Chapter Four

They barely left their room the rest of the weekend. It was one of the best of Saul's life. He hated going home, since—despite agreeing to be exclusive—Saul didn't really know how things would go once they were home. Case stripped for a living. While Saul had met him at his job, he wasn't sure his possessiveness could handle knowing where Case was when they weren't together. His mood turned a bit black over it on the way home.

"Are you okay?"

Saul brought Case's hand to his mouth and kissed it while keeping his gaze locked on the road. "I'm good. Coming back from trips always reminds me of the million responsibilities I have to dive right back into. No rest for the wicked, I guess."

A soft chuckle caressed his ears. "I guess I should've let you relax some this weekend."

Saul cast Case a heated glance. "I have no regrets."

"Me either."

Saul had to force himself to pay attention to the road.

As they topped the hill that led to the apartment Case shared with his friend, Case leaned forward. "What the hell? That's my bed they're holding."

Two guys, accompanied by what looked to be sheriff deputies, carried items out of Case's apartment and dumped them on the side of the street.

"What the fuck?"

Saul quickly parked.

Case jumped out, leaving Saul to follow. "What the fuck are you doing with my stuff?"

Saul picked up the speed as one cop moved to intervene. Hell would freeze before any law touched his man. "Sir, this is an eviction. Your roommate has already been served."

The roommate appeared, carrying a box to a nearby car. His face paled when he spotted Case.

Case barreled toward him. "What the fuck, Lonnie? I've given you thousands. Why haven't you paid the rent? What have you been doing with my money?"

Lonnie's dark brown gaze slid from Case to Saul to the nearby cops, looking like a trapped rat. "Um. This isn't the time to talk about it. I have to get my stuff."

Case looked ready to commit murder. "The hell it isn't the time to talk about it. They're setting my goddamn stuff on the curb. So, you can stand here until you talk or I'll make sure you never speak again."

Saul stepped in. He set his hands on Case's shoulders and squeezed. "Let's not make threats in front of the cops." He kept his voice low for only Case to hear.

Unfortunately, Lonnie heard too and the realization he was safe emboldened him. "You'll be fine. By the end of the week, you'll have enough tips to be in a new place. Alone. You won't have to worry about me."

"That's not the point, Lonnie. You stole my goddamn money. Are you back on drugs? Did my fucking rent go up your nose?"

The accusations had the police moving closer. "Do you have proof you've given him money for rent? If so, you can file charges."

Lonnie looked like a trapped rat again.

Case didn't respond right away, obviously letting Lonnie stew in fear. "No. I've always given him cash. He was my best friend. I had no reason to think he'd do this to me."

Lonnie obviously wasn't completely unconscionable. At the idea of losing Case's friendship, he set his box aside. "Don't be like that, Case. I got you a job. You know I've never let you down before." He moved close, as if pleading his case to Case alone. "You know I can make this right."

The crew had stopped moving things to watch the show. Saul decided to stop being a spectator. Case needed someone who had his best interests in mind. Obviously, he had no one here.

"Excuse me. Are you part of a private moving company, or do you only do dirty work for cops?"

Since everyone knew who Saul was, the two policemen didn't confront him over the comment. The workers exchanged a glance. The taller of the pair answered on their behalf. "We work for a moving company. Our boss just supplements his income on slow days by taking work from the city."

That was good. It saved Saul from having to call around to hire someone. "Good. I'd like to hire you to move his things to a different location. Let's skip setting his stuff on the curb." He glanced behind him. Case and Lonnie still seemed to be in a heated exchange. Saul went back to dealing with the movers. "Only his things. Not the piece of shit who steals money from his friends." Saul didn't bother to keep that last part quiet.

The guy nodded. "I'm sure it won't be a problem. Just let me call my boss and get a moving van sent over." The guy glanced toward the police. "Is it okay if we wait for a van?"

Both officers looked Saul's way.

Saul raised his eyebrows, daring them to say no.

They tripped over themselves to agree. "It's fine."

"Yeah. No problem. The longer we're here, the less we have to do elsewhere." They moved to their car and leaned against the side, as if settling in to wait.

With Case's things taken care of, Saul moved to comfort his man. He inserted himself between Lonnie and Case before they came to blows. With his palms flattened against Case's chest, Saul walked Case backward, holding his stare. "It's okay, baby. I have everything under control. These men are calling for a van to move your things."

