Desires' Guardian Page 13

  Territorial? Only of his personal systems, friends, and lover. Not over space. Usually. “Okay, bring in Mr. Hot Shot IT. Should be fun to hear about what kind of guy you were in your Marine days.” Rhys grumbled something he couldn’t hear. “What was that, hun?”

  “Nothing. Just be nice.”

  “I always am,” he quipped, though his heart wasn’t in it.

  Five minutes later, he was back with a somewhat cute guy in tow. Chase did the once-over, checking out his new office mate. Long dark-chocolate-brown hair, light amber eyes, and tall. He was almost as tall as Rhys—maybe six three or four? Thinner build but not a lightweight by any means. The deeply tanned skin and high cheekbones spoke of a Native American heritage, though he wasn’t sure which tribe. What caught his attention most was the slight hump to his nose, as if it had been broken a time or two, and the distinctive scar across his left cheek. Altogether, he looked both dangerous and handsome, though not nearly as much as Rhys.

  “This is Chase. Chase, this is Miles, and he’ll be your tech roomie for now,” Rhys said, motioning to each man in turn. “This is Chase’s area, so I’ll let him show you around and explain what’s what.”

  Chase stuck out his hand and mustered a small smile for the well-dressed man. “Chase Manning.”

  “Grayson Miles. This one here”—he nodded to Rhys—“still calls me by my last name at times. Also, he tells me you run his IT section and have a consulting firm?”

  “I do. You would think computers were strange alien beasts the way he goes on when he needs something ‘hard.’”

  The man smiled, not showing any teeth, but it looked genuine to Chase. “Yeah, he’s always been that way. So, would you mind?” he added as he turned. The wide-eyed stare made Chase smile, a real smile that time. “We never get such nice equipment where I work now,” he added, awed.

  “You may go, Rhys. I can show him around on my own.” It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Rhys trying to lighten his load or being considerate, but he was getting sick of the hovering. He was a grown man and fully capable of being both professional and mature.

  Rhys arched his brows but held his tongue, a fact Chase was thankful for right then. He nodded, clasped Grayson on the shoulder, and left the area.

  “So, I set you up over here. Rhys didn’t tell me what equipment you might bring, but if you need anything more than what’s here, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

  “Thanks,” Grayson said, his voice strong yet soft. The dichotomy of the man was as perplexing as it was confusing. This man was a hardened Marine? “Let me get my things, and we’ll see where I need to begin.”

  “Sure. Come on, I’ll help you unload. Ask one of our muscle-bound bosses and no telling what might happen,” Chase teased and led the way out front. As he passed the reception desk, Nichelle gave him a small smile and he returned it, but by the sigh and sad look, he figured it hadn’t been good enough to relieve her worry.

  Chapter 15

  RHYS STOOD out front of James’s stone cottage-like home, torn between knocking on the door to find out what he needed to know and turning around. He was a PI, though, and unanswered questions were like an itch under his skin, not something he took to well. Swallowing his indecision, he raised his hand and knocked.

  After a few moments, he heard movement and the door opened. James stood before him, little flecks of paint on his hands and the forearm crutches he used. Barefoot and dressed in his usual painting garb of a T-shirt and threadbare jeans, he looked up and smiled. “Hey, Rhys. What brings you by this time of day?”

  Well, that question answered whether Chase had let him know about the murder or if he’d offered up Rhys as his storyteller. “Hi, Jay. May I come in?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.” James maneuvered to let him past and then closed the door. “Let’s head into the kitchen. Want a drink? I’ve got coffee, bottled water, or I can make you some tea.”

  “Water would be fine, thanks.” He followed James in, grabbing a bottle of water for each of them before settling on one of the kitchen stools.

  James washed up, then took his stool; it had wheels, and no one, not even his stepdaughter Danni, was allowed to use it. “From the dark cloud around you, I’m assuming this isn’t a happy visit.”

  “Haven’t caught the news or talked to Chase, huh?”

  “No, why?”

