark web, which sounds similar to my own adversary I’ve been hunting.
I could destroy them both. Two birds, one stone.
But I keep that idea to myself for now.
I install a few more cameras around the condo. In the office, the kitchen, over the private, infinity-edge pool. By the time I’m fixing the last one into place just outside his bedroom, I’ve worked up a sweat. My glasses kept fogging, so they’re currently hanging from the collar of my shirt.
As I work outside his bedroom door, I get a peek of the large shower inside the en suite bathroom and groan.
It’s fucking nice, which isn’t a surprise having seen the rest of his place.
It’s three walls of glass, framed in brushed steel, the fourth wall a slab of dark stone that stretches from floor to ceiling.
The tiles are oversized and seamless, the color of black sand.
A rainfall head is set high above, wide enough to drench everything beneath it.
Even empty, it feels intimate. Too open, too exposed.
Like the one in a basement…
I swallow, grip my screwdriver a little tighter, and force myself to look away before my brain can wander any further.
After finishing up the last camera, I start packing my tools while running diagnostics on my tablet. Green across the board.
“The system will be live in two hours,” I say. “Credentials through the secure channel only. If you try to access it from an unsecured device, it’ll lock you out and send me a very passive-aggressive alert.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I sling my bag over my shoulder and push hair that’s damp with sweat off my forehead. “Try not to get murdered before the system comes online. It would really hurt my professional reputation.”
“I have no plans of dying anytime soon,” he says as we head out of the hallway.
“Yeah, that’s what they all say,” I mutter more to myself.
Sometimes you make plans that don’t include dying, like running away with someone whose lips you barely got to taste.
But then death finds you first.
“You have a lovely place, Doc,” I tell him again, once more finding myself needing to change the subject. “Just wish you would’ve let me use that nice ass gigantic shower of yours.”
“You didn’t sweat that much.”
“I hate being sticky.”
When we round the corner from the kitchen, I nearly run into Harrison’s back when he comes to a standstill.
“Lane? What are you doing here?”
Ooh. I get to meet the famous Lane already.
I sidestep around Harrison, and…yeah, I see why he’s going through all this trouble to keep this guy safe.
Lane is fucking gorgeous. His loose, light brown curls fall around a soft face with high cheekbones and full lips and honey-colored eyes. He’s a couple years younger than me, a little shorter, closer to my height, lean and athletic.
These days, Lane is more my type than Harrison, someone I wouldn’t be comparing to him.
Right now, I can’t tell if he’s angry or sad, but he sure does look about ten seconds away from bolting out of here.
“Lane?” Harrison asks again when he doesn’t answer.
“Um. I…I just came by to, uh…to talk about my thesis.”
Yeah, right.
I barely stop myself from scoffing.
Without taking his eyes off of Lane, Harrison asks, “Cason, was there anything else we needed to discuss?”
“Nope,” I say, popping the p. “And it’s Case.” I start heading for the elevator, flashing a smile over my shoulder at Harrison. “I’ll be in touch, Doc.”
As I near Lane, I decide he looks more sad than angry. I don’t like that. Harrison said he’s had to keep his distance from him for his safety, giving him a lie about not wanting to be with him.
Total asshole. But I get it.
That’s why I’m here to fix it.
Unfortunately, Lane clearly believes the lie. He could use some cheering up.
I stop in front of him and tilt my head, letting my gaze shamelessly rake over his body. “Nice to meet you, Lane,” I tell him, making my voice as sultry as possible.
I’m not sure it worked. I’m a bit out of practice. But Lane’s cheeks turn a little pink, so I’ll call that a win.
“Cason,” Harrison growls behind me. “Leave, please.”
A definite win.
Call me a fucking romantic. I just want to see people be happy together, even if I have to give them a reason to be jealous so they pull their heads out of their asses.
“Well, he’s frightening, isn’t he?” I whisper to Lane as I pass by him.
I press the button for the elevator, and I’m grateful it doesn’t take long for the doors to open so I don’t have to stick around and find out what happens next. It might be a good thing they have two hours before the cameras are up and running.
As I take the elevator down, I try not to think about silver eyes or gunshots or anything at all except surveillance and encryption protocols.
Normal.
Normal is working jobs that pay too well for having few lines I won’t cross. Normal is building something that can erase a person from the inside out. Normal is pretending that when it’s done, I’ll be done too.
Sure, everything is normal.