Case looked wrecked. His eyes were red, as if he was on the verge of tears. "I don't have anywhere to go. I never expected to come home to this. There's no way I can find a place on this short of notice. And who would take me now? He's wrecked my rental history. No one will rent to me with an eviction against me. Fuck. There's no telling how much I'll owe in legal fees over this."

Saul rubbed his arms. "Don't worry about that. I promise you, Lonnie will cover it. I can and will make that happen. For now, let's just take your stuff to my place. I have plenty of storage, and you can stay with me for as long as it takes. Okay?"

Case swiped his hand over his eyes. He genuinely looked ready to break.

Saul towed him into his arms and held him. "It'll be okay. I promise."

Case sucked in a shaky breath that hurt Saul's chest. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this drama. I won't blame you if you walk away and leave this mess behind."

Despite the situation, Saul laughed. "You didn't run when my past slapped you in the face this weekend. There's no way I'm leaving such an amazing and brave man." Not to mention, the universe had handed Saul the perfect trap. He had Case now. There was no escape.

Life had humbled Case a thousand times in a million tiny ways. This had to be one of the most embarrassing. Through everything, he had never been homeless. Now everyone played witness to him being betrayed by his closest friend. Case was officially at rock bottom, and the greatest guy he had ever met now got to see him as the loser he was. Everything about the moment was a nightmare, except Saul somehow kept him together.

Saul saved face for him in front of the movers and police. He took control, ensuring Case was the only one who got help from the movers beyond taking things to the edge of the street. They walked through the apartment with Case, taking great care to only grab his things for the moving van. Everything felt surreal as hell. Part of him realized he had temporarily agreed to live with Saul. The rest of him was just grappling with the present situation. He couldn't think about how he didn't even know where Saul lived. They had literally only spent one weekend together. It had been an amazing weekend. He looked forward to many more, but this was insane. Thank God for Saul's brand of crazy. Otherwise, Case would be in jail right now for murdering his ex-best friend. He couldn't even think about how much money Lonnie had stolen. His chest hurt too badly.

When they finally climbed back into Saul's SUV to head to his new home, he just felt tired. He didn't want to even think anymore.

Saul snagged his shirt. "Come here, baby. I've got you."

Case let Saul lure him across the console. Their lips met and then their tongues stroked. The pressure in his chest eased. For a moment, everything felt like it would be okay.

Saul stroked his cheek. "Just breathe. I promise I'll take care of you."

He was amazing. "You shouldn't have to."

A sexy smile exploded across Saul's face. "I want to, and that's all that matters."

Case's shoulders finally relaxed. He unlocked his jaw. "Okay."

With a nod, Saul pulled away from the curb. Case focused on the drive rather than the reason for it. He memorized every turn, trying not to think about anything else.

Thankfully, Saul broke the silence, busying his thoughts. "Maverick said you played for San Diego. How did you end up in Atlantic City?"

"Lonnie."

"Damn. I was trying to distract you and walked right back into the fire."

Case laughed. "No. Your question makes me realize how dumb I've been. That's a good thing," he added, in case Saul got the wrong idea. "I might've been weak and forgiven him without this reminder. San Diego released me from the team, and I was beyond upset. The first person I called was Lonnie. He's been my best friend since high school. I always called him first." Even Case heard how sad he sounded. "Anyhow, he said he was hanging out in Atlantic City and I should head out here to meet up. We could blow off some steam. Obviously, I was in the perfect headspace to do just that, so I jumped on the first flight I could to get out here. From there, I just kept letting Lonnie suck me into his bullshit problems until I had no money left, and now I'm homeless. He has a lot of addictions," Case explained. "But I thought he was better, and I would be free soon. I guess that freedom came harder and faster than I expected."

"You're a good person."

"Maybe, or maybe I just enabled him to the point of destroying myself." He honestly thought the second was true. He needed to change the subject. "So, what about you? How did you end up running nearly all of Atlantic City?"

A bitter-sounding laugh rumbled from Saul. "I had an alcoholic dad who beat the shit out of me every day."

Case's eyebrows shot up. "That's terrible. I don't see the correlation."