  He spent the next half hour telling James everything that had happened that morning, including Chase’s freak-out and about him screaming “Ethan.” Partway through, James asked him to stop talking and sent a series of texts back and forth with someone before motioning Rhys to continue. Once he was done with his retelling of the death and Chase’s reaction, Rhys felt drained, and he hadn’t even heard the rest yet. He knew he had to find out what Chase had sent him there to hear, though.

  “What I don’t know, though, is what happened from there. After he found his cousin, I mean. Or what it is he thinks you can tell me. I mean, you didn’t meet until college, so I’m a little confused. Beyond that, I’m worried about him.”

  “No, we didn’t, but just as he was my champion, I was his focus for a long time as he fought to become the man you now know.” James stared out the back window, eyes unfocused, not speaking for a few minutes. “He told you to ask me about Ethan and the year afterward,” he explained, holding his cell up with a sad smile. “Did he tell you how we actually met?”

  Rhys shook his head. “College is all either of you has said.”

  “Mm…. We met at Dr. Wolfe’s office. She was the psychologist I went to after I escaped the hell my last year of home was. Chase had been seeing her for a time at that point. Our appointments seemed to coincide often, and eventually, we started chatting while waiting to be called back or for a ride to show up.”

  “Okay, I get he had a really hard time with not only losing his cousin but being the one to find him. That would mess up anyone.”

  “Ethan wasn’t just his cousin. He was Chase’s best friend and confidant.” James fidgeted and sighed, his look screaming annoyance. “You’re a PI, and you never noticed he always answers his phone? And I do mean always. Or that no one ever sees him without his leather cuff. One he has worn every day since before I met him. I figured when I talked you into hiring him, you’d dig a little into his past.”

  “I did,” Rhys snapped, knowing he sounded defensive. “But teen records are sealed, not that I found even those on him.”

  “Had you known the right things to ask or dug more, you would have found that a couple of months after Ethan died—his entire family blames his uncle to this day, by the way—Chase almost joined him. They call it survivor’s guilt.”

  “I don’t get it. Why would he think that? He wasn’t even there,” Rhys defended, not wanting James to be right.

  “That’s the point, Rhys. He was too busy watching a movie when his friend and cousin called him, leaving his suicide note on Chase’s voice mail. How messed up do you think that made him? If only he had paid more attention to how bad things were for Ethan. If only he had answered the call. If only he had turned the cell back on as soon as he got out of the movie. If only….”

  “His cousin’s death wasn’t his fault,” Rhys growled.

  “I know that. So does he, now. But that doesn’t change how dark his mind went afterward.”

  Rhys thought about it, his heart hurting. His stomach lurched when he finally settled on the only logic he could find. “Oh God. He wears the cuff to cover his scars, doesn’t he?”

  James nodded. “Yes, and because they had matching cuffs. Seventeen-year-old boys who felt like the other was the only one that could understand them. You get it?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  “The fact that same method was used to kill his ex, yeah, that’s going to make it that much harder for him.” James paused, looking him over carefully. Rhys felt as if the immense weight of the conversation increased tenfold before James spoke again. “The fact he let you comfort him i
s a major thing. Honestly, I would expect him to have called me, crying, or have tried to drive over. That he told you to come here to ask questions only reinforces things for me. Don’t know what you did, but you’ve definitely gotten to him.”

  “Normally, I would be thrilled with that news, but right now I’m more worried about him than our unsteady relationship.”

  “He’ll be okay. He sent you here to learn more. It’s the only reason I’ve told you what I have. You are now one of about three people that know, outside his family and old therapist.” James reached over, patting Rhys’s trembling hands. “Be worthy of his trust, please.”

  “Three? What about his exes?”

  James shook his head. “No. Not that I know of, at least. I doubt any of them even knew about the scars. I mean, he sleeps with that cuff on if anyone other than me is around. You figure it out,” he added, his voice a challenge. “He’s so strong. Stronger than me in many ways. But he is so very fragile as well. He just rarely lets anyone see that side of him. Take care of him.”

  “I will, I promise,” he swore, knowing it was an oath, not merely a platitude. He would do whatever it took to keep Chase safe, including fighting the demons from his past if need be.

  By the time he made it back to the office, having procrastinated as much as he could justify, it was normal closing time. Not that work stopped then, but the office would be locked and the phones switched over to the answering service.

  Rhys pulled into his spot at the office, noting Miles’s car was still there. He double-checked for Chase’s before remembering he’d driven Chase in. He’s probably pissed I wasn’t here to take him home… like any logical person would be. Dammit.

  Dismounting, he pulled his helmet off, tucking it under his arm before heading inside, wondering what kind of reception to expect. Chase had a temper, or did with him at least. Instead of the pissed-off cutie he expected, though, he found Miles and Chase still hard at work.

  “Um, guys? It’s past quitting time for you two.” He couldn’t believe Mark or Nichelle wouldn’t have reminded them—Chase often got lost in his work and had to be reminded to take breaks or stop at the end of the day.

  Both men turned, blinking hard, before focusing on him. “Sorry,” Chase murmured. “Getting a late start today means I still have a bit more work to do.”

  “And Mark got me started digging through this thing,” Miles grumbled and gestured to a battered, older laptop. “Damn thing has more viruses on it than data,” he added with a sneer.

  “Find anything?” Rhys asked Miles, eyes flitting to Chase, wary of his stability still.

  “Nothing that matches what Mark and you said was found in the apartment. I mean, he seems to have missed Chase after they broke up, but nothing obsessive.”

  Chase’s shoulders sagged, the sigh audible as he deflated at Miles’s words.

  “Good. Why don’t you come to my office and we can discuss it more? Then you can go upstairs to crash. I know you’re still tired, and I seriously doubt you’re going to make it much longer, man.” Noting the annoyance that flashed across Miles’s face, he added, “This is stuff his parents gave us access to, so take your time. The cops will have more and will eventually demand this stuff too probably, but not yet.”

  “All right.” Miles stood and walked with Rhys but paused at the doorway to look at Chase. “I don’t know if it helps or not, but he didn’t do this to himself over you.”

  He nodded slowly. “Thanks. Go on. Rhys isn’t overly patient when he wants answers.”

  Miles laughed but followed Rhys to his office, who closed the door once they were inside. He settled into his chair and waited as Miles—Grayson dammit, civilian now!—took one of the two chairs on the other side of his desk.

  “Do you have anything else on the case yet, and how did Chase do with you in his area?”

  “Hm…. As far as me being there, he seemed fine,” Grayson said and shrugged. “Even put up with me looking over his shoulder to see what he was working on at one point. And damn, he’s as good as his rep, if not better. Cannot believe you got him working here. Seems like a waste of his skills.”

  “Don’t let him fool you. Most of his work is for his consulting firm, not for us. That’s actually why he’s got so much stuff here and why the computer area is now the back half of the office. He keeps picking up clients, and he’s going to need to hire people, but the office space is part of his compensation for his work for the Coiled Dragon.”

  “He mentioned that earlier.” Grayson drummed his fingers as he considered Rhys again. “As for the issue at hand, this Michael guy kept a digital journal. I doubt Chase would like some of what’s in there, but it just doesn’t back up the staging.”

  “So nothing to back suicide or obsession?”

  Grayson shook his head and grunted in the negative. “Man was a bit weird, but the only thing of interest on the laptop or iPad I’ve found so far is the extensive collection of porn and Yaoi.”

  “By the way you keep looking away while talking to me, I have to assume there’s something else bothering you about his case?” Rhys asked.

  “The journal mentioned Chase taking off occasionally for some guy named James. He thought Chase was cheating on him but wasn’t sure. I worry about you and if he’s the kind of guy to be serious with?” he said, making it a question at the end.