A sexy smile passed over Saul's lips. "Right after I turned sixteen, I ran away and ended up on the streets. It was better than home, but still tough. I lived in Vegas back then, so I stayed on the strip. That was the easiest place to get money from tourists. I spent a lot of time outside the Luna, hassling their customers. Before I left home, despite everything, I was a straight-A student. I was especially adept at math. One day, I took my few dollars, my amazing math skills, and headed inside. I wasn't old enough to gamble, but no one polices that shit unless you win. It turned out I was very good at counting cards. That bullshit immediately had me sitting across from Zander. He was young, but still terrifying. I'd lived in Vegas since we moved to the States from Greece when I was six. Everyone knew about the Kapra and how he made people disappear. I knew I was dead. But Zander took one look at me and asked if I wanted a job." Saul laughed. It was such a sexy sound, Case melted inside. He couldn't stop watching Saul while Saul recounted his story. "He gave me the suite at Luna and hotel credit so I could get clothes, toiletries, and food. I had never been more awed by anyone. I also knew immediately there was nothing I wouldn't do for him. It's been twenty-two years. There's nothing I haven't done for him and he's made sure I never want for a thing."

"What have you done for him?"

Saul glanced his way. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

"I'm just wondering if I have competition from my friend's husband."

Saul barked out a laugh so hard, it had to have hurt his throat. "There is literally no one more obsessed with their spouse than Zander Kapra. He would give up everything if it meant he got to keep Maverick. There's less than zero chance he would cheat."

"Good. There's nothing I can't live with except cheating. Too many bad experiences," he explained. "Otherwise, you can't scare me away."

Saul shook his head. "You're wholly unique. Unfortunately, I imagine you'll learn things about me that'll make you question that being your only hard line. I'm not a good person. This isn't a clean-hands job."

Case shrugged, even though Saul was watching the road and not him. "There's a reason I had a friend like Lonnie. I've done a lot of terrible shit too. In fact, that's why my family doesn't speak to me any longer. I won't judge you if you don't judge me."

"Deal."

Saul's immediate agreement made Case smile. Still, he felt the need to explain his decision to ignore Saul's career. "Plus, I saw what Zander does with his money this past weekend and you work for him. If I know nothing else, I know Maverick is a good man who would never marry someone awful, and no one will rescue those kids if Zander doesn't. How many people have we watched testify before congress about sex trafficking? Yet, they do nothing. In my job, I see a lot of awful shit. I leave there hoping I make it to my car most nights, and I'm a grown-ass man who can defend himself. Kids have no one."

Saul nodded. "Zander is very passionate about it. He'll never stop fighting." He cleared his throat. "About your job."

Case bit back a groan. He had worried this would be an issue. No one wanted to date a stripper. Not steadily anyhow. "I can't afford to quit. I'm already homeless." But he was dreading seeing Lonnie again with his entire being, and they worked together.

"What if you just trusted me to take care of you?"

Case had never been more uncomfortable, and that was saying a lot. He wanted this, but then again, he didn't. "I don't want you to think I'm here because of your money. It's one thing to stay with you until I get a place, but it's a whole other thing to just become your burden. You'd always wonder if that's all I wanted, and I'd always wonder if you wondered if that's all I wanted."

Saul laughed. "I know it's not all you want, and I also know that I'm completely unbothered." His gaze moved Case's way again. He swept a heated glance down Case's body. "We'd both be well compensated."

Goddamn. He had no idea why he found that statement so hot, but he did. Before Case thought of a way to respond, the moving van they followed turned left into a driveway. Case's stomach dropped. The house was fucking amazing. There was a pool to the left and the ocean to the right. It was beautiful.

Saul parked and climbed out before Case made a fool of himself. This was the life he had thought he would have when he got picked up by San Diego. His throat swelled. This life wasn't his. It was on loan. Saul opened his door, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

Case managed a weak smile, but his voice wouldn't work.

Saul looked defeated. "Do you want me to ask the movers to put your things in the workshop out back? You don't have to stay in the main house with me if you don't want."

Case rallied. He hadn't meant to make Saul feel unwanted. "No. I guess I'm still just reeling. Reality keeps hitting me over and over and I'm just…" Case's hands rose and fell.

Saul undid Case's seatbelt. "Come on. Let's get your things inside and I'll make everything better."

Case nodded. He believed. It would just take him time to adjust, but he had total faith in Saul. Maybe it didn't make sense. They hadn't known each other long, but the guy had shown up more for him than anyone ever had. He would trust him until he had nothing left. If he was wrong, then it wasn't the first time he had lost everything. Likely, it wouldn't be the last.