  Rhys laughed, amused Grayson thought he needed protecting from Chase and at the idea of James and Chase as a couple. “If there’s one person I don’t have to worry about him running off with, it’s James. James just married Seth Burns and is too blissfully happy to notice anyone else. Besides, they’re best friends, not lovers.”

  Grayson shrugged. “I’m merely relaying what I found.”

  “Understood, but man, it’s more like how when I needed you, you came immediately. Or last year when you asked for help, Dane and I flew out right away, not even asking you why.”

  “But they’re not Marines.”

  “Trust me, that doesn’t matter in this case.”

  “They that close?”

  “Mm…. Yes. Sometime I’ll tell you all about it, but suffice to say, James is only a threat to me if I hurt Chase.” He smiled as he remembered James’s words about how much Chase trusted him. “We’re new, but I’m in this for the long haul.”

  “No poaching. Got it,” Grayson quipped and smirked. “Eh, you know he’s not my type, Sayer. Besides, I’m not blind. Boy watches you like a mama bear guarding her cub.”

  Rhys smiled, pleased with the fact his friend had spotted the connection between them so easily.

  CHASE WATCHED Rhys lead the new guy, Grayson, to his office. When he heard the door click shut, he pulled out his cell, hit speed dial two, and waited for James to pick up. On the fourth ring, he figured James wasn’t near his cell, but then heard his clear, low voice say “Hello.”

  “Jamie? Thank goodness.”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Rhys make it back to the office yet?”

  “Yeah, but he was a little off. Instead of talking to me about the conversation, he’s in his office with Grayson, discussing the case.” He understood, and would have done the same if he were Rhys, but the fact he’d stood so far away and didn’t smile or tease at all bothered him.

  “Grayson? Who’s that?”

  “Some buddy of his from his Marine days. He’s also a pretty decent computer guy, from what I can tell. But… come on, James. Don’t make me beg. What’d he say when you told him?”

  “Not as much as I expected, honestly. He seemed confused and worried mostly,” James explained. “But, Chase, why’d you send him to me for the story? You’ve never wanted me to talk about your past before.”

  “I’ve never freaked out on someone like I did this morning, either,” Chase grumbled.

  “Possibly, but I think it’s more. Come on, Chase, spill.”

  The pleading tone broke him. Only James could do that to him, and the man damn well knew it too. “I feel different about him,” Chase mu
mbled, not wanting to be overheard and not completely certain admitting to how much he cared about Rhys was a good idea.

  “Duh. Why the hell do you think we all pushed you together so hard? There has been something between you since the time I saw you stare at him and then run and hide in my kitchen. Even as bad as things were when we met Rhys last year, when my brother was stalking me and sending death threats and all,” James said, his voice faltering, “there was something tangible about your energy around each other.”

  “Pushed together? I get that’s why you wanted me to work here, brat,” he added fondly. “But who’s this ‘we all’?”

  “Did one date you went on go well after you met Rhys? Think about how good Simon usually is at setting people up. You really think he could mess up that badly every time, without some effort on his part?”

  “I’ll kill him! You mean he deliberately set me up with assholes?” The nerve! “Wait, but when I went out with Adrian, Rhys was on a date with some boy.” A fact that still rankled a bit, but he’d refused to mention before.

  “And how do you think he knew where to be and when to make sure you saw him?”

  Chase thought that over and frowned, though he knew James could not see him. They had all worked to drive him insane and block him from finding someone other than Rhys? He was even more bothered by the fact he felt warmth spread in his chest that they would go to such lengths to help him, even against his wishes and claimed wants.

  “Now,” James interrupted his rambling thoughts. “Instead of fixating on what we did for you, or on the past, why don’t you go kick this Grayson guy out of Rhys’s office and put down some real roots with the big man?” A deep chuckle came through the line. “Go show him who he belongs to and remind yourself you’re both healthy and alive.”

  “Dammit, Jamie. You’re supposed to be the shy, quiet one. I’m supposed to be the outrageous one who suggests things like bending him over his desk.”